Applying for Financial Aid

Financial Aid is available to qualifying students at any grade level at Horace Mann School, Nursery Threes through Twelfth Grade.

Financial Aid is awarded based upon need, and Financial Aid is not guaranteed to any student. As noted above, because we often admit more students that require Aid than we are able to fund, admitted students do not always receive Aid even if they qualify.

We use Clarity to help us make award determinations, and many factors are taken into consideration, including income, assets, number of dependents, and unusual circumstances. Most families are asked to contribute something towards the cost of tuition. Families must apply for Financial Aid each year. For 2025-2026, with a tuition of $65,370, awards ranged from $2,000 to $65,370.

Any family may apply for Aid. However, our Financial Aid budget is limited and distributed across grade levels. Families who are already in the School and first apply for Aid will be asked to demonstrate a change in financial circumstances. Priority for Financial Aid dollars will be given to those families who can demonstrate a change.

In support of our commitment to current families, first priority for funding, within the context of current school finances, will be given to current recipients, so long as they continue to qualify for aid. When a family receives financial aid at Horace Mann School, the school will endeavor to continue to provide aid at a commensurate level so long as the family financial situation does not change. The school cannot guarantee this same level of support will be available for other children in the family who may later be admitted and/or enroll. If family income increases, appropriate decreases in Financial Aid will occur. Likewise, if the family financial situation declines, the school will make every effort to increase our level of support. However, every family, regardless of individual situation, should expect to pay some portion of the tuition increase each year.

After requests from returning recipients have been reviewed, requests from newly admitted students and first time requests from returning students will be reviewed, until tuition support is exhausted. Late applications may not be considered if funding is no longer available when materials are received.

Each year for the past decade, the school has had more admitted students who qualify for aid than the school is able to provide assistance to. School personnel notify those families that they have been placed on a waiting list for financial aid. They receive a full contract and are told that if they are sure they will accept our offer with or without aid, they should sign the full contract, and they will still be eligible to receive aid if money becomes available. However, if they can only attend if aid becomes available, they should not return the contract, but should wait to hear from the school if aid does become available. (Families who do not qualify for aid are not placed on a wait list but are informed that they do not qualify.)

In the case of a divorce that takes place during a child’s time at Horace Mann School, the school will make these families a priority for aid dollars (or additional aid dollars in the case of existing recipients), when they qualify, until the next natural educational transition, typically coinciding with our divisional transitions (K to 1, 5 to 6, 8 to 9, etc.). After that period, while the school cannot preclude families from applying for assistance,
the school will not prioritize the requests, and both parents will be expected to again make Horace Mann School a financial priority. In any case, the school will not consider exorbitant legal or housing expenses as part of the aid calculation.

The school takes the confidentiality of the financial aid process seriously. Under no circumstances will the school supply information provided by one parent to the other parent, unless both parents consent or mandated by court order. Finally, while Family Courts may dictate a parent’s obligations to private school educational costs, Horace Mann School will not provide aid based on family court decisions (e.g. each parent pays half, one parent pays all, etc.), but will require all the appropriate paperwork from both parents, and will make a decision based on that required information only. 

When one or both parents are unemployed, unless an appropriate reason is provided (other children younger than Kindergarten or special needs children at home, health or disability issues, care of an invalid, etc.), an income will be added to the family income per parent. For parents without a college degree, this amount will be $25,000, slightly more than one full time minimum wage annual salary. For parents holding a college degree, an income of $60,000 will be imputed. In the case of a parent with an advanced or professional degree, a higher income will be imputed.

Sometimes families will make a decision to decrease the family income voluntarily (e.g., one parent returns to school, leaves work to pursue a less lucrative career or become self-employed, parent opts to invest in a business venture, etc.). The school will not fund those decisions and, in most cases, the school will continue to impute an income level equivalent to the prior level. Voluntary family income decreases will receive lowest
priority for additional funding. Unpaid leave or termination of employment following the birth of another child, a major illness, disability, etc., will not be considered a ‘voluntary’ decrease in income. Unemployment income will be considered in aid calculations and must be included on application forms. In the case of the ongoing unemployment of a parent, the parent may be asked to demonstrate the active search for reasonable employment. 

The school will not take into account business losses for a period of more than two years, and will, after that two year period, both discount the loss, and also impute an income for the parent or parents generating the loss equivalent to or greater than the income imputed for parents who make the choice not to be employed. The school believes that two years is a long enough period to allow for business/market fluctuations, and also for startup businesses to gather enough momentum to be viable. In the case where a parent voluntarily leaves employment to start a business or chooses to continue to work on his or her own, the school will continue to impute an income equivalent to the prior salary. 

When the school makes financial aid decisions, all assets of both the student and parent, including those funds that may be permanently or temporarily restricted (e.g. funds restricted to college education, etc.), will be considered. While these funds may be legally restricted, these are still funds available to the family at some time in the future that put them in a stronger financial position than families without such resources.

The school reserves the right to review and consider each family’s financial choices with regard to discretionary income. Examples of choices the school will review include summer program expenses, vacation expenses, club memberships, lessons, financial support to other family members, student assets, vehicle loan or lease expenses, and the ownership of vacation properties, timeshares, second homes, or income producing properties.

In the New York City area, where housing costs are inflated, the school will not consider primary home equity as an asset. This is only the case for one primary residence; in the case of families that own more than one residence or property, the equity will be considered at a dollar for dollar asset, and the award may be decreased based upon the value of that additional asset. In addition, expenses for the upkeep of a secondary property will not be considered as an allowance in the aid review. The school reserves the right to adjust parent-reported home equity values based upon information provided by commercially available software (e.g. Zillow).

The Clarity system allows for a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to be included in the Financial Aid methodology. At the present time, the School is applying a COLA of 1.2.

• Financial aid recipients in the Middle Division have their book fee waived. Book allowances in the Upper Division cover the full cost of books. The UD book allowance is provided as a credit for the online book purchase vendor. If the family chooses to shop elsewhere, they lose the credit. 
• Any family receiving financial aid who registers for optional Super Selby bus service can submit a request for financial assistance towards that cost; a limited amount of aid is available. Any award for transportation assistance will be determined by the overall budget, family level of income and student aid award; those amounts will be determined after an award has been confirmed for the upcoming school year and will be issued directly to the transportation provider. Families will be advised that aid provided to offset transportation costs may be taxable income to the family.
• All Middle and Upper Division aid recipients receive a $1900 (26-27) lunch allowance; this amount is reviewed annually based upon student usage. This allowance is provided as a credit on the student debit card, maintaining the confidentiality of the process. The award is a one-time allowance; students who use more than the award would not receive additional financial support unless they demonstrate extraordinary circumstances. In each case, the parent uses the myKid spending app to monitor their purchases and balance.
• Any Upper Division student who receives more than two thirds of the tuition in Financial Aid is eligible for the Student Computer Purchase Program. Parents/guardians of eligible students can participate in this program only once during their child's time in Upper Division.
• The Lynn & Lizzie Koch ’05 Endowed Student Assistance Fund (SAF) helps enrolled Middle and Upper Division students to participate in school-related activities, like club trips and activities. The SAF is not restricted to students who receive Financial Aid; we recognize that tuition is a significant expense, and the cost of additional activities beyond tuition may be more than a family can manage even if they do not apply for or qualify for Financial Aid. The SAF serves as a resource to supplement other sources of funding available to students. Any cost directly related to Horace Mann School and not included in the financial aid budget may be considered by the SAF.
• Funding is often available for school-sponsored trips not otherwise covered by the Student Assistance Fund (for example, summer trips); students or parents/guardians should express interest to the Financial Aid Office to request funding.
• The Lembo Sperling Summer Travel Grant supports summer travel experiences that open students to new ways of seeing the world, which can be a crucial element in their education. This grant will provide that travel opportunity to one or two students who otherwise might not have access to such experiences. Currently enrolled sophomores and juniors, regardless of whether they receive financial aid, are eligible to apply for funding. The grant is not limited to students who currently receive financial aid for tuition expenses.