Tuition

Tuition includes (all grades): Most textbooks, local field trips, lab/studio fees, PSAT and ERB testing

Additional Financial Considerations

• Grades 9-12: Students are required to have personal technology devices (laptop, tablet, etc.)
• Grades 8-12: Optional international trip
• Grades 9-12: Advanced placement exam fees, college entrance exam fees (ACT, SAT)
• Grade 12: Graduation expenses such as cap and gown, invitations, and class rings

Not included in tuition: lunches, afterschool care, bus fees, calculators and similar school supplies; non-local field trips; yearbook; student photos; individualized programs or special tutoring

We offer three different payment plans: Annual, Semi-Annual and Ten-Month. You can view the different options in our 2025-2026 Tuition Planner. 

2025-2026 Tuition Planner

A non-refundable deposit of 5% of a parent's portion of tuition is due at the time of initial enrollment or re-enrollment.* The deposit will be applied toward the student's tuition for the following school year. No student can be enrolled or re-enrolled without this non-refundable deposit.

*For example, if a family's tuition totals $27,000, the non-refundable deposit is 5% of $27,000. If a family is receiving financial aid and only pays $20,200 out of pocket of this $27,000, the non-refundable deposit is 5% of $20,200.

Carolina Day School's Tuition Refund Insurance plan is 1.1% of tuition due.

• Tuition Refund Insurance is required for Semi-Annual or Ten-Month payment plans.
• Tuition Refund Insurance is available and encouraged for Annual payment plans, but not required.

CDS does not accept NC Opportunity Scholarship direct payments.  

There are several reasons CDS does not participate in government funding programs like Opportunity Scholarships, the most important being our enrolled families’ financial stability and the long-term commitment we make to them. Though Carolina Day School’s financial aid resources are limited, our Financial Aid program is in place to meet the determined financial needs of families accepted into our school. 

Furthermore, as a PreK-12 school, when accepting students who require any level of financial aid, CDS plans and commits to supporting these students every year through their matriculation. NC Opportunity Scholarships do not meet the full need of families within its income tiers to access an independent school education, and importantly, the program and funding is subject to change at any time, therefore making our families and school more financially vulnerable to external factors. We eliminate external variables and dependencies from our Financial Aid program through our own long term planning and budget, thereby creating a more predictable and sustainable financial model for our families and our school.

Additionally, CDS is an accredited, fully independent, selective enrollment school. Autonomy from government agencies and mandates is the hallmark and strength of the Independent School sector. Our own school was created in 1936 (as Asheville Country Day School) by parents who sought a more robust education for their children that was unencumbered by bureaucracy and tax funding restrictions and requirements. As an independent school we are not required to conform to government defined curriculums, class sizes, standardized testing mandates and generalized standards, or need to go through the bureaucratic processes required for change like in the public sector. Instead, CDS is able to customize and adapt in any way, at any time that we deem best serves our specific school and mission. By remaining independent from government funding, we ensure we can continue to set our own educational goals, policies, and standards, and do what we know is best for our own students and our specific program, free from external interference, conditions, or dependencies.