What criteria does High Meadow School (HMS) use to allocate financial aid grants?
Four factors determine financial aid grant allocation:
1. Self-reported income and asset holdings. HMS classifies families with the following financial resources into the following need tiers. In the fall of 2024, the school raised the caps of these tiers to be more inclusive of our area’s cost of living and the resources of our families:
Highest Need: Family Resources assessed by FACTS to be under $99,500 (previously under $89,500)
High Need: Family Resources assessed between $99,501-$125,000 (previous range from $89,501-$110,000)
Moderate Need: Family Resources assessed between $125,001-$150,000) (previous range from $110,001-$130,000)
Low Need: Family Resources assessed between $150,001-$175,000 (previous range from $130,001-$150,000)
No Qualifying Need: Family Resources assessed above $175,000 (previously above $150,001)
What are Total Family Resources?
Total Family Resources are determined by adding together the applicant’s Adjusted Taxable Income, Nontaxable Income, and Contribution From Assets. These resources are the total dollar amount the family has available to them before considering any expenses.
2. Self-reported additional circumstances that may weigh on a family’s financial picture, such as having multiple children, temporary unemployment, medical expenses, relocation expenses, support of adult dependents, etc. These factors may reclassify families into a different need tier.
3. Access to additional resources to pay tuition, such as a family trust, 529 plan, or another family contributor who provides tuition assistance.
4. The ability to meet the enrollment goals and areas of growth for the school, including:
Ensuring access to our school’s program for students from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds whose identities may make them part of a protected class via race, skin color, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexuality, disability, or national origin.
Filling seats to meet a critical area of need in one grade, such as a need based on the number of available seats, building enrollment to form a critical mass of students based on specific identity markers such as gender or race, etc.