2010-2011
Guide to Financial Aid at Sant Bani School

Introduction:
As our Mission Statement says, the Sant Bani School was founded on and continues to be committed to the twin principles of a reverence for life and service to all as the ends of knowledge. The school community—faculty, parents, and students—brings these ideals into daily life. It admits into its community students who have the potential to become “strong students” and who can contribute positively to the community. Admission is not based on gender, socio-economic status, ethnic background or religious creed. The School seeks to serve students from all socio-economic groups and to provide levels of scholarship aid which will maintain a community representing these different groups.

Qualifying for Financial Aid:
All financial aid is awarded based on need. Need is determined using the report generated by the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) and reviewing the required tax documents. There is no minimum required to apply for aid, and no maximum which prevents aid. Each family’s application is considered individually.

The Financial Aid Award:
The Sant Bani School, believes that every family should contribute some portion of the tuition and fees for each year, and thus a minimum amount of $500 per family is mandatory. Aid awards are reviewed each year, and a new application, along with updated tax forms, must be completed for each year that a family wishes to receive financial aid.

Admission Decisions and Financial Aid Awards:
The Sant Bani School has adopted a need-blind admission policy: admissions decisions are made without regard to a family’s ability to pay tuition. We feel that students should be judged for admission on their record and personal characteristics alone, not their family’s ability to pay. Provided that all required financial aid materials have been submitted to Sant Bani on time, a financial aid offer and an admission decision will be delivered at the same time. A family will not be required to make an enrollment decision without knowledge of a financial aid award.

Other Sources of Funding:
In addition to need-based financial aid offered by the School there are a number of companies that offer loans specifically for private primary and secondary educations. To view a list of these companies, please visit www.nais.org and look under the tab for Admission and Financial Aid and then Financial Aid Facts for Parents and then Tuition Payment Plans and Tuition Loan Programs.

Applying for Financial Aid
A new application for financial aid must be filed in a timely manner each year along with the required tax documents. To do so, each parent must complete the following steps:

Step 1. Complete and submit the Parent Financial Statement (PFS) online, along with payment of the processing fee, to the School and Student service for Financial Aid (SSS) at www.nais.org/financialaid/sss. Paper forms are available at the School if you need them. Be sure to request that the Sant Bani School receive a copy of the PFS by entering school code #7125 when completing the PFS form. Fee waivers are available if you qualify.

Step 2. SSS will send us a report based on the information that you provide in the PFS. This report serves as a starting point in our analysis of a possible financial aid award; Sant Bani will make adjustments based on our own policies and analysis. We encourage you to attach a personal statement if you feel we need additional information not addressed by the PFS.

Step 3. Submit required tax documents before the financial aid application deadline (see below for required documents and deadlines). If all materials are not received by the deadline, the award decision will be delayed which may negatively impact the ultimate financial aid decision..

Step 4. If at all possible, the School will make financial aid awards to families at the time financial contracts are sent to current families and admission offers are made to new families. Families need to accept or decline the award within applicable deadlines as stated in the letter which accompany all offers. If a family wishes to appeal a financial aid decision, an appeal must be made in writing to the Financial Aid Committee within 5 days of receiving award notification.

Special Circumstances
Non-working parents: It is School policy to expect that both parents will work to contribute financially to a Sant Bani School education. Exceptions to this may include: families with children too young to attend school; families caring for severely ill parents or children; or families with other exceptional circumstances that would prevent a parent from working. If such a circumstance exists, please be sure to include that in the optional personal statement. If both parents are not working and no special circumstances exist, the income information provided through SSS will be adjusted to reflect an income for the non-working parent.

Non-traditional families: This may include parents who have divorced, separated, were never married, or other non-traditional families. It is the School’s expectation that financial aid forms will be filed by both parents regardless of family circumstances. Further the School expects that all adults living in the household with a student will contribute to the education of the child.

Financial Aid Checklist

In order for your application for financial aid to be considered complete you must submit each of the following items to the Sant Bani School within the deadlines specified:

SSS Family Statement
The form is available online from www.nais.org or in paper form from Sant Bani. You must request that the report be sent to the Sant Bani School (our school code is 7125).
(by March 01, 2010)

Copy of your most recent 1040 Federal Tax Return which was filed with the Internal Revenue Service
(by April 15, 2010)

Copies of All Applicable IRS schedules and forms, your most recent, filed with the Internal Revenue Service
(by April 15, 2010)

W-2 Forms
your most recent

Personal Statement (optional)
You may write a brief statement to the Financial Aid Committee explaining any family or financial circumstances that you feel need elaboration beyond the requested forms.

Minor Revision: 8/26/2010 jm