Purpose of Financial Aid
The primary purpose of financial aid shall be to provide financial assistance to parents or guardians of children who have been accepted to the school, and who would not be able to attend without such financial aid. Financial Aid is used to support and implement Woodstock Day School's commitment to serve academically qualified young people from all segments of the community.

Criteria for Financial Aid
All awards will be based on demonstrated financial need as evidenced by the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) and submitted tax information. Financial aid will be awarded in the following order of priorities:
  1. currently enrolled WDS students
  2. already accepted new applicants applying for aid
Following these criteria, awards are granted to families with a completed application on a first come, first served basis. Financial Aid awards are available to qualifying students in grades Kindergarten - High School.

Amount of Financial Aid
It is the goal of the school to achieve a financial aid budget that is at least 12% of the school's tuition revenue. Awards typically range from 5-50% of the tuition in order to accommodate as many families as possible; however, Woodstock Day School is committed to assisting families in need without rendering the school inoperable.

Financial Aid Committee
There will be a standing committee called the Financial Aid Committee made up of the Business Manager, Admissions Director, Head of School and one or two Woodstock Day School community board members (community board members do not have children in the school). The purpose of the committee is to review all financial aid applications carefully with assistance being provided if "need" is clearly demonstrated according to our guidelines. The amount of an award is based on the relative "neediness" of a family in the context of the entire pool of applicants, as well as the date of application.

This committee shall operate according to the school's policy and annually review and approve all financial aid awards. The Financial Aid Committee will review and revise WDS' policies and procedures annually.

All information considered by the financial aid committee shall be kept confidential.

Application and Award Procedure
Parents must indicate that they are interested in applying for financial aid by checking the appropriate box on the application form. Returning students currently receiving aid are automatically sent forms. Current students requesting aid for the first time should request forms directly from the Admissions Office.

At the beginning of January, the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) is mailed to all families who have indicated they wish to apply for financial aid. You can also fill out the form online at www.nais.org/financialaid/sss or request one from the school.

Parents must file the PFS with the SSS in Princeton, NJ, by February 1. A copy of the family's IRS 1040 is due to the WDS Admissions Office by April 18th. If that return is not yet available, we require the prior year's 1040.

Awards are considered and granted May 1st. Appeals must be received by May 10th. On May 15th the Committee will review appeal requests. FINANCIAL AID AWARDS ARE NOT CONSIDERED IF ALL THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED.

The financial aid committee will consider all pertinent information made available to it and make an award that is within the financial aid budget and that follows, as far as possible, the SSS recommendations. The information submitted to the committee shall be kept confidential and will consist only of that information pertinent to the award decision. Only the financial aid committee will know the applicant's identity.

Awards are mailed to families as applications are processed. Parents are encouraged to call the Admissions Director if they have questions or wish to discuss concerns.

All grants are for one year and must be reapplied for each year, following the above procedures.

Financial aid students will not be held to different standards than the rest of the student body.

PFS form
The Parent's Financial Statement (PFS) should be mailed directly to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS). A processing fee must be included, payable to School and Student Service for Financial Aid. Be sure to answer all questions on the PFS in full; incomplete forms will be returned to you and will delay the review of your application. Financial aid awards cannot be granted unless Woodstock Day School receives all of its required paperwork.

Request that SSS send Woodstock Day School (code 8313) a copy of the Report of Parental Contribution (RPC) and keep a copy of the PFS you send for your own records. Note: if you would like to receive a copy of the RPC from SSS, you must enter "Family Report" and the SSS code number 9000 under question 7A; there is an additional fee for this service.

Divorced and Separated Families
The school will not be bound by any divorce agreement specifying a parent's responsibility for educational expenses since it was not a party to the agreement nor represented at the hearing.

Appeal Process
Families who wish to formally appeal a financial aid decision should do so to the Financial Aid Committee who will then review the case.

Head's Discretion
The Head of School is NOT empowered to grant Financial Aid. All requests for Financial Aid MUST go through the procedures outlined above.

Obtaining a Financial Aid Application
Any family interested in pursuing financial aid should complete a Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS). You can fill out the form online at www.nais.org/financialaid/sss or request one from the school.