Tuition & Financial Aid
Affording a Carolina Day School Education
A Carolina Day education is an investment that lasts a lifetime. CDS ensures fair and accessible financial aid to all qualified students based on financial need and availability of funds. In fact, over $3.1 million in financial aid was granted for the 2023-24 school year to 27% of our students. Carolina Day uses Clarity to determine a family’s level of financial need, and financial information is held in strict confidence. While CDS tries to meet the needs of qualified students, every family is expected to contribute to their child’s tuition. Financial Aid and Admission decisions are made by two separate committees. Both the admission application and financial aid application must be completed by the admission deadline to be considered for financial aid. Students receiving an offer of admission will receive a financial aid decision at the same time.
2023-2024 Tuition and Fees
PreK and Kindergarten | $19,200 |
Grades 1–2 | $24,500 |
Grades 3–4 | $25,500 |
Grades 5–7 | $27,200 |
Grade 8 | $30,400 |
Grades 9–10 | $32,200 |
Grades 11–12 | $33,600 |
Key School | $46,990 |
*Financial aid is available to students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 and Key School students.
*Barring any unusual change in circumstances, families should not plan to apply for financial aid in future years if they did not initially apply for and receive financial aid as part of their admission application to CDS.
Financial Aid applications are no longer being accepted for the 2023-24 school year.
Financial Aid Policy Questions
- What is and is not included in tuition?
- Who can apply for financial aid?
- What kind of payment plans are available?
- If I received Financial Aid in a previous year, do I need to reapply?
- Can I apply for financial aid if I did not receive financial aid in a previous year?
- Will my Financial Aid Award cover the full cost of tuition?
- How does having a two-household family impact my Financial Aid considerations?
- Does Financial Aid cover any costs beyond tuition?
What is and is not included in tuition?
Who can apply for financial aid?
What kind of payment plans are available?
If I received Financial Aid in a previous year, do I need to reapply?
Can I apply for financial aid if I did not receive financial aid in a previous year?
Will my Financial Aid Award cover the full cost of tuition?
How does having a two-household family impact my Financial Aid considerations?
Does Financial Aid cover any costs beyond tuition?
Financial Aid Deadlines
Returning Families
Deadline: November 15
Returning families receive financial aid decisions on February 1.
New Applicants to Grades K-11
New Applicants to Kindergarten through Grade 11 have two deadline options to apply for financial aid.
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November 15 (decisions are delivered in early January)
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February 15 (decisions are delivered in mid-March)
We recommend applying by November 15 if financial aid is a critical consideration. Applicants must complete both their application for admission and their financial aid application by the deadline to be considered for a January decision.
After February 15, applications will be processed for admission and financial aid on a rolling, space- and funds-available basis. However, financial aid funding is generally no longer available or is extremely limited by this time. Because of this, we recommend applying by November 15 if financial aid is a critical consideration.
Key School Applicants
Deadline: February 15
Key School applicants who have completed both their application for admission and financial aid application will receive a decision in mid-March.
After February 15, applications will be processed for admission and financial aid on a rolling, space- and funds-available basis. However, financial aid funding is generally no longer available or is extremely limited by this time. Because of this, we recommend applying by February 15 if financial aid is a critical consideration.
How to Apply for Financial Aid
Families will apply for Financial Aid using Clarity, a secure financial aid platform that typically takes 30 minutes or less to complete. The application is mobile and tablet friendly. You are also able to save your progress and return at any time. In addition, your 1040 and W2 documents from 2022 will be automatically transferred from the IRS when you complete the verification step, so you will not need to upload those documents manually. Please refer to this Clarity Parent FAQs for additional information. Applications for Admission and Applications for Financial Aid occur in parallel. Both applications must be completed by the admission deadline to be considered for admission.
- Indicate that you are applying for Financial Aid on your Application for Admission (new applicants only).
- Create a Clarity account.
- Complete your Clarity Financial Aid Application.
- Pay the $60 application fee and submit.
- Return to your dashboard in the Clarity application to see if any additional documents need to be uploaded.
Clarity Support
If you need support during the process of completing your application, please reference the Clarity Family Application Guide and/or the How to Apply guide. There is also in-app support available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the screen, as well as email and phone support at support@claritytuition.com or 206-210-3752, in both English and Spanish. The application itself is also fully translated into Spanish.
Clarity offered family information webinars in September and October. If you would like to view a recorded a webinar, please reach out to Aileen Mitchner.
For Questions and Additional Information regarding Financial Aid
Aileen Mitchner
Admission & Financial Aid Associate
amitchner@carolinaday.org
828-210-9154
For Questions regarding Clarity Financial Aid Application
If you need support during the process of completing your application, there is in-app support available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the screen, as well as email and phone support at support@claritytuition.com or 206-210-3752, in both English and Spanish. The application itself is also fully translated into Spanish.