Emerson Waldorf School is firmly committed to the principle that economic and financial considerations should not determine who can or cannot attain a Waldorf education. In order to implement this commitment and make the school accessible to children of all economic backgrounds, the school offers two separate but complementary programs.
EWS Tuition Adjustment
Our Tuition Adjustment (T.A.) Program is administered by EWS with support from TADS (Tuition Aid Data Service) and offers tuition adjustments based on need. All T.A. requests are considered separately from the admissions process. Admissions decisions are made without regard to the financial circumstances of a candidate’s family. It is important to note that in order to meet the school’s needs a minimum annual tuition is required of all families, as well as a facilities maintenance fee (new students), music, tutoring, After School fees, etc. The application for Tuition Adjustment is online:
After the TA application is received and processed, a process that can take from 2-4 weeks, depending on the time of year, the applicant will receive a letter explaining the results of the analysis and outlining the next steps in the process.
Families newly applying to EWS should speak to the Admissions Director for advice on when to apply for TA and what steps are involved. For re-enrolling families, click here for a complete explanation and checklist for the most current re-enrollment cycle.
Loans for Tuition
EWS participates in a Tuition Loan Program that is administered by Sallie Mae, which offers K-12 Family Education Loans for any family paying for their child’s private K-12 education. The Tuition Loan program can supplement participation in the TA program or it can stand on its own as a way of financing or partially financing your child’s education at EWS. Please click here for more information and to apply. Apply for this loan AFTER you have a completed full contract with EWS for next year. Several EWS families have helped finance their child’s EWS education through this program already.
Other Programs
There are several ways to help pay for your child’s private school education. Loans, grants and scholarships are available to families. Of the three types, loans are probably the most accessible, but require that the applicant and/or a cosigner have good enough credit to secure a loan. Grants and scholarships are many and varied, and offer a variety of eligibility requirements to fulfill and award levels. They need to be researched by the individual who might qualify in order to find the one(s) that might work. The web is a good source of information to plumb. We hope this information is helpful to you as you strive to provide a quality Waldorf education for your child.
Citibank’s CitiAssist® K-12 Loan can assist you in paying for your child’s private school education and provide cost-saving benefits. The web is a rich source of loan information. Websites such as PrivateStudentLoans.com, among others, help families search online for loans for which they might qualify. These loans may assist you in paying for your child’s private school education and provide cost-saving benefits.
Foundation Grants to Individuals Online is an online database of more than 6,500 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grant seekers. Low monthly, three-month, and yearly subscription rates. Foundation Grants to Individuals, is a book published by the Foundation Center that features over 6,200 entries packed with current information on foundations that award grants directly to individuals.
This includes information on foundations that award funds for: educational support (scholarships, fellowships, loans), general welfare, arts and cultural support, awards, prizes, and grants by nomination, international applications, company employees, education, general welfare, students and graduates of specific schools, research, professional support. It is available FREE for perusal at the Chapel Hill and Durham County Public Libraries. The Chapel Hill library also has the previous edition available for check out.
PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
Private scholarship programs provide low-income children with the same educational opportunities that wealthier families enjoy by paying a portion of the tuition for a child to attend a private scholarship school. To qualify, the applicant usually needs to be from a family that qualifies for the federal free-or reduced-price lunch program, living in the district which the program has been set up to serve–please search the web for further information or for new programs that are founded.
Various corporations and non-profits have scholarships or prizes they offer for different types of achievement or performance. Please search the web for such programs.