Tuition & Financial Aid

The Rivers School seeks to enroll a diverse student body including families of varying socio-economic backgrounds. No applicant should be deterred from applying for admission due to financial constraints. As such, we are committed to a financial aid program that makes a Rivers education available to qualified applicants in addition to offering a monthly payment plan and financing options.
 
Tuition may be paid in two payments by June 15 and December 1. Tuition refund insurance is recommended for all families. 

A flexible, monthly payment plan is available through Smart Tuition.

Two third-party lenders that we know of offer educational loans to families at reasonable interest rates. These programs are Sallie Mae K-12 Family Education Loan Plan, and Your Tuition Solution.

All financial aid is need-based; The Rivers School does not offer any merit scholarships.  For the current academic year, Rivers has awarded more than $5.2 million in need-based financial aid. Historically, awards have ranged from $1,000 through nearly the full cost of tuition.  Please note that financial need is not taken into consideration when determining whether or not a candidate will be admitted to the school. Admission and financial aid are two separate processes.

Candidates are evaluated for financial aid based on demonstrated need as evidenced through the nationally standardized system for analysis offered by School and Student Services (SSS). Although this review is very complete and takes into consideration many factors, including income, certain expenses, assets, allowable debt, family size and the number of children attending tuition charging schools and colleges, some families have special circumstances that they wish to report. In such a case, please be sure to indicate your concerns in the Additional Comments section of the Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS), or contact the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Rivers does expect families to consider and utilize all available resources, including family income, assets, student summer jobs, etc.

Our Financial Aid application deadline is January 15th. To be considered for financial assistance, it is very important that you complete your application and submit all documentation by our deadline. To apply for financial aid, families must do the following:

•Download and read our Financial Aid Policies and comply with our Financial Aid Procedures. Both are available on this page. 

•Complete a Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS) through SSS by January 15th. The PFS for the 2021-2022 academic year will be available on October 2nd, 2020. A separate PFS must be completed by each parent if divorced or separated and filing separate tax returns.

•Upload appropriate tax documentation to SSS by January 15th.

In addition to the PFS, the SSS Family Portal offers a PFS Online Workbook, Family Guide to Financial Aid, Spanish-version PFS worksheet and helpful hints to assist you. If at any time you have any questions about financial aid or the financial aid application process, please be sure to call the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at (339) 686-2253 or contact Gillian Lloyd, Director of Financial Aid at g.lloyd@rivers.org or Anne Tuomey, Associate Director of Financial Aid at a.tuomey@rivers.org.