Can we afford a SN private school? Could we get a scholarship for our son?

[Anonymous]

We are not happy with our son's school. He is presently attending public school, but struggles and is behind in reading and math. We've had an IEP for 2 years and he hasn't made much progress. He has dyslexia and adhd.

My wife isn't currently employed. She stays home with our 3 year old twins. My income is $130,000. My salary covers our living expenses and we save for retirement and out a small amount away each month for college savings. We live on a very tight budget. Housing, food, and taxes absorb nearly all of the income.

We have looked into private schools and understand many offer scholarships, but they won't disclose how much help they are able to provide. . Is there any chance a private school would offer us a scholarship or is my income too high? It's not financially practical for my wife to be working. Childcare would consume any money she'd be bringing home.

How do people afford private schools?

[Anonymous]

They don't offer scholarships per se. It's need-based financial aid and I would think your income would qualify you. I know parents with higher incomes who receive financial aid at various schools. However, you would have to contribute to the cost and if you have no latitude in your budget, that would be tough.

How significant are the ADHD and dyslexia? Mild, moderate or severe? What grade is your child in and which public system are you in?

[Anonymous]

As a group the SN schools have less financial aid to offer than other private schools. You could explore it though, but I mention it because there is just less $ to go around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a group the SN schools have less financial aid to offer than other private schools. You could explore it though, but I mention it because there is just less $ to go around.

I posted at 12:09. Can you share the basis for this statement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a group the SN schools have less financial aid to offer than other private schools. You could explore it though, but I mention it because there is just less $ to go around.

What's the basis for this statement?

[Anonymous]

12:17 sorry for my double post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a group the SN schools have less financial aid to offer than other private schools. You could explore it though, but I mention it because there is just less $ to go around.

What's the basis for this statement?

Not pp but financial aid is directly related to endowment. The higher the endowment the more financial aid a school can give. Most private SN schools don't have much of an endowment if any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a group the SN schools have less financial aid to offer than other private schools. You could explore it though, but I mention it because there is just less $ to go around.

What's the basis for this statement?

Not the PP, but I'm guessing the size of the schools' endowments. That has an enormous impact.

[Anonymous]

12:35, snap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:35, snap.

totally unnecessary. Op has a serious question....

OP there is no harm in applying and finding out if you can get aid. $130K certainly seems like you'd get something!

[Anonymous]

I think you will get aid. Not sure where you live but McLean might be a good fit and I know they encouraged families to apply. They're one of the larger privates that welcome kids with LD and ADHD so I think their endowment might be larger.

[Anonymous]

Your salary is likely too high for much financial aid and too low to pay for private. Welcome to the upper middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are not happy with our son's school. He is presently attending public school, but struggles and is behind in reading and math. We've had an IEP for 2 years and he hasn't made much progress. He has dyslexia and adhd.

My wife isn't currently employed. She stays home with our 3 year old twins. My income is $130,000. My salary covers our living expenses and we save for retirement and out a small amount away each month for college savings. We live on a very tight budget. Housing, food, and taxes absorb nearly all of the income.

We have looked into private schools and understand many offer scholarships, but they won't disclose how much help they are able to provide. . Is there any chance a private school would offer us a scholarship or is my income too high? It's not financially practical for my wife to be working. Childcare would consume any money she'd be bringing home.

How do people afford private schools?

While you might qualify for some FA, a full ride probably isn't in the cards. What type of dyslexia does your DS have and what type of reading programs is he accessing at school? How much reading does he currently do at home and does he see a private reading tutor? I have a DS who has dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. We went with a private reading tutor 2-3 times a week starting in 2nd grade and it went through mid7th grade that was much cheaper than private school. His dyslexia issues are/were with decoding, phoneme and RAN. ADHD is combined type. He had one on one reading daily at school for about 20 minutes a day and they used Wilson. His reading teacher primarily used Wilson also (all were Wilson II certified). I have had friends who used Barton at home to great success. Both Barton and Wilson are Orton-Gillingham based programs- which is what your son should be getting now. At home, he read aloud 30 minutes and listened to an audio book at his cognitive level for 30+ minutes during ES. It is a long hard slog and progress was slow and steady. Think tortoise and not hare. I can't help you with the dyscalculia programs as I am not familiar, however there are other poster who may be able to chime in.

[Anonymous]

Your situation sounds pretty discouraging to me. Seems like you almost need a free ride and most of the schools I've looked at have really hefty tuition. Even if you got aid for a year or two doesn't mean you'd get aid for the long haul. Are their other options for you? Private services maybe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:35, snap.

totally unnecessary. Op has a serious question....

OP there is no harm in applying and finding out if you can get aid. $130K certainly seems like you'd get something!

Hey, I said snap, not oh snap. Totally different. I just thought it was funny that at 12:35 two of us posted exactly the same information.

I certainly wish the best of luck to OP.