| Frequently
Asked Financial Aid Questions
What
types of tuition aid does Lakeside offer?
A
tuition grant is an award from the school that does not need to be repaid.
It is the most common form of tuition aid at Lakeside and, like all
financial aid we award, it is based on a family's economic need. We
do not offer merit or no-need scholarships. Some need-based grants,
however, are named for their donors who have contributed substantially
to the financial aid endowment, supporting each year's financial aid
fund through the interest earned on their gifts to the school.
Financial
aid awards may also include loans. The loan portion is repaid to the
school and is interest-free while your student is enrolled at Lakeside.
For four years after graduation or departure, interest accrues at 8%
per year, and will be billed quarterly. At the end of this period, families
have another four years to repay the loan in regular installments. They
may also choose to pay the entire loan amount soon after graduation
or departure without penalty to avoid accrual of interest. In general,
families receiving large grants do not receive loans.
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Is
help available with costs beyond tuition?
Each
family receiving tuition aid also receives a separate stipend to help
with non-tuition expenses such as books and supplies, class fees, and
activities. Stipends range depending on grade level, and are based on
the actual expenditures families may expect to encounter. Families receiving
the largest tuition grants may qualify for financial help with meal
costs and bus passes, as well.
In addition, assistance with the cost of a laptop computer required
for students entering grades 7-12 is provided on a sliding scale consistent
with each family's tuition aid.
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How
is financial aid determined?
We
use the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) designed by the School and
Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) to help us determine your family
contribution to educational expenses. You complete the financial aid
application and mail it to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for initial processing.
Lakeside's associate director of financial aid then uses the results,
along with a copy of your completed tax return and W-2's, business and
other required documentation when appropriate, as a guide in allocating
your student's aid.
To help offset the high cost of living in the Seattle area, Lakeside
uses a geographical cost-of-living adjustment, which reflects this area's
generally higher housing and other living costs. This reduces the expected
family contribution toward educational expenses. Lakeside's financial
aid policies combine with the initial determination from SSS in the
construction of financial aid offers. We attempt to meet a family's
full need.
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Are
decisions regarding admission and financial aid related?
Lakeside
's Admissions Committee reviews all applicants without regard for financial
matters. However, because we have limited financial aid funds, the director
of admissions and financial aid and the associate director of financial
aid must work together in the process to determine how many new students
requiring financial aid can be accepted within the limits of the financial
aid budget.
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Why
do you need to know in advance if I am applying for financial aid?
While
we are proud of the size and scope of our financial aid program, our
funds are not without limits and we must be able to budget for the needs
of students we wish to accept when admissions decisions are being finalized.
Thus, we must assume that parents/guardians who are applying for admission
to the school have carefully evaluated their own capacity to pay tuition,
have determined whether they will need financial assistance to enroll
their student if admitted, and have applied for aid at the appropriate
time. Unless there have been substantial changes in a family's financial
circumstances, a family who applies for financial assistance only after
their student has been accepted will be ineligible for aid that year.
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What
deadlines do I need to be aware of?
Plan
to send your completed Parents’ Financial Statement to the School and
Student Service for Financial Aid by February 7, 2008. Be sure that
you make a copy of it to send to Lakeside along with your 2007 income
tax return, W-2s, and business documentation, if any. If we accept your
child and receive the paperwork necessary for allocation of aid, the
financial aid decision will be mailed along with the acceptance packet.
If you submit your form after mid-February, other paperwork is missing,
or specific questions remain unanswered, our response to your request
for aid may be delayed.
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Must
I apply for aid again the following year?
We
are committed to helping our enrolled students continue at the school.
Because financial aid is awarded year by year and is based on need,
families must complete a new Parents' Financial Statement each year
and submit tax returns, W-2's, business and other requested documentation
to be considered. Families who qualify for aid generally continue
to receive it throughout their students' years at the school; the awards
simply fluctuate to reflect changes in financial circumstances.
However, large increases in income or assets, or removal of a major
expense, such as a sibling's college or private school tuition, may
greatly affect a family's award. We find that families in these situations
will often decide against continuing to apply for aid.
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Does
Lakeside provide financial aid to international students?
We
do provide financial aid to eligible accepted students born outside
of the United States whose parents are citizens or legal residents of
this country. We are unable to offer aid to students whose parents are
neither citizens nor in possession of documentation verifying legal
residency (often referred to as a “green card”).
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What
about my children in other tuition-charging schools?
We
assume that a family applying for aid from Lakeside will apply for financial
aid from all tuition-charging institutions their other students may
be attending. This is because the family contribution for education,
as determined by the SSS and reviewed by Lakeside , must be divided
among them, and we look to see that you are giving other institutions
the same opportunity to support your family with aid that you are giving
us. If the other schools also use the SSS to help award aid, you need
complete only one Parents' Financial Statement per instructions on the
form. If a school does not have a financial aid program, please note
that on your Parents' Financial Statement.
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Must
both parents be employed to receive financial aid?
In
general, yes, because we believe that parents/guardians bear the primary
responsibility for funding their students' education to the extent they
are able, and full employment is part of that responsibility. We also
realize that for various reasons it may be impossible, or very difficult,
for both parents/guardians to work outside the home, and we encourage
parents/guardians to explain their specific situation to the associate
director of financial aid. If we are not able to waive our employment
expectation, we impute income to represent wages that could reasonably
be earned if both parents/guardians were working outside the home.
With regard to young children, a parent/guardian who is the major caregiver
for a child under the age of three is not expected to hold a job outside
the home. When the child turns three and is eligible for pre-school,
we do assume that the caregiver will undertake part-time work and that
it will continue until the end of the child's kindergarten year. When
the young child enters first grade, we expect the caregiver to undertake
a full-time job.
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What
if I enroll in graduate school?
We assume that a parent who is enrolled in graduate school will continue
to earn income and has arranged to fund his or her education without
depending heavily on family resources.
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Can
you help if my family experiences a major financial emergency?
Because Lakeside is committed to addressing the need for financial assistance
as an obstacle to reenrollment, as well as to admission, we will do
our best to help. Naturally, we assume that parents who are recovering
from a job loss, business failure, or other major financial dislocation
that has compelled them to request financial assistance or additional
aid, are also actively addressing their own situation in various ways.
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What
if I am divorced or no longer living with my child’s other parent?
We
expect the other parent to be part of your application for financial
aid. If his or her mailing information does not appear on the application
for admission, we will request it from you. We will then ask your former
partner to complete a financial statement to provide a realistic picture
of total family resources. We are also aware that circumstances differ
widely among separated or divorced parents and urge you to contact the
associate director of financial aid if you have questions.
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What
if I remarry or establish a permanent relationship with another adult?
The
addition of another adult into a household can change its financial
picture. In the school's view, your combined resources and expenses,
including those for education, are family resources and expenses. We
will ask you to complete the Parents' Financial Statement together,
providing information pertinent to the new family unit, and to submit
appropriate tax and other documentation. At the same time we realize
that a change of this sort can be emotionally difficult and we wish
to be sensitive.
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Is
it possible to appeal Lakeside’s financial aid decision?
Yes.
What is needed is new information in writing. If you believe that you
have omitted or not adequately clarified specific financial information,
mention this first in your appeal for reconsideration. It often helps
to include copies of recent pay-stubs from earners, a detailed list
of family monthly expenses, or other specific and telling documentation
that will allow the Financial Aid Committee to understand your situation
more completely.
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Are
payment plans available if I don’t qualify for financial aid?
Yes.
Parents/guardians who are paying full tuition may decide to make one
annual payment, or two, three, or ten equal payments – all without extra
charge. Those selecting the ten-payment plan begin paying tuition for
each new school year the previous May. All parents/guardians of students
receiving financial assistance pay tuition on the ten-month plan.
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