If I’m awarded a scholarship, how much will it be?

In general, our scholarship program is designed for both “low-income” and “middle-income” families and is intended to bridge the gap between a family’s expected financial contribution and/or their own fundraising efforts, and that of the total cost of participation. The amount of expected family contribution is calculated using an independent metric based on each family’s unique financial circumstances. Award amounts between 60 – 85% of the total cost of tuition are most common. Award amounts do not include airfare or other travel costs associated with getting to or from the program. These costs can be significant. Please budget accordingly by researching airfare costs before applying for a scholarship.

Applications for full scholarships (100% of tuition) are more competitive than those seeking half scholarships. These former grants are quite competitive and only awarded to students of exceptional caliber or that can demonstrate perseverance in the face of hardship.

We simply do not have the internal financial resources to support the financial need of all applicants, and have instead established relations with a number of foundations that work with families requiring significant financial assistance beyond which our internal funding can support.

We know that every family’s situation is unique and we do not have a definitive threshold on family income for the purpose of determining scholarship eligibility, although families with an adjusted gross income of less than $87,000 will generally be considered eligible whereas families with adjusted gross incomes in excess of $154,000 will generally be considered ineligible. However, we consider cost of living in your area, your financial commitments, and a number of other factors in determining eligibility.

Sustainable Summer scholarships can be combined with outside grant support (from a foundation, school, etc) to reduce the total participation costs of the program. Sustainable Summer scholarship award decisions are applied after outside grants.