Financial Assistance Questions

List of 17 frequently asked questions.

• How and when do I complete financial assistance application forms?

  Families interested in financial assistance should indicate their interest on their initial admissions application or by phone/e-mail to the Admissions Office. In addition to this initial indication, families will need to fill out complete applications through School and Student Service for Financial Aid at SSS. Forms need to be completed just once in any admissions year and may then be submitted to multiple schools. Currently enrolled families continue to submit forms on an annual basis by January 1.

• What portion of the student body receives financial assistance?

  Between 13%-15% of Shore’s student body receives financial assistance in any given year.

• How much assistance is awarded to students each year?

  Shore awarded approximately $1,200,00 in financial aid for the 2023-2024 school year.

• What is Shore’s tuition?

  Please see this page for Shore’s comprehensive tuition for the 2024-2025 school year.

• Are financial assistance awards based on financial need or on scholarship merit?

  Budgetary limitations require that all Shore financial assistance awards be based upon financial need and reviewed annually with regard to appropriate academic effort and good citizenship. The school is not able to make awards solely on the basis of academic or personal talent.

• When will we be notified about our assistance offer?

  Financial assistance decisions are communicated in accordance with the timetable for offers of admission. Shore’s admissions notifications are typically mailed to candidates during the second full week of March. For financial assistance candidates receiving offers of admission, assistance notification would arrive concurrently. For financial assistance candidates who are placed on a waiting list for enrollment, financial assistance information is communicated at the time that a space for enrollment becomes available. Currently enrolled students receive news of financial assistance awards in February and may delay their return of re-enrollment contracts until such news is received.

• Are there helpful hints for completing financial assistance forms?

  File your forms in a timely fashion; Shore’s due date is January 1 for currently enrolled students and February 1 for admissions applicants. Read and follow the directions for each section with care. Complete every line designated on the Parents Financial Statement, even if your entry is 0. Provide a complete, written response for every line where explanation is required. Call School and Student Service or Shore’s Business Office if you are uncertain as to how to complete any sections.

• Will a request for financial assistance create an obstacle to my child’s admission?

  Shore strongly encourages admissions applications from families from all walks of life and from all economic circumstances. Every candidate is considered by the Admissions Committee regardless of financial assistance request and without knowledge of financial assistance circumstances. The Financial Assistance Committee works separately and concurrently to determine fair and appropriate levels of assistance for each financial assistance applicant.

• What are Shore’s financial assistance policies?

  We hold to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) guiding principle that the responsibility of financing a private education rests primarily with the student’s family. Since it is an expectation that both parents will finance their children’s education to the extent that they are able, in the case of divorced or separated parents, both natural parents are required to complete financial assistance applications. The income and assets of both parents are taken into consideration. If either parent has remarried, we will also take into consideration the spouse’s contributions to the household along with any obligations to his or her own children. All individual financial information is held in the strictest confidence.

• What happens if I apply for assistance but don’t qualify?

  Students are considered for admission to Shore regardless of financial circumstances. Whether or not a student's family applies or qualifies for assistance and whether or not Shore is in a budgetary position to meet financial need has no bearing on the Admissions Committee’s consideration of candidates for available spaces.

• If we do not receive assistance in our first year at Shore, is it possible to receive assistance in future years?

  A full Shore education can span for up to eleven years. Shore is strongly committed to the continuation of its students’ enrollment. We understand that a family’s financial profile may change over time. Families facing unexpected financial need are encouraged to engage in the financial assistance process and to promptly contact Shore’s Chief Financial Officer.

• How are calculations made and what will my contribution be?

  Shore subscribes to School and Student Service for Financial Aid in Princeton, New Jersey. Families submit a Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) on-line, which gives detailed financial information to the Service, which, in turn, supplies Shore with data concerning the family’s ability to contribute to their child’s education. The computation is based on a formula nationally accepted by independent schools. The need assessment is based upon income and family expenses, assets and liabilities, family size, parents’ ages, cost of living and the number of children for whom a family must pay tuition.
  
  

  When a PFS is submitted to SSS the resulting formulations are provided to Shore or any other schools you have designated as recipients. Shore’s Financial Assistance Committee then reviews this information, combines it with tax and any explanatory material you have provided, and formulates an individual calculation of funds that a family can contribute toward tuition. The amount of a financial assistance award is designed to bridge the gap between a family’s contribution and Shore’s tuition.

• Do we have to apply for assistance every year and can we count on assistance continuing in subsequent years?

  Yes, all financial assistance families, whether currently enrolled students or candidates for admission, must file a new application each year. Unless there is a significant change in demonstrated need, however, a family may expect to have their assistance renewed at approximately the same level of funding as in previous years.

• Where does financial assistance funding come from?

  In fact, all of Shore’s students benefit from a form of financial assistance, as actual tuition covers 86% of the cost of educating a student each year. The school’s Annual Fund, parent fundraisers, and endowment income all combine to make up the balance. The school’s operating budget provides 97% of the financial assistance funding. The school’s endowment generates 3% of the financial assistance funding, and new resources are constantly sought to meet the needs of the qualified students we strive to enroll.

• What if my tax return is filed late?

  Send your most recently completed 1040 Tax Return. If your current year return is not yet available, please send a copy of your previous year’s return and forward a copy of the current return as soon as it is completed. All financial assistance awards for the upcoming fall are contingent upon the receipt of the current year return.

• How do I apply for financial assistance if I am separated or divorced?

  For parents applying for financial assistance who are divorced or separated, each parent is required to submit a separate online PFS application form for processing to SSS. Every effort must be made to include both parents in the financial assistance process. Shore requires that both natural parents contribute to the cost of education to the extent of their ability, and its decisions are not bound by legal agreements. The School takes into account the uniqueness of each family situation.

• Who sees my financial information?

  Every parent’s financial information is held in the strictest confidence. Only members of the Financial Assistance Committee have access to financial assistance forms, and outside of the Admissions, Finance, and Head of School’s offices, there is no general knowledge shared as to which Shore students are recipients of financial assistance.