Financing a Hillside Education
Financing a Hillside Education: Investing in your Child’s Future
The Hillside School suggests some options to help families in planning and making choices to afford tuition. Options include annual tuition payment plans, long-term educational loans offered by third party lenders, medical deductions and flexible spending accounts, grants, and Hillside Scholarship awards for families demonstrating financial need.
Tuition Payment Plans
Single Payment Plan: Payment of tuition in full due on a published date in August.
Term Payment Plan: Parents will be billed two times a year – August and January.
Quarterly Payment Plan: Parents will be billed four times a year – August, October, January and March.
The Monthly Payment Option is offered by TUITION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS at www.afford.com or 1-888-572-8985. With a minimal enrollment fee, the monthly payment option allows parents to spread expenses over a number of months.
Educational Loans
Loan programs through third-party lenders can help families manage tuition by spreading payments over a number of years. Home Equity Loans are often an option.
Medical Deduction/Flexible Spending Accounts
The Hillside School is considered a therapeutic program for children with learning disabilities. Consult with your tax advisor to consider claiming an IRS medical deduction for tuition fees paid to the School for a child with learning disabilities.
If a parent’s employer offers a Flexible Spending Account, tuition reimbursement coverage may be included in the Medical Reimbursement account. Consult with your plan administrator.
Grants (direct application by family)
- CEO America, www.ceoamerica.net, 610-776-8740. (Available to students from a Lehigh Valley family going from public to a private school, total household income not to exceed $50,000.) Students for the 2013-14 school year must apply between February 1, 2013 and May 31, 2013. New scholarship recipients are selected in June.
- Berks County Community Foundation, www.bccf.org (610) 685-2223 (Students from Berks County)
- Family Choice Scholarship Program familychoice@pafamily.org, (717)545-0600
- Check with your employer for financial aid.
Scholarship
The dollars awarded for scholarship are the result of the direct efforts of fundraising at The Hillside School. EVERY child benefits from money raised for scholarship. Without fundraising, the 2011-2012 tuition at Hillside would be $21,800, a difference of $3,700. The Hillside School does not award full tuition scholarships. Hillside awards need-based scholarship money (financial aid) to approximately 50% if our students each year. Need is determined by what the family can afford to contribute and the cost of tuition. Any family may apply, and applying for scholarship has no impact on a child’s application for admission. Parents should not assume that their income disqualifies them from consideration. Many factors affect a scholarship award. The most significant factor is family income. Other factors include family assets, family size, age of parents, number of children in tuition charging institutions, and the amount of scholarship money available through the direct efforts of fundraising.
Parents may discuss the steps for applying for a need based scholarship during the admission process. The Hillside School uses School and Students Services (SSS). www.nais.org/financialaid/sss
