In the last two years, private and independent school enrollment has been on the rise as families across the nation are opting to make changes to their children’s education.

As a result of this shift, financing private school tuition has become a top concern. While costs can seem staggering, paying for your child to attend a private school doesn’t have to be a stress-inducing process. From financial aid to scholarships, there are a variety of financing options available—and you might be surprised to find out that a private school education is more affordable than you think.

If you’re considering private school enrollment for your child, here are six ways to make it affordable for your family.

How to Make Utah Private School Education Affordable for Your Family

1. Take Advantage of Financial Aid 

Rowland Hall's need-based financial aid program considers every family’s unique circumstances, with the goal to match your financial means with a realistic tuition contribution.

In a recent Enrollment Management Association report, The Ride to Independent Schools 2020–2021, 47% of parents reported they did not apply for financial aid because they thought they would not qualify.

At Rowland Hall, all families with financial need are encouraged to apply for financial aid. Our need-based financial aid program considers every family’s unique circumstances, with the goal to match your financial means with a realistic tuition contribution. We currently provide more than $2.61 million per year in financial aid and scholarships to students in grades K–12, with most recipients receiving 50% or more in tuition assistance.

2. Apply for Need- and Merit-based Scholarships

Many private schools offer a variety of scholarships for qualifying students. Rowland Hall donors have established scholarships for students who possess both specific talents or qualifications and who demonstrate financial need.

As with any scholarship, be sure to carefully review all eligibility requirements, application dates, and application requirements to give your family the best possible chance to earn additional assistance.

3. Set Up a Payment Plan

The thought of paying full tuition all at once can be daunting, but there are often options to split tuition into multiple payments instead of paying one lump sum. Rowland Hall offers three payment options for families, including one-, two-, and nine-payment plans.

4. Look into a Loan

If you qualify for financial aid but need assistance with a portion of tuition, or if you have simply crunched your budget as much as possible and it’s still not balancing, consider applying for a tuition loan, which can help offset any remaining costs outside of your financial aid package.

A tuition loan may also be a good option for families that don’t qualify for financial aid.

5. Talk to Your Tax Expert

Recent changes to a new tax bill now allow parents to withdraw funds from a 529 account not only for college tuition but also for K–12 private education. Parents can withdraw up to $10,000 per year tax-free for tuition, and Utah residents may also earn a state tax credit for their contributions to the plan. Talk to your tax advisor for more information on 529 college savings plans.

6. Consider a School Voucher or Tax-Credit Scholarship

If you’re considering admission at a Utah private school, there are school voucher and tax-credit scholarship options for qualifying families, including the Carson Smith Scholarship, launched in 2005, which provides eligible families with vouchers to attend private schools.
No matter your financial situation, Rowland Hall is committed to making exceptional education affordable for every family, so be sure to explore every available opportunity.

Investing in Your Child’s Future

When families are considering private education, they are often seeking smaller class sizes, higher academic achievement, and college preparedness.

Placing students in small groups tends to foster close working relationships between teachers and students, thus enhancing learning.

At Rowland Hall, our student-teacher ratio is 10 to 1, and our average class size is 15 students. According to research from the US Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics, placing students in small groups tends to foster close working relationships between teachers and students, thus enhancing learning.

In the same piece of research, results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), showed that private school students performed higher than public school students on the NAPE:2000 tests. Additionally, their average scores were above those of public school students on the fourth-grade reading test and on the fourth, eighth-, and twelfth-grade science and mathematics proficiency tests.

Beyond intimate learning conditions and a commitment to academic achievement, our curriculum at Rowland Hall is enriched with experiential, hands-on, and inventive courses, as well as electives spanning everything from music, dance, and debate to robotics and competitive sports.

You Belong at Rowland Hall

At Rowland Hall, we are committed to empowering every student to reach their full potential in an inclusive school community. Since our founding in 1867, we have grown to occupy two urban campuses in Salt Lake City, where we support nearly 1,000 students in preschool through high school who are learning to become deep thinkers ready for a dynamic tomorrow.

Interested in learning more about Rowland Hall? Visit our admission page to contact our Admission Team and to hear from parents who have made the decision to invest in an exceptional education.

Affordability

Like other private independent schools, Rowland Hall is independently funded, relying on tuition to offer an exceptional education to the PreK through twelfth-grade students who attend our two Salt Lake City, Utah, campuses.

While tuition is a major source of funding for the school, Rowland Hall believes that an independent education should not be out of reach for families unable to pay the full tuition. As a result, we provide over $2.8 million in financial aid and scholarships to students each year. Rowland Hall financial aid awards are grants, not loans, and do not have to be repaid, and are available to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

At Rowland Hall, we are committed to understanding each family’s individual circumstances to determine financial aid eligibility and appropriate awards. A family should never assume they are not eligible for aid, or that any financial aid examples they may see online are complete; the only sure way to know if you qualify, and how much you qualify for, is to work directly with a school financial aid professional. Rowland Hall Director of Financial Aid Mary Anne Wetzel '01 guides each family through the financial aid journey.

What to Expect When You Apply for Financial Aid at Rowland Hall

1. Explore Rowland Hall, Then Fill Out an Admission Application

Before you apply to Rowland Hall—including for financial aid—it’s important to determine if our school is right for your family. Begin by contacting our Admission Department via the inquiry page. After inquiring, you may also choose to attend an admission event or take a virtual tour to help make your decision.

If your family determines that you’d like to apply to Rowland Hall, please begin or complete an admission application before starting a financial aid application.

2. Prepare Your Financial Documents

Rowland Hall uses Clarity, a financial aid software used by many private and independent schools that award financial aid. To ensure the smoothest process, we recommend that you gather necessary financial documents—including W2s or 1040s, and mortgage interest, banking, and investment statements—before beginning the financial aid application.

3. Fill Out Your Financial Aid Application

After gathering financial documents, you are ready to begin the application.

• Create an account in Clarity. Keep track of login information, as you will need it to return to the system. (You can fill out an application over multiple sessions.)

• The application will first ask for basic demographic information to help determine eligibility. After completing these questions, eligible families will pay an application fee of $55, which can be done with a credit or debit card. (A fee waiver may apply in certain situations; please contact the director of financial aid with questions.)

• Clarity allows you to tie your tax information from the IRS directly to your application, so in most cases there is no need to upload additional documents.

After your application is submitted, it will be reviewed by Rowland Hall’s four-person Financial Aid Committee. Your personal information, as well as any awarded aid, is only shared with this committee and is always kept confidential. If necessary, the director of financial aid may reach out to you with follow-up questions that will help the committee make an informed decision.

Please be aware that financial aid priority for the upcoming school year is given to applications submitted by the admission deadline. The due date for admission and financial aid applications for 2023–2024 is January 31; both applications must be fully completed by this date.

4. Review Financial Aid Decision and Follow Up as Requested

All families receive communication regarding Rowland Hall’s financial aid decisions. Contracts and financial award letters for 2023–2024 will be available in Rowland Hall’s admission portal in early March 2023.

If your family receives a financial award letter, you’ll accept that award by signing the provided contract and returning it to Rowland Hall by the required date, along with a non-refundable deposit of 10% of your tuition amount. Receipt of a signed contract and deposit locks in your financial aid package and secures your student’s, or students’, place for the next school year. Families also choose a payment plan at contract signing.

Want more information on Rowland Hall’s financial aid process? Contact Director of Financial Aid Mary Anne Wetzel at maryannewetzel@rowlandhall.org or 801-924-2964 to get started. We also invite you to visit our admission RSVP page if you would like to attend a virtual open house or a small group tour of our Utah independent private school campuses.

Financial Aid