Financial Aid Guidelines

The Board of Trustees has adopted the policy of funding most of the school’s annual operating expenses with tuition dollars. This decision means that tuition controls, in large part, the quality of the education Realms is able to offer. While recognizing that some sacrifice is appropriate for something as crucial as a child's education, the Board acknowledges that financial assistance will be necessary to build and maintain the diverse student body Realms aspires to have. Consequently, since the beginning of the school in 1972, significant funds have been devoted to tuition assistance. In July of 2009, the Realms Board of Directors established a goal to increase financial aid to students/families in need beginning with the 2010-2011 school year.

In order for Realms to allocate our resources wisely and fairly, we have enlisted the help of Independent School Management's FAST (Financial Aid for School Tuition) program. ISM's FAST does not decide whether financial assistance will be given or how much to give; rather FAST provides a consistent need-based financial aid analysis service. FAST provides the school with a report, which includes a recommendation of what a family should reasonably contribute toward tuition. All information from FAST is kept confidential. Applications are reviewed by the confidential Financial Aid Committee and the committee recommends to the Headmaster allocation of financial aid resources for the next year. Upon approval by the Headmaster, financial aid offers are sent to families.

With the projected increase in Financial Aid, it is important to implement a professional system to properly allocate resources. Realms believes FAST will help streamline the process and allow the Financial Aid Committee to make more educated decisions based on consistent information.

Financial Aid Procedures

---

PROCEDURES FOR PARENTS:

1. Parents are asked to access the F.A.S.T. Program website specifically for Realms of Inquiry applicants.
2. Once there, Click the Get Started button at the bottom of the first page. All your financial information should be entered directly through the secure server. Space is also provided to fill out additional information that may be pertinent to your application.
3. In addition, a copy of your most recent tax return should be mailed directly to FAST. There will be a fee of $34.00 required to process this application. Realms will deduct the fee from your first tuition payment if your child chooses to enroll at Realms.
4. Once completed, the application will be available immediately for the Financial Aid Committee’s review. You may be contacted by the Business Office if additional information is needed.

1. Once the application is entered the Financial Aid Committee can access your application.
2. The Realms' Financial Aid Committee then meets to review each family’s completed online application. The Board of Trustees allocates a certain amount of total aid to the committee and gives guidelines about how this should be divided between returning and new students.
3. The Financial Aid Committee recommends to the Headmaster allocation of financial aid resources for the next year. Upon approval by the Headmaster financial aid offers are sent to families.

Financial Aid Deadlines

The deadlines for applying for financial aid for the 2009-2010 school year are as follows:

With the 2009-10 school year well underway there is only a little money left in the financial aid Budget, but we encourage families in need to apply and the Committee will continue to meet as necessary.

Realms will require all families requesting financial aid for the 2010-11 school year to submit their request using the FAST System. There will be an application deadline for returning students and a later deadline for new applicants announced in the near future.

Once these deadlines have passed, families can still apply for aid, with the understanding that financial aid offers may not be extended by the time enrollment contracts are due.

Alternative Options for Financial Aid

Students may be eligible for the Special Needs (Carson Smith) Scholarship. For further information, please visit www.schools.utah.gov/admin/specialneeds.htm.

Realms urges parents needing additional financial aid beyond the schools offer to apply through Children First Utah, a scholarship fund for children. Scholarships are awarded to Utah children applying to private schools in grades K-8 and are based on financial need. For more information, please visit the Children First Utah website at www.childrenfirstutah.org.