Financial Aid
PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES
The Lexington School Financial Aid program has a two-fold purpose: to provide deserving students an opportunity for a high-quality education which might otherwise be unobtainable for them, and to provide to the school a well-qualified student body reflecting a broad social and economic mix. For these goals to be achieved, it is essential that the ability to pay the full tuition not be a deciding factor in determining whether or not a promising young person may attend the school.
Intended as a supplement to family resources, awards are made not only to families whose ability to pay school costs is extremely limited, but also to those of somewhat more substantial means who may need only minor subsidy to meet our tuition requirements. No worthy student should be deterred by financial reasons from making application to The Lexington School, and parents who require aid are encouraged to request a grant. At the same time, the Financial Aid Committee is mindful of our obligation to utilize the limited financial aid funds responsibly and prudently, and therefore we insist that recipients fully merit their grants by a conscientious effort and a positive approach to every aspect of the Financial Aid process and school environment.
Financial aid decisions are made independently from admissions decisions and in no way affect a candidate’s chances for admission. The Financial Aid program is open to students of any race, creed, and national or ethnic origin.
•Selection
Applicants acceptable for admission and qualifying on the basis of financial need outnumber those whom we can afford to support. Therefore, we must make choices based on individual merit. Although need is the first requirement for financial aid, the final selection of a new recipient is based on our evaluation of the student’s overall academic and personal strengths.
•Renewals
Every tuition grant is made for one year and may be renewed subject to (1) parents’ filing an annual financial statement, (2) up to date account balance, and
(3) student’s maintenance of the sound academic and high citizenship standards expected of students at The Lexington School. Normally, a family should expect that financial aid will be continued throughout the student’s enrollment, but the Financial Aid Committee will not hesitate to reduce or refuse subsequent grants if the parents no longer exhibit need or if the student’s academic effort or conduct is deficient, even if such shortcomings do not, in themselves, preclude his/her continued enrollment.
•Priorities
Consideration for budgeted dollars is given in the following order. Funds are not reserved for families whose Parents Financial Statement (PFS) or tax forms are received late.
- Applications from current recipients who have completed all renewal requirements on time.
- New applications from currently enrolled students, if completed on time.
- New applications from candidates accepted by the Admissions Committee for enrollment.
- New and renewal applications completed after the specified deadlines, as long as funds remain available. Amounts awarded to this final group may be reduced as our budget nears exhaustion.
•Computation
The Lexington School subscribes to the principles and services of School and Student Services for Financial Aid (SSS), which provides us, at the request of parents, financial analysis based on the confidential statement of need known as the Parents Financial Statement (PFS).SSS reports provide a point of departure for The Lexington School’s Financial Aid Committee, which makes all final decisions on financial aid amounts. An application for financial aid is considered only after admission for the coming year has been decided by the school. SSS processes applications from December through August, but forms should arrive at The Lexington School by January 15th in order to receive priority consideration (current TLS families) and February 1st (new applicants). Promptness in meeting deadlines is vital.
•Family Contribution
The Financial Aid committee tries to meet each family’s demonstrated need as nearly as we can, and we hope to be fair and consistent. Therefore, we expect those who will avail themselves of our assistance to share the effort to extend our resources as widely as possible by contributing as much as they can to their own children’s education. Also for these reasons, non-working spouses are prescribed an income in calculating financial aid. Furthermore, we encourage and utilize parents’ offers of payments beyond amounts calculated within SSS guidelines.
•External Resources
Any financial support that may be available beyond the parents’ own income and assets should be reported on the PFS for consideration by the school. These include resources that might be expected from grandparents or other relatives, church funds, etc. The committee welcomes parents’ explanations for these potential sources of help, and correspondence with the Director of Financial Aid is encouraged. Since we must turn down qualified applicants each year, we wish to take into account every means of stretching our budget to more recipients.
•Divided Families
We consider that any responsibility for educational costs that the school may accept must come after the obligation of the student’s parents, regardless of the legal or personal relationship between them; therefore, before making any award, the Financial Aid Committee will consider the resources of both natural parents. If the custodial parent has remarried, we consider also the resources of the step-parent, bearing in mind the obligations of the step-parent to his/her own natural children. A standard PFS is submitted by the custodial parent (and step-parent, if remarried) and by the non-custodial parent (and spouse if remarried). All information will, of course, be held in confidence.
•Confidentiality
Financial information submitted by parents in support of aid applications is held in confidence by the Financial Aid Committee and is retained on file for only a limited time to document possible IRS or other regulatory auditing, after which the records are destroyed. Financial aid recipients are not identified at the school except as necessary to evaluate their performance.
SOURCES OF FUNDS
The Lexington School’s general budget is a combination of tuition, endowment, Annual Fund, and Celebration dollars, all of which combine to create an overall school program. For example, the athletic program of The Lexington School is one of the many programs that are funded from the general budget. Science is another. Faculty pay and benefits come from the general coffer as well. Financial aid exists as a program of the school and is funded in the same way any other program of the school is funded, through the general budget.
2010-2011
FINANCIAL AID PROGRAM
Students receiving financial aid…………………………………88
Percent of student body receiving aid…………………………17%
The Lexington School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, scholarship, and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
In December, Parents Financial Statements are mailed from The Lexington School Financial Aid office to the families of: returning students currently receiving financial aid; new students who have indicated a request for financial aid on the application for admission; others upon request.
•Requirements for first round consideration:
- February 1st for new applicants: Complete PFS, including all information, most recent IRS Federal Form 1040 and current W-2.
- By January 15th for current families, apply online at www.sss@nais.org or mail original PFS to the address on application. Send copy to TLS.
- By Feb. 1st, mail or fax to SSS: your most recent signed copy (2009) IRS Federal Form 1040 (unless we already have it on file), and by February 1st your (2010) W-2 Wage and Tax Statements for all working members of the family.
- Fax or send all 2010 IRS Federal Form 1040 to SSS by April 15.
Note: Even if your (2010) tax return cannot be completed by January 15th, the PFS must be received by that date to insure preliminary consideration among the first group of grants. Final action will not be taken, however, until the entire application procedure, including receipt of tax forms, has been completed.
•Financial Aid Calendar
November 1
Applicants are able to apply online at www.sss@nais.org.
January 15
For priority candidates (current families), completed PFS to SSS (copy to TLS).
February 1st
Copy of 2010 W-2 to Admission Office.
February 1
New families deadline for above materials.
April 15
Photocopy of Federal tax return (2010) to SSS.
•Late Applications
Funds sometimes remain or become available after the initial grants have been offered. Families whose applications for admission have been initiated too late for completion of the financial aid application on schedule are encouraged to proceed, although our resources cannot be guaranteed and amounts awarded at this time may be reduced.