Tuition & Financial Aid

2012-13 Tuition and Fees

  • Pre1st -5th        $19,205
  • 6th-12th             $22,270

Tuition and Fees include lunch and academic activity fees for all students. Books typically cost $250-350 for Junior High School (JHS) students and $350-500 for High School (HS) students.

FINANCIAL AID

Westminster is pleased to provide financial aid (FA) to families who qualify for need-based aid. We encourage you to consider applying if you think that tuition payments would create undue burden on your family.

Applying for admission to Westminster for the first time? As you complete the family information portion of the application, please answer "yes" to the question, "Do you plan to apply for financial aid?"   If you didn't reply "yes" to this question as you completed your application for admission, be sure to email us to let us know that you plan to apply for aid for the 2012-13 school year. The instructions and policies are included with the online application in the section with the required materials.  All materials are due to SSS by February 1, 2011.

Specific Instructions:

  • FA instructions are included with the application instructions as you “apply online” for admission.  Follow these instructions to apply online to SSS. 
  • If you forget to answer "yes" regarding your intent to apply for financial aid on your application, financialaid@westminster.net.
  • If you are a current student, our office will send your financial aid application packet to you by email before December 1, 2011. 
  • Financial aid applications are due by February 1, 2012, to qualify for the 2012-13 school year.  Please note that you will need to include your 2011 taxes with your financial aid application package, so early tax return preparation is necessary.
  • If you have more than one child applying for admission to Westminster, you need only complete one financial aid application packet for your family.
  • Both parents, even non-custodial parents, must complete a FA application in order to have a completed package.
  • For new families, provided that your applicant is accepted at Westminster and your Financial Aid Application was completely submitted by February 1, 2012, your family will be notified of the financial aid award with your child's acceptance letter.
  • For returning families, aid awards will be sent in late March.
    If you accept the financial aid decision and decide to attend Westminster, please note that you will need to continue to apply for financial aid each winter if your family continues to need financial assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I express interest in receiving financial aid?

Any parent who is interested in applying for Financial Aid for their child to attend Westminster should indicate on their Online Application that they are interested in applying for financial aid. As our Admissions application process is need-blind, the Admissions Committee will never know who is applying for or is in need of financial aid to attend Westminster. Our office will send instructions and forms for applying for financial aid via email in early January to those who expressed interest in applying for aid. If you expressed interest in applying for aid but do not receive the materials by mid-January, please contact us as we send them to you electronically through email. Completed financial aid application packets are due no later than February 1. Only completed packets will be considered.For specific questions about Financial Aid, please email us at FinancialAid@Westminster.net

How many students currently receive financial aid?

Approximately 12% of our students in grades Pre-first- 12th qualify for Financial Aid.

Does Westminster offer scholarships?

No, as a member of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) and the Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS) Westminster offers need-based financial aid only. Merit based scholarships for athletic, academic or artistic talents are prohibited by those two organizations.

Why does the financial aid application have to be submitted before admissions decisions are made?

We need the financial information before we make the applications decisions because we are running two separate, but parallel processes. These two processes come together when the decision letter for an applicant is being prepared after both the financial aid and admissions committees have met. We must have the data by February 1, 2011 in order to inform your family, if your child as been accepted, how much aid we can offer so your family can make a decision.

I have more than one child. Does that affect how much aid I may be able to receive?

Once a family applies for aid, our analyst performs a calculation to determine how much discretionary income is available in a household to fund school tuition. Our analyst divides a portion of the available discretionary income by the number of children in tuition-based institutions, and then offers financial aid to help the family to meet our tuition bill. To calculate discretionary income, our analyst takes the adjusted gross income, subtracts taxes and a per person income protection allowance (the more children a family has, the more income is protected) for food, clothing, etc., and the leftover amount is the household's discretionary income.

What is the bracket for qualifying for financial aid?

Because the qualification formula for financial aid takes into account income, expenses, family size, the number of children in tuition charging institutions, specific cost of living index and other types of information, it is impossible to give a specific bracket or range. However, a few sample family scenarios are presented below:















Income Number of Family
Members		 Number of children
in family enrolled		 Aid offered per
student
$37,000 4: 2 parents,
2 children		2 $14,360
$74,000 4: 2 parents,
2 children		 2 $15,000
$80,000 3: 2 parents,
1 child		 1$7,100
$94,000 5: 2 parents,
3 children		 3$11,500
$95,000 3: 2 parents,
1 children		 1 $3,400
$103,000 4: 2 parents,
2 children		 2 $8,900
$104,000 3: 2 parents,
1 child		 1 $0
$130,000 4: 2 parents,
2 children		 2 $6,800


As you can see, a specific income is no guarantee of a certain amount of aid; rather, a combination of factors determine the amount of aid for which a family would qualify.