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Gatewood recognizes that financing an independent school education is a major commitment for families. Therefore, Gatewood offers two sources of financial aid to provide an opportunity for students to attend Gatewood who otherwise may not be able to attend. Gatewood financial aid is available for existing students, incoming K3 students, and transfer students from independent schools, public schools outside of Georgia and home school programs. For students entering K4 or K5 or 1st-12th grade transfer students from a Georgia public school, Gatewood offers the Georgia GOAL Scholarship.
Awards will vary based on needs and the availability of funds. The GOAL scholarship is designed to be a multi-year scholarship provided the following eligibility criteria is met:
Award recipients must re-apply for financial aid each year and prove eligibility to receive such scholarship assistance each year through SSS and federal tax record evaluations.
Award recipients’ accounts must remain current for any remaining tuition due on the student’s account.
Award recipients must maintain good standing academically and behaviorally.
If an award recipient withdraws, the award money returns to the award fund to be distributed at the discretion of the Financial Aid Committee. Funds are not transferable to another family member.
Award recipients are not guaranteed admission to Gatewood each year. All behavioral, financial, and academic expectations must be met each year. Official annual acceptance must be provided prior to the award of any scholarship funds.
To assess a family’s need for financial assistance, Gatewood Schools utilizes an independent agency, School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS), which is overseen by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). SSS provides member schools with an objective methodology for calculating a family’s ability to contribute to educational expenses. SSS does not make an award, but using the information provided by parents, suggests appropriate guidelines for the school to award based on a family’s particular situation and the school’s resources. Upon acceptance to Gatewood Schools, the process for filing for financial assistance is as follows:
Awards will be made in a strictly confidential manner after all forms have been filed with SSS and the process as described above has been completed. Awards can be made only to those students who have applied to Gatewood, been accepted, and returned a signed contract and enrollment fee.
The Financial Aid Committee reviews all requests for assistance and makes awards from available funding sources in an equitable manner, consistent with the mission and philosophy of Gatewood Schools. The Financial Aid Committee meets in May and September each year.
New requests must be submitted annually as awards are made for only one year.
For a clear introduction to the financial aid process, we suggest you download a copy of the free NAIS Family Guide to Financial Aid, which is available in both English and Spanish at https://www8.student-1.com/SSS/forms/index.asp.
Additional Information for GOAL Scholarship Applicants
The following criteria must be met in order to be considered for GOAL financial assistance:
Students entering grades 1-12 must have attended a Georgia public school immediately prior to Gatewood, or be eligible to enter a Georgia public pre-kindergarten or kindergarten class.
The student must be in good standing academically and behaviorally.
New students must meet all admission criteria and have been accepted before a scholarship amount will be awarded.
Families must complete a NAIS School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) assessment application and provide the first two pages of their federal tax records to verify eligibility.
No more than an amount of 85% of tuition will be awarded per year to any one student through the GOAL scholarship. Any award amount will be applied to the tuition for the 2010-2011 school year and remaining tuition due will be divided into monthly payments.
The completion of the financial aid application is not a binding agreement that assistance is available or will be granted.
Contributions
The Development Office maintains records of contributions to Gatewood. The Development Office can provide information concerning pledges, personal contribution records and methods for contributing to Gatewood for interested parties.
For further information, you may contact Libby Rainey, Director of Advancement and Development, at 706.485.8231 x 13 or by email at lrainey@gatewoodschool.com.
