FINANCIAL AID GUIDELINES
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PHILOSOPHY Newark Academy (NA) recognizes that the cost of an independent school education represents a significant investment for any family. NA is committed to ensuring that the school remains accessible and affordable to families across New Jersey. NA contributes more than $5 million towards need-based financial aid each year with 20% of our student body receiving financial aid annually. The Financial Aid program at Newark Academy supports the mission of the school by attracting and supporting an engaged student body instilled with a passion for learning, a standard of excellence, and a generosity of spirit. To achieve that end, NA is committed to providing financial aid to admitted students whose families demonstrate some level of financial need.
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FINANCIAL AID AT NA Need-Based Financial Aid All financial aid at Newark Academy is need-based. NA does not offer merit-based scholarships. Need is defined as the difference between the cost of attendance and the family’s ability to pay, which is calculated through Clarity, a third-party provider. All completed applications submitted to Clarity are reviewed by Newark Academy’s Financial Aid Committee. Decisions are communicated to families in the spring of each year for the coming school year. Clarity takes into account a number of criteria in determining a family’s ability to pay including income, assets, debt, living expenses, the number of dependents, the age of the parents, and the number of children in tuition-charging schools. For this reason, there is no stated maximum income above which a family does not qualify for financial aid, and awards may change from year to year if or as a family’s financial situation changes as well.
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The admission process is separate from the financial aid process; there are times when “need-aware” admission decisions must be made as the Admission Committee’s decisions are weighed against available financial aid funds. Families who do not apply for financial aid during their child’s admission process will not be considered for financial aid in future years unless they demonstrate a significant change in financial circumstances and complete a FA application for that school year.
Reconsideration Process Once financial aid awards have been distributed, a family has the right to ask the Committee to reconsider the amount awarded if they have new or additional information that they believe would have a significant impact on the Financial Aid Committee’s decision.
Annual Financial Aid Application Process Newark Academy requires that the Clarity financial aid application is submitted annually for all families requesting consideration for need-based financial aid. All applicants must provide all supporting documents directly to Clarity by the stated deadlines. Financial aid applications received after the deadline may not be considered. Completed applications are reviewed by the Financial Aid Committee. Awards are granted in the spring and are for one year only.
Reconsideration requests should be initiated by sending an email to financialaid@newarka.edu within two weeks of the financial aid decisions being communicated, unless there are extenuating circumstances throughout the course of the school year. Families will be required to complete a reconsideration form and provide additional supporting documentation as necessary. The Financial Aid Committee will complete a second review once materials have been received and decisions will be communicated to families by the Committee within approximately two weeks.
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FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES Divorced Families, Separated Families, Unmarried Parents Unless a parent is deceased, the Financial Aid Committee expects that both biological parents contribute to a student’s educational expenses. Therefore, financial information is requested from both biological parents. An award may not be granted if data from only one biological parent is provided. If one parent is not in contact with the student and has no role in the student’s life, NA will request the custodial parent complete a waiver as part of the financial aid application and awarding process. If a biological parent does not complete the financial aid process, they will not be given access to or receive any information from Newark Academy about their child.
Remarried Parents The income and assets of stepparents will be taken into consideration when determining a student’s financial aid grant. The Financial Aid Committee
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also takes into consideration the stepparent’s financial obligation to his, her, or their own biological children.
Non-Working Parent The Financial Aid Committee will impute wages of $30,000 annually for any non-working parent who has a child over the age of five. Consideration is made in the case of extenuating circumstances, for example, if the non-working spouse is responsible for a special needs child and/or elderly parent(s). All extenuating circumstances must be documented, in writing, at the time of application.
Privacy and Security Information provided to the Financial Aid Committee either through the Clarity application or other communication methods is kept secure. Access to Clarity data is only available to the Financial Aid Committee. Details of a family’s financial picture are only shared with other Newark Academy employees if they are relevant and necessary to providing the best possible support for a student.
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COSTS TO ATTEND
FINANCIAL AID ALLOWANCE
Ensuring that Newark Academy remains accessible and affordable to families remains an institutional priority, and we recognize that the cost to attend NA goes beyond just tuition. As such, NA provides proportional aid on all required items, including lunch and technology fees, transportation, books, Immersion and Capstone experiences. Newark Academy has also made the monitoring and limiting of costs for non-required items an important institutional priority. The school’s budget has been expanded in order to absorb incidental costs traditionally borne by families, such as entrance fees at school-wide events, and has reduced the number of fundraising efforts done by school groups. In our ongoing effort to increase transparency about costs to attend, please find an overview of potential annual incidental costs within the chart on page 10.
While Newark Academy strives to minimize incidental costs, NA has set aside funds to help families receiving financial aid with incidental expenses. Each student receiving financial aid is provided an allowance from NA’s discretionary budget. Allowances are calculated individually based on the student’s financial aid grant for the current academic year and relative to all other recipients and the total Financial Aid discretionary budget. The Office of Financial Aid will communicate the amount of the student’s discretionary aid allowance at the start of each school year. The Office of Financial Aid will work directly with the Business Office to apply financial aid to incidental charges.
SCHOOL YEAR ABROAD All Upper School students at Newark Academy interested in School Year Abroad (SYA) should apply through the Upper School Office. The Upper School Office will oversee the internal selection process for applying to SYA. Students who are approved to apply for a SYA program (semester or full year) and are seeking financial aid should apply for financial aid through SYA as well as complete NA’s financial aid application process. If the student qualifies for need-based financial aid f rom Newark Academy, as determined by Clarity, the amount of financial aid awarded will be prorated to reflect the student’s enrollment at NA for the given school year. For example, if the student is attending a SYA semester program, the financial aid award will be halved to reflect the half year/one semester enrollment at NA.
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DIVISION
REQUIRED/ OPTIONAL
APPROXIMATE COST
AP and IB Fees
US
Required
$99-$127 per exam
Proportional aid provided
Books
All
Required
$200-$700
Proportional aid provided
Capstone
MS
Required
$650 per attendee
Proportional aid provided
Immersion Experience
US
Required
Senior Fee
US
Required
$395
Proportional aid provided
US
Required
$115 per sport
Proportional aid provided
US
Optional
US
Optional
ITEM
Athletic Team Gear Web Stores Athletic Pre-season Training and Off-site Trips
Athletic Dinners 10
$2,400-$4,500 (one-time expense)
$500-$2,000 per trip
$50 per person
FINANCIAL AID OR SUPPORT AVAILABLE
Proportional aid provided
Proportional aid provided
Families receiving financial aid can utilize their allowance to offset costs.
ITEM
Music Lessons
Summer Programs
DIVISION
REQUIRED/ OPTIONAL
All
Optional
All
Optional
APPROXIMATE COST
$700 (for 10 sessions)
$575-$2,250 per course
FINANCIAL AID OR SUPPORT AVAILABLE
Families receiving financial aid can utilize their allowance to offset costs. Proportional aid provided up to $1,000 for academic and arts programs. Please email financialaid@ newarka.edu for information on how to receive aid. Proportional aid provided. Fees, schedules and routes are determined solely by the transportation company. Proportional aid will be net of the
Transportation
All
Optional
$6,750-$7,825
transportation reimbursement provided by your resident school district if your district is not providing your child with free transportation to Newark Academy. Families receiving financial aid can utilize their allowance to offset costs. In the event tutoring is
Tutoring
US
Optional
$100-$160
initiated by the Divisional Principal, additional
per hour
funds may be available, but tutoring and funding will be re-evaluated after five one-hour sessions. 11
91 South Orange Avenue • Livingston, NJ 07039 • 973.992.7000 financialaid@newarka.edu • www.newarka.edu