Additional Information about Financial Aid at Harrisburg Academy

Harrisburg Academy awards tuition assistance based upon the demonstrated financial need of a household. These grants, which are scholarship funds that do not need to be repaid, are used to offset tuition costs. Harrisburg Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, family status, national origin, sex, or age. For the 2009-10 school year, we distributed a total of over $700,000 in need-based tuition assistance to nearly a quarter of our students.  Financial aid awards ranged from $1,000 to a maximum of $12,000 per student.  The average financial aid award was 50 percent of tuition.  Please note, however, that need-based tuition assistance is not available for students enrolled in the HATS program.  Additionally, the financial aid awards are limited for students enrolled in Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten.

The list of tuition assistance recipients and all materials supplied to the financial aid committee are strictly confidential. We expect families to preserve the integrity of the process by treating all awards confidentially as well. Tuition assistance is available in support of tuition for the academic school year; it does not support after-school care fees or summer camp expenses.

Philosophy and Criteria
The student assistance program at Harrisburg Academy is designed to support well-qualified, deserving students who could not afford to attend the Academy without financial help. Restricted school endowments, foundation grants, special gifts, and other school revenues are the sources of the tuition assistance fund.

The primary responsibility for financing a student's education rests with his or her family; the Academy expects a family's lifestyle to reflect its choice to make education a top priority. In an attempt to be equitable, the financial aid committee must consider choices made by families in evaluation of what is a necessity or what is a luxury.  We employ a uniform methodology to assess each family’s ability to pay. Our “need-blind” admission policy means we do not use financial need as a consideration in determining a student’s eligibility for admission. We re-evaluate a family’s ability to meet educational expenses every year; however, once we award financial aid, we fund a student until graduation from the Academy as long as the demonstrated need for financial aid continues to exist.

Special Circumstances
We believe that in a two-parent household, both parents should earn an income once all children are in a full-day school program, unless there are extenuating circumstances. When this is not the case, the Financial Aid Committee will determine an award with an income of not less than $15,200 for the non-working parent.

Divorced, separated, or never-married parents retain the obligation to contribute to the education of their children. The Academy cannot be bound by the assertion that one parent has disclaimed responsibility for educational expenses. Therefore, both natural parents and their spouses must provide the financial information requested each year, whether or not there is a legal agreement between them to the contrary. We will consider the assets of the step-parent, always bearing in mind a step-parent’s obligation to his/her own natural children. If all of the above information is unavailable at the time the application is evaluated, the school may have to make an arbitrary assessment of financial need that could result in a lesser award or no award at all.

Contact
For more information about payment plans, tuition, fees, and need-based tuition assistance, please contact Jessica Warren, Director of Admission and Financial Aid, by email (warren.j@harrisburgacademy.org) or phone (717.763.7811 x313).