Paying for Catholic Elementary Education:
Need-Based Scholarships are Available

The average cost of Diocesan Catholic elementary schools is slightly more than $3,700 per year. For those with the resources to afford the full tuition, the benefits of a Christ-centered education are well worth the investment.

But what about those families who want to send their children to Catholic elementary school, but simply don’t have the income to pay the full cost of tuition?

That’s where Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation can help. Last year, the Foundation awarded almost $1.75 million to almost 1,000 of the neediest students within the Diocese of Rockville Centre for the 2007/08 school year. “This year we plan to exceed that total,” says Kathy Brand, the Foundation’s executive director.

How to Apply for Assistance
Any family that wishes to apply for a need-based scholarship must complete an application. Applications are available in English and Spanish, and can be obtained at your local school as well as at the bottom of this Web page.

The application deadline for the 2008/2009 school year is April 1, 2008. Financial aid workshops are being planned for March 2008 for those families requiring assistance completing the financial aid applications. For schedules and locations, please see the bottom of this Web page.

Each student chosen to receive aid will receive anywhere from $500 to $2,000 for the school year.

How Scholarships are Determined
PSAS, an independent financial aid auditor, which has been used by other Catholic dioceses, will be used to identify those applicants in need of aid and the amount to be provided. PSAS provides a comprehensive service which handles all aspects of the financial aid application and verification process. Designed to serve as a national standard of objective measurement of ability to pay for elementary and secondary education, the PSAS Need Analysis System takes into account the income and assets of the family, the size of the family, age of the parents, the number of children attending tuition charging schools, the state and/or metropolitan area where the family resides, the value of the parents’ assets, and the number of working parents.