Financial Assistance General Information

2026-2027 School Year

Philosophy:

Boulder Country Day (BCD) is committed to providing access to a premier independent school education to qualified applicants. We seek students who aspire to academic excellence, personal growth, and active participation in school activities. Our Financial Assistance (FA) program is designed to enable students to attend BCD when they might not otherwise be able to do so for financial reasons.

Confidentiality Statement

• Confidentiality of Awards: Your FA award is a private matter between your family and BCD and must not be discussed with anyone else in the school community, including other families.
• Secure Handling of Financial Information: Your financial documents will be treated with utmost discretion. To ensure security, no paperwork is filed on school property. All application materials are uploaded and stored securely on the SSS platform and or the school’s Google Drive.
• Limited Access to Information: A specialized FA Committee reviews all applications. This committee includes the Head of School, Director of Finance and Operations, Chief Enrollment & Strategy Officer and select Business Office Personnel. Other BCD staff will only be informed of your family’s FA percentage on a strict “need-to-know” basis, such as for the creation of your enrollment contract, or when needed for After 3 classes.

Policies for Awarding Financial Assistance (FA):

• We believe that families have the primary responsibility for financing their child’s education. Lifestyle choices that result in increased expenses or decreased income cannot be underwritten by the FA program and BCD. We expect an independent school education to be among the family’s highest priorities for discretionary spending.
• At BCD, we define financial need as the difference between the tuition cost and what a family can afford to pay for their student’s education each year. BCD uses the independent services of School & Student Services (SSS) to help assess and process financial assistance applications.
• SSS provides BCD with a preliminary recommendation based on factors such as net income, assets, unusual expenses (such as medical expenses), number of dependents, and number of children attending tuition-charging educational institutions. We use this recommendation to help determine the amount of assistance that can be awarded.
• The FA budget is set annually by the Board of Trustees and is a percentage of our gross tuition revenue.
• FA awards range from a modest award to nearly full tuition with the average award being between 55% and 70%, allowing BCD to meet the maximum number of families’ needs.
• Using the recommendations from SSS, the FA Committee attempts to fund the demonstrated need of all our admitted students.
• All FA awards are made for one school year only. Each subsequent year, and for each child, the family must reapply and submit the appropriate documentation. That said, BCD projects the FA of a student for their career at BCD.
• FA is made available to students in grades Young Preschool - 8th and is need-based. We do not require awards to be repaid, and no awards are based on merit or athletic ability.
• Admission decisions are made independently of decisions to award FA.

Applying for Financial Assistance:

• By December 3, 2025 for current families. For prospective families, please apply simultaneously with your admission application. Please note while there is not a hard deadline for prospective families, assistance is awarded in the order in which applications are received.
• Submit a completed Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) online through SSS: https://sssandtadsfa.my.site.com/familyportal/FamilyLogin?startURL=%2Ffamilyportal

− SSS School Code: 2218

− SSS Family Support: Help with the PFS and documents is available by calling (800) 344-8328 and by visiting the “Help Center” tab in your SSS account for an FAQ and resources.

• Timely completion of your application is critical to the FA process. All FA awards are contingent on receiving the application and tax documents by the deadline. Late submission will be considered only if funds remain available.
• Deadline for FA Applications for the 2026-2027 school year will be December 3, 2025. Please note a change in how Financial Assistance Application waivers are processed this year. 
  • The SSS program will automatically apply a means-based waiver process. 
  • We ask all families applying for financial assistance to complete their application. 
  • The means-based evaluation will take place automatically when you try to submit your application. 
• If your application processes without requiring you to process payment, that indicates that you met the criteria set at SSS for a means-based waiver.
• If you proceed to a payment page, you did not meet the means-based waiver.
• If you need assistance covering the application fees, DO NOT PROCESS payment, we cannot refund that expense once it has been processed. Instead, please fill out this request that will then notify the business office that you need a waiver for your application to be submitted.
• By December 3, 2025, upload a signed copy of your 2024 Income Tax Return (form 1040) including all schedules, 2024 State return, W-2s, K-1s and 1099s to SSS. If you operate or own an entity that prepares a 1120, 1120S, or 1065, please provide copies of those tax returns for 2024. Please inform the Business Office if your returns will not be filed by this date and when we can expect them.
• While no supplementary forms are required, we encourage families to share additional information related to special circumstances not covered in the PFS or previous year’s tax documents. This additional information can assist us in gaining a better understanding of your situation. You can conveniently provide this information by utilizing the “Additional Comments” section of the PFS.
• Please note: An application is considered complete when the Parents’ Financial Statements and 2024 Federal Income Tax Returns (form 1040) are received from both parents, either jointly or separately, including signatures, all schedules, W-2s, K-1s and 1099s. If you have ownership interests, business returns (1120, 1120S and 1065’s) are also required.
• If completed FA applications are submitted on time, BCD will notify families of financial assistance awards in January via the re-enrollment/enrollment contract (or later if admitted after January 10th). Because financial assistance is being offered at the time of enrollment, deposits are required, are non-refundable, and the decision to enroll is legally binding like all other enrollment contracts.
• If applications are not complete and processed at the time of enrollment contract distribution, no financial assistance will be awarded, and families must wait until round two of awarding in February.
• The first tuition payment for the 2026-2027 school year will be due on April 1, 2026, and the second one on August 1, 2026. If you choose the monthly payment plan it will encompass ten monthly payments beginning April 1, 2026, through January 1, 2027.  Regardless of date of enrollment, all payments must be made by January 1, 2027.

Awarding Priorities

• Returning Students Currently Receiving Financial Aid
  • These families are given priority for any available funds. Their applications are reviewed each year, and if there is a significant change in their financial situation, then an award may be increased, decreased, or not given. If their financial situation has not changed, then the school will award an amount equal to last year's percentage.
• Returning Students New to Financial Assistance
  • These are families who are currently enrolled at BCD but newly applying for FA.
• New Siblings of Current Students Receiving Financial Assistance
• New Student to BCD
  • A percentage of our FA budget is reserved each year for students new to BCD. Families with completed FA applications are notified of their award with their acceptance to BCD.

Possible Criteria for Calculations

• Non-Working Parent or Guardian
  • In a two-parent household, if only one parent works outside of the home, the Financial Aid Committee will add $30,000 to the income of the family and will recalculate the family contribution. Exceptions are if the parent at home is caring for a preschool-aged child, a child with a disability, a seriously ill child, parent or grandparent or other special circumstances.
• Divorced or Separated Parents
  • The Committee expects that both parents will contribute financially to their child’s tuition and that both will file a separate financial aid application. The non-custodial parent will be expected to submit a completed form to [FA provider] and all required documentation.
  • If the custodial parent has not heard from the non-custodial parent over a long period of time or there is no other parent, then the custodial parent can complete a "Parent B waiver" for review and approval by the committee to waive Parent B from needing to apply. If you will be utilizing this form, please fill it out and upload it as an attachment into your application through SSS.
  • If a child’s parent is remarried or living with someone not the biological parent, BCD requires financial information from all adults to determine household expenses and capacity to pay by household.
• Retirement Plan Add Back
  • Salaried applicants who participate in salary deferral retirement plans with their employers must include the pre-tax salary deferrals as nontaxable income (i.e., a choice to defer salary is added back to determine the entirety of income available for tuition).
• Depreciation (Business and Rental Real Estate)
  • Depreciation and Asset Expensing Deductions reported on the Schedule C – Business Income and flowing through from partnerships, LLCs and S Corporations are added back to income since they are not a cash outlay.
  • Business use of home is added back as nontaxable income.
  • For any distributions on the K1, we add back as nontaxable income.
  • See business folder review chart for more explicit details.
• Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
  • The financial aid program provides a cost of living adjustment to the Family Living Allowance based on geographic area. We use 1.32.
• Loss Carryovers Deducted on Current Tax Return
  • Losses generated in prior years but deducted on current tax returns are added back since they were not created in the current year. This applies to net operating losses, capital loss carryovers, passive activity losses and loss carryovers due to lack of basis in the entity.

Appeal Process

BCD has a formal appeal process by which a family can supply new and compelling information that may result in an increase in their financial assistance award. The form can be found here and will be reviewed by the BCD Financial Assistance Committee. There is no guarantee that completing this form will result in any change to a family’s award.

Common Questions about Financial Assistance:

Does FA cover other expenses? BCD is committed to ensuring every child and guardian can fully engage in the culture and community. To support our families, students who receive significant financial assistance from the school may also receive support for AfterCare, summer camp, school supplies, school pictures, yearbooks, school store items, book fair, school dances, and field trips. Additionally, support can extend to cover expenses related to the 6th grade computer, middle school trips, and parent/guardian tickets to events like Gala.

Is there a way to see if I’ll qualify before going through the entire process: Yes, BCD offers a generalized guideline to help families determine if they qualify. Please note that each family situation is unique and if you view the below grid, which is based on our current school year tuition rates, and have further questions, please let us know.