Admissions Process
The following is a step-by-step guide to the admissions
process. Steps can be completed in any order. All steps must be completed and paperwork received in the
Admissions Office in order for a decision to be made.
- Schedule a parent tour and
informational session through the Admissions Office.
- Complete the application
form and return it, along with the $50 application fee, to the Admissions Office.
- Schedule a full-day visit
for your child. If your application has been received, admissions testing will
be completed on the day of the visit. Otherwise, it will be scheduled separately.
- Complete the application
page, parent questionnaire, and student questionnaire, and submit them to the
Admissions Office.
- Sign the transcript release
form and submit it to your child's current school. If you are homeschooling, please
provide a copy of the curriculum you are following as well as any standardized
test results or other outside evaluations.
- Send/deliver the
teacher/personal recommendation forms to:
- your child's homeroom
teacher (applicants for grades 5 and 6)
- your child's English
teacher (applicants for grades 7-12)
- your child's math teacher
(applicants for grades 7-12)
- a non-relative who knows
your child well (all applicants)
When all steps have been completed, and all forms have been
received, the admissions folder will be complete. Your child will then be
scheduled for a formal interview with the Admissions Committee.
Application Checklist
To be
completed and submitted by applicant and applicant’s family directly to Tandem Friends
School:
- Parent visit/tour to Tandem Friends
School
- Application for admission
- Student full-day visit to Tandem Friends
School
- Parent questionnaire
- Admissions testing
To be
submitted by others:- Confidential teacher recommendation(s)
- Confidential personal recommendation
- Transcript from current school (or
homeschool curriculum documents)
- Interview
Tandem Friends School does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, sexual
orientation or national ethnic origin in the administration of its
educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship or loan
programs, or athletic and other school- administered programs.
How
Financial Aid Works
Financial aid applications will not
affect the admissions decision in any way.
As part of its planning for the
coming school year, the Board sets a limit on Financial Assistance, and
includes that limit in the School’s operating budget. After a family has
completed the Admissions process, families in need file an online statement
that includes their prior-year tax forms (i.e., forms for tax year 2009). The
Business Office confidentially reviews these requests for financial assistance,
using guidelines from the Board and from industry- standard analyses, and makes
a recommendation to the Financial Aid Committee. When awards are offered, the
awards are included in the student’s contract for the coming year. Both the
parents and the School sign this contract, in which the award amount is
subtracted from the total tuition.
Why the
School Grants Financial Aid
Tandem Friends School awards
financial aid in the form of grants to meet a demonstrated financial need. An
independent-school education is one of many choices a family may make. The
primary responsibility for financing a student’s independent school experience
rests with the family, so we expect families to research all available outside
resources, including extended family, to meet tuition obligations before
seeking financial aid from the School. Please be honest with yourself and with
us as you decide to apply for aid. It is our goal that any qualified student
who would make the most of the experience the School provides will be able to
attend; and it is our reality that the funds available for financial aid are
limited, so that we may not be able to meet all of the need of all of the
families who apply.
When Forms
are Due
Families must reapply for
assistance each year, usually beginning in January of the year before the
school year for which they are applying.
This year the deadline for returning families to submit their forms is February 15, 2009. We will begin reviewing completed
applications on February 16, 2009.
NOTE:
The School gets financial need information from SSS (see below for their
website). This includes tax forms mailed
to SSS. Before the “rush,” SSS can enter
tax forms within 72 hours of receiving them.
But SSS advises that families count on 10 business days for your mailed
tax forms to appear in your application.
The Business Office begins
reviewing applications for accepted students at the first deadline—this year,
on February 16, 2009. All of the budgeted assistance may well be awarded by the
initial notification date (March 7, 2009), and so the School cannot guarantee
that assistance will remain for late applicants. For the best chance at
financial aid, apply before the deadline!
How to
Apply for Financial Aid
Families apply for aid through
School and Student Services (SSS), based in Princeton, NJ. To access SSS
online, click here.
For further information on how to
apply for financial aid, please read the financial aid documents you can access
on the right. If you have questions or concerns about your application or the
process, contact Paul Erb in the Tandem Friends Business Office.
