Admissions
Tuition and Financial Assistance

Financial Assistance Questions

We have gathered responses to questions commonly asked by families considering Shore Country Day School. To learn more, please click on the questions that interest you or reach out to us directly. Or, check our At-a-Glance page for essential information about Dress Code, bus routes, and more.

Financial Assistance Questions

List of 17 frequently asked questions.

  • How and when do I complete financial assistance application forms?

    Families interested in financial assistance should indicate their interest on their initial admissions application or by phone/e-mail to the Admissions Office. In addition to this initial indication, families will need to fill out the Clarity application. New families must apply for financial assistance by February 1, and returning families by January 1. A current family who is applying for financial assistance for the first time must complete the Clarity application by January 1. 

  • What portion of the student body receives financial assistance?

    20% of Shore’s student body receives financial assistance in any given year.

  • How much assistance is awarded to students each year?

    Shore awarded approximately $1,570,000 in financial aid for the 2026-2027 school year.

  • What is Shore’s tuition?

    Please see this page for Shore’s comprehensive tuition.

  • Are financial assistance awards based on financial need or on scholarship merit?

    Budgetary limitations require that all Shore financial assistance awards be based upon financial need and reviewed annually with regard to appropriate academic effort and good citizenship. The school is not able to make awards solely on the basis of academic or personal talent.

  • When will we be notified of our financial assistance decision?

    Financial assistance decisions are communicated at the same time as the admissions decision. For financial assistance candidates who are placed on a waiting list for enrollment, financial assistance information is communicated at the time that a space for enrollment becomes available. Currently enrolled students receive news of financial assistance awards at the time the re-enrollment contract is posted to their MyShore accounts, which is typically mid-February.

  • Are there helpful hints for completing the financial assistance form?

    Check and double-check the numbers! Make sure they are accurate, and you didn’t accidentally add an extra number where you shouldn’t have. Make sure you submit the application by the deadline.  Any application received after the deadline will be considered late and may be reviewed after the applications that were submitted on time. 

    Finally, take a look at these helpful resources by Clarity:

  • Will applying for aid impact the school’s admission decision for my child?

    Shore’s admissions decisions are made by a committee of educators and administrators without knowledge of a family’s financial status. Financial assistance grants are determined by a separate committee. Because there are limited resources, the school may have to make difficult decisions about the number of financial assistance applicants who can be admitted within the limits of the budget. Shore maintains a waitlist from which it admits students as funds and/or space become available.

  • What are Shore’s financial assistance policies?

    We hold to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) guiding principle that the responsibility of financing a private education rests primarily with the student’s family. Since it is an expectation that both parents will finance their children’s education to the extent that they are able, in the case of divorced or separated parents, both natural parents are required to complete financial assistance applications. The income and assets of both parents are taken into consideration. If either parent has remarried, we will also take into consideration the spouse’s contributions to the household along with any obligations to his or her own children. All individual financial information is held in the strictest confidence.

  • What happens if I apply for assistance but don’t qualify?

    Students are considered for admission to Shore regardless of financial circumstances. Whether or not a student's family applies or qualifies for assistance and whether or not Shore is in a budgetary position to meet financial need has no bearing on the Admissions Committee’s consideration of candidates for available spaces.

  • If we do not receive assistance in our first year at Shore, is it possible to receive assistance in future years?

    A full Shore education can span for up to eleven years. Shore is strongly committed to the continuation of its students’ enrollment. We understand that a family’s financial profile may change over time. Families facing unexpected financial need are encouraged to engage in the financial assistance process and to promptly contact Shore’s Chief Financial Officer.

  • How are calculations made, and what may the contribution be?

    Shore uses the Clarity application, which a family completes with detailed financial information. Clarity supplies Shore with data concerning the family’s ability to contribute to their child’s education. The computation is based on a formula nationally accepted by independent schools and is based upon income and family expenses, assets and liabilities, family size, parents’ ages, cost of living, and the number of children for whom a family must pay tuition.
     
    Shore’s Financial Assistance Committee then reviews this information, combines it with tax and any explanatory material you have provided, and formulates an individual calculation of funds that a family can contribute toward tuition. 
     
    The amount of a financial assistance award is designed to bridge the gap between a family’s contribution and Shore’s tuition, based on demonstrated need. Since there are a number of other factors that influence what a family is asked to contribute, including assets, debts, size of family, and tuition at other schools, each application for financial assistance is unique and is considered as such.

  • Do we have to apply for assistance every year and can we count on assistance continuing in subsequent years?

    Yes, all financial assistance families, whether currently enrolled students or candidates for admission, must file a new application each year. Unless there is a significant change in demonstrated need, however, a family may expect to have their assistance renewed at approximately the same level of funding as in previous years.

  • Where does financial assistance funding come from?

    In fact, all of Shore’s students benefit from a form of financial assistance, as actual tuition covers 86% of the cost of educating a student each year. The school’s Annual Fund, parent fundraisers, and endowment income all combine to make up the balance. The school’s operating budget provides 97% of the financial assistance funding. The school’s endowment generates 3% of the financial assistance funding, and new resources are constantly sought to meet the needs of the qualified students we strive to enroll.

  • What if my tax return is filed late?

    Send your most recently completed 1040 Tax Return. If your current year return is not yet available, please send a copy of your previous year’s return and forward a copy of the current return as soon as it is completed. All financial assistance awards for the upcoming fall are contingent upon the receipt of the current year return.

  • How do I apply for financial assistance if I am separated or divorced?

    For parents applying for financial assistance who are divorced or separated, each parent is required to submit a separate Clarity application. The School takes into account the uniqueness of each family situation. However, every effort must be made to include both parents in the financial assistance process. Shore requires that both natural parents contribute to the cost of education to the extent of their ability, and its decisions are not bound by legal agreements.

  • Who sees my financial information?

    Every parent’s financial information is held in the strictest confidence. Only members of the Financial Assistance Committee have access to financial assistance forms, and outside of the Admissions, Finance, and Head of School’s offices, there is no general knowledge shared as to which Shore students are recipients of financial assistance.

Shore Country Day School

545 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
(978) 927-1700
Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, scholarships, and loans, and its educational, athletic, and other programs.