Affording Kinkaid

The application process for financial aid at The Kinkaid School is designed to be comprehensive, transparent, and fair. Our principles are:

● All aid is based on demonstrated financial need; consequently, parents of candidates must file a confidential financial statement that includes the disclosure of income, asset, and tax information.

● Financial aid grants are not loans and do not need to be paid back to the School.

● Kinkaid does not grant academic, athletic, fine arts or any special interest scholarships. 

● All financial aid information is held in the strictest confidence.

 

For students applying for admission and current students planning to re-enroll with Kinkaid for the 2024-2025 school year, the financial aid application and supporting materials are due on January 19, 2024. Your application for Kinkaid financial aid on “SSS by NAIS” will close at midnight on January 19, 2024, and late or incomplete applications, which includes required documents, will not be accepted or considered by the committee.

Admission at Kinkaid is need-blind, so a request for financial aid has no impact on admission application(s).

The financial aid process consists of submitting a financial aid application and required financial documents to SSS by NAIS for review by the Financial Aid Committee.

1. The Parent’s Financial Statement. This can be completed and submitted at the SSS by NAIS Family Portal. Kinkaid’s school code is 4416. The 2024-2025 application will be available in fall 2023.  Please enter your 2023 wage and income information and allow the application to estimate your 2023 taxes.

2. A copy of your signed 2022 federal tax return including all schedules and W-2 forms. And, a copy of your last available 2023 paycheck(s.).  Please note that we may require you to complete a form 4506-T to request an official transcript of your filed taxes to be forwarded directly to the School.

Please follow the instructions on the School & Student Services (SSS) website to upload the documents directly to SSS by January 19, 2024, for applicants for admission and students re-enrolling with the School. Please do not forward a paper copy of these documents directly to The Kinkaid School.

Also note:

If you own a business, you must complete the “Business/Farm Statement” on the SSS website.

All parents who are separated, divorced, remarried or have never been married must each separately complete the Parent’s Financial Statement and provide the required wage and tax documents.

Current families must re-apply annually for financial aid. The deadline for completing the Parent’s Financial Statement and providing the 2022 tax documents and proof of 2023 income for current Kinkaid families is January 19, 2024.

The School’s financial resources may limit both the number and size of Kinkaid’s financial aid grants. Timely application and attentiveness to the application procedures are essential. Late applications and supporting documents will not be considered by the Financial Aid Committee.

For further information or questions, contact Meredith Van Ryder, 713-243-5084.

In the administration of its financial aid program, The Kinkaid School adheres to the Principles of Good Practice of N.A.I.S. member schools:

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE FOR FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATION

Recognizing that each family bears the primary responsibility for financing a student’s education costs, NAIS’s Principles of Good Practice for Financial Aid Administration are designed to serve as guideposts in developing professional policies and orderly procedures among schools. Through these principles, NAIS affirms its belief that the purpose of a financial aid program is to provide monetary assistance to those students who cannot afford the cost of attending an independent school. Furthermore, these principles reflect the standards of equity and fairness NAIS embraces and reassert NAIS’s ongoing commitment to access and diversity.

Principles of Good Practice:

1. The school adheres to all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations, including those that require nondiscriminatory practice in administering its financial aid policies.

2. The school operates within the context of both short- and long-range financial aid budget and policy goals.

3. The school uses objective research to measure the effectiveness of its progress towards its goals, and communicates the outcomes to its constituents, as appropriate.

4. The school provides clear and transparent information to families through outreach, education, and guidance on all aspects of its financial aid process and the factors that influence admission and aid eligibility.

5. The school determines eligibility for admission without regard to a student’s application for financial aid.

6. The school commits to providing financial aid dollars to applicants who demonstrate that their family resources are insufficient to meet all or part of the total educational costs.

7. The school continues to provide support to students as long as they demonstrate financial need.

8. The school maintains the same standards of behavior and academic performance for recipients of financial aid as it does for non-recipients.

9. The school enacts documented procedures that ensure a fair, consistent, and equitable assessment of each family’s ability to contribute toward educational expenses.

10. The school makes and communicates financial aid decisions in a manner that allows families to make timely, careful, and fully-informed enrollment decisions.

11. The school establishes administrative and accounting procedures that distinguish the school’s need-based financial aid program from tuition assistance programs that are not based on financial need.

12. The school safeguards the confidentiality of financial aid applications, records, and decisions while respecting the right of each family to discuss its own financial aid outcomes in an appropriate manner.

13. The school supports collaboration between the financial aid office and other offices within the school.

14. The school supports collegial relationships with other schools and organizations for professional development, exchange of best practices, and other information sharing, as appropriate.

Courtesy of National Association of Independent Schools (N.A.I.S.)