Tuition at AVS

2024-2025 Tuition

Each January, our Board of Trustees sets the tuition schedule for the coming school year. For the 2024–2025 school year, tuition is $41,795 for all grade levels.

Tuition includes books, supplies, and field trips, including annual overnight field trips. Our Tuition Assistance grants range from 5% of full tuition to 93% of full tuition.

Additional Fees

The 2024-2025 fees for the Lower School(grades JK-5) after care program, Bookends, (participation is optional) are:

Families may choose to pay $50 per hour per child for hours used, on a monthly basis.
For families consistently utilizing Bookends for their child for more than 12 hours per week, purchasing a package is usually the most cost-effective option.

Please see our Bookends information guide for more details about pricing. We do not currently have Tuition Assistance available for Bookends program.

Payment Options

Students are enrolled for the entire academic year. There are three ways tuition can be paid. All payment plans require families to sign an enrollment agreement and pay a non-refundable enrollment deposit equal to 10% of the annual tuition, which must accompany the signed enrollment agreement. This deposit will be credited to tuition.

Families can choose one of the following payment plans when enrolling at AVS

One (1) installment of 100% of Tuition (less Deposit), due May 5 prior to the School Year.
Four (4) equal installments of 25% of Tuition (less Deposit), due on the 5th of every other month, starting in May prior to the start of the School Year. An additional fee of $20 will be charged for this payment option, and Parents/Guardians will be required to enroll in automatic payment.
Nine (9) equal installments of one-ninth of Tuition (less Deposit), due on the 5th of every month, starting in May prior to the start of the School Year. An additional fee of $40 will be charged for this payment option, and Parents/Guardians will be required to enroll in automatic payment.

Tuition does not cover the entire cost of educating a child at AVS. During the year, we will ask you to contribute additional financial support, to the best of your ability, to our fundraising e fforts.

Tuition Assistance

Alta Vista School places a high priority on fostering socioeconomic diversity among our students. committed to building a community of families who share common values, irrespective of financial means. We believe this benefits all AVS students. To that end, AVS has allocated more than $1.3 million for need-based Tuition Assistance in the 2024–2025 academic year.

We strongly encourage families who cannot afford to pay the full tuition to apply for Tuition Assistance. These grants do not need to be repaid and are credited directly against tuition; depending on each family's calculated need, the school will offer as much assistance as is available to help bridge the gap. We partner with a third-party company, Clarity, to process applications and to assess each family's need based on a carefully calibrated rubric that takes into account the exceptional circumstances that come with living in the Bay Area.

Tuition Assistance application status does not play a role in each student's admission decision. Those decisions are made first, and Tuition Assistance is provided confidentially to families after an admission decision has been made. We strive to meet as much of each family's demonstrated need as our budget will allow.

Applying for Tuition Assistance

Complete the Clarity application

Alta Vista School along with many independent schools in the Bay Area, now partners with a secure tuition assistance platform called Clarity. Together with Clarity, we hope to provide a streamlined and user-friendly tuition assistance application process to as many families as possible.

To get started, please go to the Clarity Application linked on the button below to create an account. Refer to this quick guide, for a brief reference.

At the end of the application, there is a $60 fee to submit*, and you can share your application with additional schools that accept the Clarity Application for no additional charge. Simply use the dropdown menu in the application to select those schools.

Apply online

Deadlines for 2024-2025

Returning students: Jan 16, 2025

New students: Jan 31, 2025

*Please contact Admissions office to request a fee waiver.

Submit Supporting Documents

In addition to your application, AVS reviews the following documents to determine your level of tuition assistance:

Household members' most recently completed federal tax forms (personal and businesses owned)
W-2s from each job held by household members
Most recent pay stub from each job held by household members
Documents that establish the amount of miscellaneous monthly or yearly income you currently receive (e.g., benefits from TANF, SNAP, unemployment, workers' compensation, etc.)
All corporate, partnership, and trust forms if a household member owns 20% or more interest in a corporation, partnership, or trust

Your 1040 and W2 documents from last year will automatically be transferred from the IRS when you complete the verification step of the Clarity application, so you will no longer need to upload those documents manually.

Families will be asked to submit their 2024 W2's to Clarity by February 7th, 2025.

Application Assistance and Resources

Scholarships

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did AVS move to Clarity?

We have chosen Clarity as our financial assistance application provider in order to better serve both our current and prospective families. Clarity offers a streamlined, mobile friendly application that can be completed in as short a time as 30 minutes. Additionally, Clarity removes the need to upload your W2 and 1040 by transferring them directly from the IRS. This reduces the amount of information that you will need to enter manually and makes it possible to complete the application quickly and efficiently. We are confident that this change is going to make the process of applying for financial assistance easier for families.

How is tuition assistance awarded?

Is tuition assistance automatically renewed each year?

No. Alta Vista School requires families who receive tuition assistance to submit a Clarity application each year in order to qualify for financial aid; however, Clarity retains your information from previous applications, so it will be even easier to reapply. As long as the student remains at our school, every application is reviewed annually and tuition assistance will be renewed each year according to demonstrated need if the family has met all of the filing deadlines. Changes in circumstances such as income, family status, and the number of children attending Alta Vista may result in increases or decreases in an award. However, unless there is a significant change in either a family’s economic status or a tuition increase at AVS above 10 percent for the school year, awards will usually be renewed at the previous year’s amount.

Should I apply for tuition assistance before I know my child's admission decision?

Yes. If you do not apply for assistance by the published deadlines, your chance of receiving tuition assistance is significantly reduced. Please do not wait for acceptance from our school to apply for aid as it may be too late. We encourage families who see the full tuition cost as a barrier to their application to submit an application as we will do our best to work within our budget to meet each family's need.

What are my options if my family experiences a change in financial circumstances during the school year or after tuition assistance has been awarded?

Start Your Student Application Now!

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