Tuition assistance is based on financial need. To determine how much financial assistance you need, schools use the School and Student Services (SSS) computations to first figure out how much you can contribute. SSS needs to know such information as:

• Family size
• Income from all sources
• Savings, investments, and other assets (including home equity)
• Children's assets
• Indebtedness
• Medical, dental, and unusual expenses

This information, and much more, is collected through SSS on the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) and shared with all the schools you want to receive it. The PFS is called a common application, or common app, because you only need to complete one application for many schools.
Most schools will require you to submit a copy of your most recently completed federal tax return to verify that the information you used on the application is true and accurate. In certain cases — for example, if you own a farm or business — you may also be asked for additional documentation.

SSS is used by more than 2,400 K-12 private schools and other organizations to help determine a family's ability to pay school costs. The service and process helps ensure all schools use the same methods and objective procedures to evaluate your tuition assistance application.

Good Shepherd allocates approximately 16% of the operating budget in support of tuition assistance. Approximately 25% of our students are on some level of assistance.

Yes, it is required that all families complete the process in SSS annually, including uploading all of the required documents.

All information is treated highly confidentially. The Chief Financial Officer and Operating Officer (CFOO) and Tuition Assistance Assistant (TA) are the only individuals at the school with access to your detailed information. The CFOO reviews all information and provides a summarized report to the Tuition Assistance Committee for determining awards. This committee is composed of several school administrators. Teachers and parents are not a part of this process and are never made aware of which students receive aid.

While the SSS portal provides encryption for your documents, we recommend social security numbers are redacted from all documents before uploading. Alternatively, you may bring hard copies to the front desk or email copies to support@gsesdallas.org.

There is no specific income limit. If you feel you cannot pay all the costs yourself, it’s worth asking whether assistance is available.
 

Tuition assistance awards are sent at the same time as enrollment contracts. Families will receive an email from the business office detailing the award amount or a regret letter if funds were not available for your request. For returning students, this occurs when re-enrollment contracts are published. New students will receive the award or regret letter at the time of the admissions decision letter.

SSS questions frequently ask for ANNUAL amounts, not monthly amounts. Families tend to underestimate their medical and unusual expenses. In the medical expense section, please include premiums that are deducted from paychecks, as well as all out of pocket expenses. For unusual expenses, some examples include legal costs, charitable contributions, child support payments and financial support to other family members. Please make sure to be thorough in your personal letter and family budget. These documents help support your case.

If you've read the online instructions but still have questions, call the SSS Customer Service Center toll free at (800) 344-8328).

Virtually all tuition assistance funds are distributed during the enrollment process from January to March. For late admitting students or families with a mid-year change in circumstances, the school wants to be as supportive as possible as allowed by budget. Please reach out to the CFOO in these cases.

The school wants all members of the community to feel a sense of belonging. Please reach out to the CFOO if your financial circumstances are hindering your community involvement, including participation in the Annual Fund campaign and GSPO events such as Carnival and Auction.