Our admissions process is need-blind because we believe that a Clareborne education should be available to any student who is right for it.
Families making decisions about their child’s education deserve clear information about tuition costs and financial aid. Tuition includes all curricular materials, standard technology, athletics and participation in the advisory program. It does not include optional travel programs, after-school activities, or the senior class trip.
Tuition
Financial aid
If you want to speak with someone directly about your family’s situation before you apply, a member of our admissions office will reach out to you.
How to apply for financial aid
Step 1 — Submit the SSS application
Clareborne uses the School and Student Services (SSS) financial aid application, administered by the National Association of Independent Schools. The application is completed online and requires standard financial documentation: most recent tax returns, W-2s, and a brief family financial statement. The SSS application fee is $60; Clareborne will waive this fee for any family for whom it presents a barrier.
- SSS application opens: November 1
- Priority deadline: January 15
Step 2 — Clareborne reviews your application
Our financial aid team reviews every SSS application independently and calculates a Clareborne aid award based on demonstrated need, family size, and the number of children enrolled at Clareborne simultaneously. Families with more than one enrolled student receive an additional sibling discount applied before the aid calculation.
Step 3 — Receive your award letter
Aid award letters are sent alongside admissions decisions for priority applicants — meaning families know both whether their child has been admitted and what their financial commitment will be before the enrollment deadline. We do this deliberately. Families should not have to commit before they know the number.
- Award letters sent: February 28
- Enrollment decision deadline: March 15
Step 4 — Ask questions
Every family who receives an aid award is invited to a phone call with our Director of Financial Aid to review the award and ask questions. If your circumstances are unusual — a recent job change, a medical expense, a family situation that the SSS form doesn’t capture well — that call is the right place to explain it. We have discretionary funds available for exactly these situations.
Financial aid data
Policy
Need-blind admissions
Clareborne’s admissions decisions are made without knowledge of whether a family has applied for financial aid. The admissions office and the financial aid office operate independently. A student is admitted or not admitted on the basis of fit — not on the basis of a family’s ability to pay.
This policy has been in place since 2012. It is not aspirational language. It is a documented, auditable process, and any family who wishes to understand how it works in practice is welcome to ask our Director of Admissions directly.
Full demonstrated need
For families with household incomes under $75,000, Clareborne meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. For families above that threshold, aid is awarded on a sliding scale calculated using the School and Student Services (SSS) methodology — the same process used by the majority of independent schools in the United States. We use this methodology because it is thorough, well-documented, and familiar to families who may be applying to multiple schools simultaneously.
Aid is renewable
Aid awards are not one-time grants. They renew annually, subject to continued demonstrated need and a straightforward renewal application. Families are not admitted on aid and then quietly priced out in subsequent years. Our retention data reflects this: 94% of aid-receiving families who enroll remain enrolled through their child’s natural graduation from each division.
Aid is available at all grade levels
Families do not have to apply in kindergarten to access aid. Aid applications are accepted at every point of entry — kindergarten, fifth grade, ninth grade, and all grades in between. A family whose financial situation changes mid-enrollment can apply for aid at any time.