Tuition refund for medical withdrawal?

[Anonymous]

This is a different strategy that might not work for your school, but a friend's child had to be out of school for medical reasons for basically the whole fall and the school was able to enroll her in classes online (but she remained a student at her school, so wasn't a student at an online course) and they school covered that cost. Not sure if your DD is well enough to be continuing her studies, and this won't get your tuition back, but she'll still be able to finish the year and stay enrolled in her current school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our daughter has been at the same school since kindergarten. This year, she became severely ill and was hospitalized four times. She is still not well enough to attend school so the school suggested we homeschool for the balance of the year.

The school insists we pay the balance of tuition minus a fairly modest amount. Our daughter was hospitalized starting in September so has - at most - attended only a month intermittently.

Has anyone successfully argued for more of a tuition forgiveness under these circumstances? Our medical bills are $$$ and we currently pay a $1k a month for anti nausea medication that insurance won’t cover, for example, but are necessary to prevent readmission.

I am so sorry OP. They should as a courtesy and kindness not ask you to pay the balance, especially since I am becoming aware of some real poachers getting aid and going on all sorts of trips and belonging to country clubs etc.... I would hope FA and donations would cover this exact circumstance.

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for the kind replies and good advice. I’ve written one last appeal. For the medication - it’s aprepitant and kytril/granisetron. We do use goodrx and Costco (respectively; we have to drive to Stafford for the cheapest price for the aprepitant).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have tuition insurance (the school doesn’t offer and I never thought to go look for it)
They are willing to credit almost $4k against tuition of around $34k. They do mention in their website they have an endowment for unexpected situations mid-year.
Our medical bills last year approached 50k. We hit out out of network and in network catastrophic max and had 30k still not covered by insurance.

Honestly, if it were me I would let the school know that there will be a well publicized GoFundMe to explain the circumstance and name the school. Yes, it is everyone's responsibility to read and understand the contract, but probably a lot of people error on the side of assuming that situations like yours would be an "unexpected situation" covered by their "endowment". I think a GoFundMe is better than just an email to the school families because other people may post it and share it around. It's probably not the kind of publicity your school would want.

[Anonymous]

Get a lawyer and ignore much of the terrible advice here.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry you’re going through this. I hope your daughter improves.

Outside of angry letters, they can’t do much unless they want to take you to court. PR nightmare.

[Anonymous]

We had a similar situation and we were able to get a refund with tuition insurance. Without it, they have zero obligation to refund. Sorry OP

[Anonymous]

I would ask them to fill the spot and refund you once the spot is full but they are providing a service, so getting your money back is unfair to them because you could not use it. They kept it for you at your request.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry for the situation, OP. Have you reviewed your enrollment contract? I’m guessing it’s air tight on their end and you are obligated to pay but double check. If you’re on the hook, then I think you try one last appeal to their sympathies. Hope your child gets well soon!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would ask them to fill the spot and refund you once the spot is full but they are providing a service, so getting your money back is unfair to them because you could not use it. They kept it for you at your request.

It’s not likely a school will be able or even want to fill a spot mid-year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a lawyer and ignore much of the terrible advice here.

Lawyers aren’t cheap and if the school is following the contract there likely is no legal basis to challenge their decisions and actions. What legal claim do you believe exists?

[Anonymous]

I feel for you OP. We had to switch schools for our youngest mid-year for medical reasons and per our contract were on the hook. It’s brutal to pay 2 tuitions on top of everything else, but on the flip side, as someone who has served on the boards of independent schools, they have to follow the contract. You can’t imagine how many cases pop up annually. They’d be killing their budget and opening themselves up to a whole host of discrimination lawsuits. They can’t cherry pick who is excused from a contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have tuition insurance (the school doesn’t offer and I never thought to go look for it)
They are willing to credit almost $4k against tuition of around $34k. They do mention in their website they have an endowment for unexpected situations mid-year.
Our medical bills last year approached 50k. We hit out out of network and in network catastrophic max and had 30k still not covered by insurance.

Honestly, if it were me I would let the school know that there will be a well publicized GoFundMe to explain the circumstance and name the school. Yes, it is everyone's responsibility to read and understand the contract, but probably a lot of people error on the side of assuming that situations like yours would be an "unexpected situation" covered by their "endowment". I think a GoFundMe is better than just an email to the school families because other people may post it and share it around. It's probably not the kind of publicity your school would want.

Love this idea if your appeal doesn’t work. I’m so sorry OP, I hope your daughter heals.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry to hear about your DD, OP. Best thoughts and wishes to you both.

Be sure to check https://www.costplusdrugs.com/ if you haven't already. It has been wonderful for my neighbor for a few drugs her son requires.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry to hear about your DD, OP. We had a similar situation and the school did enforce the tuition contract and we paid for the full year. I will also caution you that many tuition insurance policies exclude pre-existing health conditions, so if she is able to eventually return to school but has the potential for a relapse, the insurance may not cover you. Read the insurance documents very carefully. We had to pay for a second unfinished year as well. We should have enrolled in public and done home and hospital instruction.

That being said, writing a heartfelt appeal to the school couldn’t hurt. I hope your DD’s condition improves.