We will be your partner through the Variable Tuition process. Through this website, the helpful links below, and in-person assistance, we will help you navigate the process.
Our Variable Tuition program is a sliding scale in which families pay a percentage of tuition based on factors including annual household income, bank account and investment portfolio total (not including retirement accounts), mortgage/rent and other debt payments, and number of students in tuition-paying schools (including Steward).
Variable Tuition ranges for 2023-24
Lower School*
- Lowest Variable Tuition rate: $7,500
- Average Tuition for students utilizing Variable Tuition: $16,980
- Average Tuition for all Lower School students: $19,603
- Highest Variable Tuition rate: $24,470
Middle School
- Lowest Variable Tuition rate: $7,390
- Average Tuition for students utilizing Variable Tuition: $17,338
- Average Tuition for all Middle School students: $23,872
- Highest Variable Tuition rate: $27,290
Upper School
- Lowest Variable Tuition rate: $7,470
- Average Tuition for students utilizing Variable Tuition: $16,082
- Average Tuition for all Upper School students: $23,699
- Highest Variable Tuition rate: $29,370
This is an optional program, and only interested families need to apply in order to participate. The process replicates the familiar process of applying for financial aid (Steward offers Variable Tuition instead of what’s traditionally described as financial aid or tuition assistance).
We know that you’re planning for the future, so rest assured that our goal is that the Variable Tuition you receive this year should remain consistent (accounting for annual across-the-board tuition increases) unless your financial circumstances change.
Our team is available to help guide applicant families through the application process. As in everything we do, we strive to treat every family with care and respect for the individual.
Families have the opportunity to inquire about Variable Tuition during the admissions process or at any time during a student’s enrollment at Steward. Variable Tuition amounts are communicated once a student is accepted or prior to reenrollment in February.
Learning about and applying for Variable Tuition
- All Variable Tuition is based on need and requires your Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) from School & Student Services (SSS), a part of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), as well as copies of your Form W-2, IRS Form 1040, and all related schedules. The PFS also provides space to provide a written statement.
- The Steward School uses SSS, an independent, third-party organization, to collect the financial data used to determine Variable Tuition. The analysis provided by SSS, along with other information provided by the family on the PFS, is used by the school to calculate the final Variable Tuition.
- All Variable Tuition is evaluated on an annual basis upon reenrollment.
- Optional program, however, Variable Tuition application must be completed concurrently with admission process; admission is not influenced by the ability to pay tuition.
- The priority deadline for Variable Tuition requests for the 2024-25 school year is December 1, 2023, for returning students and February 1, 2024, for new students. Variable Tuition is calculated on a rolling basis as funds remain.
The Steward School follows the National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) principles of good practices for private schools. NAIS provides many resources to guide you through the application process, from in-depth webinars, to a written step-by-step online guide, to workbooks and flyers. We encourage you to explore these tools and tips by
School & Student Services.