Boarding School Scholarships and Financial Assistance

Families often assume that financial help at a boarding school comes in one form. In practice, several different things share overlapping names: scholarships, bursaries, awards, grants and financial aid. They are assessed on different grounds, applied for on different timetables, and sometimes available to different groups of applicants. This guide explains the common types and what to ask. It does not suggest that any school will offer help or that applying for help will affect, or not affect, a decision beyond what the school itself states.

Scholarships and bursaries are different things

Terms vary by country and by school, but a useful rule of thumb is this:

• Scholarships reward a particular ability or achievement, such as academic, music, art, drama or sport. Their value may be symbolic, partial or a fee reduction.
• Bursaries or need-based aid reduce fees according to a family's financial circumstances, usually after a detailed assessment.

Eton College's published pages show how the distinction can work at a single school. They describe bursaries as means-tested awards for families who could not otherwise afford some or all of the fees, and say its King's Scholarship and music awards do not carry automatic fee remission, so a family may need to apply for a means-tested bursary alongside a scholarship. The same page describes one named award as means-tested and covering up to the full fees and extras for a small number of boys each year, and notes that some awards depend on a pupil's earlier schooling. Another school may use the same words quite differently, so read each school's definitions.

Need-based aid in the United States

In the United States, many private boarding schools describe financial aid as grants that are not repaid. Phillips Exeter Academy's published page states that its financial aid is need-based, that it describes itself as need-blind in admissions, meaning that admission decisions are made without regard to a family's financial circumstances, and that it aims to meet the demonstrated need of admitted students. It also says that the aid application deadline matches its general deadline and that the financial aid application may be started in September. That page does not describe international applicants specifically. This is one school's policy as published on the date accessed; others may be need-aware, may cap aid, or may offer no aid to certain applicants. Ask each school directly.

Typical steps in a need-based process

Processes vary, but they often follow a pattern like this, as in the Eton bursary timetable:

1. Indicate need early. Some schools ask at registration or before the assessment stage.
2. Submit a financial declaration or form. Eton's page describes a declaration in Year 5 and a full bursary application in Year 6 for entry at 13, with strictly enforced deadlines.
3. Supply documents. Expect evidence of income, assets, housing and household size. Some schools use an outside assessor or may visit the home.
4. Receive the decision. Eton states that awards are notified alongside a conditional offer; other schools notify at different times.
5. Re-apply or be re-assessed. Many schools reassess each year, so an award is not a guarantee for later years. Confirm this in writing.

Merit awards

Scholarships typically involve an additional assessment, such as an audition, portfolio, scholarship examination or interview. Awards may be limited in number. Eton's page says that about 14 King's Scholarships are awarded each year for entry at 13 on academic ability, for example. That figure is a school's published statement for the year accessed and is not a general rate.

International families

International families can face extra questions:

• Does the school offer help to overseas applicants, or only to residents?
• Can a scholarship or bursary be combined with other support?
• Is aid offered in the school's currency, and how are exchange-rate movements handled?
• Does the award cover extras, flights and holiday costs, or only fees?

Other sources of funding, such as external scholarship bodies or home-country programmes, exist, but this guide cannot confirm any of them. Treat any intermediary who promises a scholarship with caution. Do not pay a fee for access to a scholarship that the school itself publishes.

Visa evidence also matters. As published on GOV.UK on the date accessed, the UK Child Student visa page says applicants may need to show they have enough money to support themselves and pay for their course, and that the requirement depends on circumstances; it says a written consent from a financial sponsor may be needed if that sponsor paid fees or living costs in the last 12 months. If a school or scholarship body is paying part of your child's fees, ask how that is documented and who must sign. An award does not guarantee a visa.

Practical advice

• Apply on time. Aid deadlines are often earlier than those for places.
• Be accurate. Give full, honest information. Schools check.
• Keep records. Save copies of every form and the date you sent them.
• Ask about confidentiality. Schools usually keep aid applications confidential. Confirm who sees the information.
• Plan for the whole stay. A first-year award may change in later years if circumstances change.

What aid does not cover

Even a large award may not cover every cost. Uniform, equipment, trips, travel, medical costs, insurance and visa fees are often separate. Ask for a written list of what is and is not included in any offer.

Check before you decide

Confirm directly with each school:

• Whether it offers scholarships, bursaries or need-based aid, and which are open to your child.
• Deadlines, forms and supporting documents for each.
• Whether applying for aid is separate from, or part of, the admissions decision, according to the school's own policy.
• How awards are paid, reviewed and renewed, and what could cause them to change.
• What costs an award covers and what stays with the family.
• Whether aid is available to international applicants.
• Who to contact, in writing, about financial questions.