Exploring Tuition and Financial Aid Opportunities at Woodside Priory School
Woodside Priory School, a coeducational, Catholic independent school situated in Portola Valley, California, offers education for students in grades 6-12. With a 50-acre campus located near Stanford University, the Priory provides a college preparatory curriculum, a 7:1 student-faculty ratio, and a variety of athletic and co-curricular activities. This article delves into the tuition fees and financial aid options available at Woodside Priory, providing families with essential information to make informed decisions about their child's education.
Understanding Woodside Priory's Tuition Structure
Woodside Priory School offers day and boarding programs, each with its own tuition structure. For the academic year, the yearly tuition for boarding students is $93,490, which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend activities. The yearly tuition for day students is $64,460, which includes daily lunch. Additional fees for day students include a Student Store deposit of $600, and the cost of books is extra.
The cost for lunch, which is included in tuition, features a hot entrée and access to an all-you-can-eat full salad bar, sandwich bar, pasta bar, and soup bar. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available daily. Some vegetables are sourced from the Franklin Garden, located near the dining hall, and much of the produce is organically grown. Breakfast and dinner are included for boarding students.
Payment Options
To accommodate families' financial needs, Woodside Priory offers a couple of payment options. One such option is the Two Payment (75/25) Option, where the tuition balance (minus the enrollment deposit) is paid over two installments. A small administrative fee is assessed with this payment plan, which is outlined in the enrollment contract.
Families begin paying towards tuition with their enrollment deposit. In order to accept an offer of admission, a family pays an enrollment deposit to secure their child’s spot. This enrollment deposit is then applied to the tuition obligation.
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Financial Aid at Woodside Priory School
Woodside Priory School is committed to making its education accessible to talented students, regardless of their financial circumstances. With over $5 million available in need-based grants, about 20% of Priory families receive financial assistance. Priory's financial aid awards are grants, not loans, meaning they do not need to be repaid. Many financial aid awards cover most tuition and fees. The size of each family’s financial aid award is based on the determined need and funds available in the school's financial aid budget.
Priory does not award merit-based scholarships.
Applying for Financial Aid
Families who believe affording tuition and fees at Priory would cause significant financial hardship are encouraged to apply for financial aid. The school partners with Clarity, an organization that provides an independent assessment of each financial aid application. Families receive notice of financial aid awards with their acceptance letters in March.
To begin the financial aid application process, families can click on the "Financial Aid: Getting Started" button or go directly to the Clarity homepage to create an account. The application typically takes less than 30 minutes to complete and is mobile-friendly. There is a $55 fee to submit the application, and families can share their application with additional schools that accept the Clarity Application for no additional charge.
Financial Aid Methodology
Clarity's methodology considers income, assets, and expenses for both parents and students (where applicable). It also considers daycare costs and other private school tuitions, including undergraduate college/university tuition. The goal is to provide a family with a reasonable amount expected to be paid towards a Priory education.
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Woodside Priory's boarding program is distinctive in intimate size and student diversity. While the school can consider international students who may need need-based financial aid, international applicants should remember that financial aid grants are highly competitive and the request for financial aid will be considered in the admissions process.
The Role of the Annual Fund and Founders Club
A quality education is one of the lasting gifts that we can give our children, and the Annual Fund enables that at Priory. A Priory education costs about $5,200 more per student than tuition provides. The annual gifts of parents, grandparents, alumni, alumni parents, trustees, friends, and Priory faculty and staff are our major contributors. All Founders Club families become members of the Leadership Circle. The Leadership Circle includes donors who give $10,000 or more annually and lifetime members who have given $100,000 or more. Leadership Circle members receive special recognition in school publications and the Annual Report and are invited to the Leadership Circle Event.
The Value of a Priory Education
Priory has a high student-to-teacher ratio, which means that each and every student is taken care of by the teacher and the teachers really know the students well. It helps with accommodating individual student's needs.
Woodside Priory School strives to create a balanced experience for students where they can explore interests, develop passions, and discover themselves. The Priory is located within 40 minutes of San Francisco and 10 minutes from Stanford University. Situated on a 50-acre campus in the heart of Silicon Valley, Priory offers a 7:1 student/teacher ratio, a strong college and university preparatory curriculum, a vast performing arts program, and a competitive athletics program.
The school's mission is to assist students in becoming lifelong learners and stewards who will productively serve the world in need of their gifts and our five Benedictine values of Community, Hospitality, Individuality, Integrity, and Spirituality. Priory students are challenged to develop their fullest potential in the classrooms, on the athletic fields, in the performing and visual arts, and in service to the greater community around them. Priory graduates go on to attend schools all across the country, including bigger schools such as Stanford, Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, as well as smaller colleges like Carleton, Oberlin, Santa Clara, and Whitman.
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The Boarding Program embodies a family model with a full-time Residential Faculty dedicated to working with boarding students after school, in the evenings, and on weekends. The goal of the Boarding Program is to develop independent, responsible, and kind students who will engage in their communities. International in scope, the program attracts students from all parts of the world and throughout the western United States. Boarders enjoy the seamless interaction with the Priory's day students in and outside the classroom.
Unique Programs and Experiences
At Priory, our faculty create robust academic and co-curricular programming that is specific to certain grades. Program costs for the Washington, D.C.
The Cambodia trip is one of our most unique service adventures aboard a Rustic Pathways boat in Cambodia. Students will explore Cambodia's history at the "killing fields" and Tuol Sleng, the former school that is now a genocide museum, and also speak with survivors. They will visit communities where families live and work in homes that float like houseboats, and immerse themselves in daily life during homestays and work alongside these families to repair and build new floating homes for the community.
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