Thank you for inquiring about Germantown Academy’s Financial Aid Process. Our Spring Admission Season is about to begin, and we continue to accept applications to all grades for entry this September. We look forward to meeting your family through our admission process.

GA remains committed to assisting families who may not be able to cover the full cost of tuition with the necessary financial planning to attend our school. At this time, we are busily finalizing aid awards for our earliest round of admission decisions for our ’18-’19 applicants. We are unable to arrange Preliminary Financial Aid Meetings unless a family is currently actively involved in the admission process, but we will resume these meetings as soon as possible. If you would like to learn more, we invite you to attend an Admission Event. If you are ready to begin the Admission Process, you may start HERE.

Philosophy

As part of Germantown Academy’s commitment to building a strong, vibrant, engaged community, the school offers financial aid in the form of a tuition discount to admitted student/families who may not be able to afford the full cost of tuition.

We encourage all families who are interested in applying to GA, but who have questions about how to cover the cost of our education, to be in touch with the Academy’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom Taft, who oversees the administration of financial aid. This personal approach and preliminary meeting often help families understand how they can indeed afford a Germantown Academy education for their child(ren). LET US KNOW if you are interested in tuition assistance.

The financial aid process and the admission process are by necessity very separate. Requesting financial aid does not affect a student’s chance of being admitted, and developing a financial plan also does not affect a student’s chances of being admitted. Germantown Academy believes strongly that this is a very healthy approach to the admission and enrollment process, and it allows families to go into the admission process with a clear picture of their options.

Financial Aid Process

1. Complete the GA Financial Aid Information Form.
2. Schedule Preliminary Financial Aid Meeting with Germantown Academy (a representative from GA will call to schedule).
3. Fill out SSS form for the appropriate year. This form is available online at www.sssbynais.org beginning October 2, 2017. A report will be generated by NAIS within a week after you finish the application.
4. Email, mail or drop off your most recent tax return to Val Rodowicz.
5. Arrange a subsequent meeting to discuss initial determinations of the two reports. At this time, we can begin to look more closely at a family’s individual situation and begin to develop an estimated amount that each family can afford.
6. Financial aid is offered formally by contractual letter of a reduced tuition payment within 5 days of the mailing of the admission acceptance letter.
7. Among those who qualify for some assistance, discounts are allocated as students are admitted. For that reason, families who qualify for a discount may not be able to receive it if the amount allocated for assistance has been exhausted at the time of admission. The Academy will do its best to keep families informed about the status of tuition assistance availability.

Financial Aid Timeline

1. To be considered in the first round of financial aid decisions, all steps of the process must be completed by January 5, 2018.
2. To be considered in the second round of financial aid decisions, all steps of the process must be completed by January 26, 2018.
3. All financial aid decisions will be made on a rolling basis from January 26, 2018 forward, and will be offered as long as our funds remain available.
4. Students who have been offered admission but for whom aid is not available will be placed on our financial aid wait list in the event that allocated funds recycle back to our financial aid pool, and at the request of the family.
5. Families of students on the financial aid wait list will be notified immediately when a financial assistance award is available to them.