Flexible Tuition

Affording a St. Paul's Education

Since our founding, maintaining socioeconomic diversity among our students has been one of our central values. This diversity affords all our students a chance to learn more deeply, think more critically, and be better prepared to step into the world that awaits them after St. Paul's. To that end, we focus attention and resources on flexible tuition.

We know all families who select an independent school are choosing to invest in their child's education. If flexible tuition will help put that investment in reach, we encourage you to apply. More information about our process and policies is available here or by contacting Nicole Start, Director of Finance at 510-285-9609.

Flexible Tuition Information for Applicant Families

St. Paul's uses School & Student Services (SSS) to compute tuition for families. Parents complete a Parent Financial Statement (PFS) and upload their most recent tax returns online. St. Paul's School Code is 6905.

We hold financial information submitted by families in the strictest confidence. Flexible tuition calculations are done by the Admissions Office and Business Office, independently of admissions assessments, student performance, and family interactions with the school.

We know that applying for flexible tuition can be a daunting process; please don't hesitate to contact the Admissions Office if we can be of help.

Additional resources about completing a PFS from SSS:
PFS Workbook with step-by-step instructions and a list of the information you'll need to have at hand when completing the PFS.

Recorded webinar with basic information for families completing a PFS.

The slide deck from the above webinar (in case you'd like to preview the information covered before watching.)

Tuition Payment Options

In order to accommodate families, we have three different options for paying tuition for the 2022-2023 school year. Each enrolled family can view and manage their payments in their FACTS account:

Single Payment due June 1, 2022
Two Payments due on or before June 1, 2022 (60%) and on or before January 1, 2023 (40%, plus a finance fee)
Monthly Payments over 10 months, June 2022 - March 2023 (includes a finance fee)

BASIC Fund Scholarship

The BASIC Fund is a non-profit that offers a separate scholarship program for low income families to help them make independent school possible. Some families may qualify for a BASIC Fund scholarship in addition to the support they receive from St. Paul's through Flexible Tuition. We encourage interested families to see if they are eligible, and if so to submit an application to the BASIC Fund in addition to applying for flexible tuition.

A BASIC Fund scholarship is applied to the tuition set by the school through the flexible tuition process, reducing a family's financial obligation. You can see their flyer about applying (includes English and Spanish).

Flexible Tuition Timeline

For New Families:
January 16, 2023: Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) due. Complete the PFS on the SSS website. Upload your 2021 tax returns along with 2021 and 2022 W2s.

St. Paul's notifies families of their tuition in the admissions decision packets that are sent on March 16, 2023.

For Current Families:
December 1, 2022: Parents' Financial Statement (PFS) due. Complete the PFS on the SSS website. Be sure you have uploaded 2021 tax documents.

April 15, 2023: 2021 Tax Return due.
Upload a complete copy of your 2022 Tax Return, including all schedules, copies of W2 forms, to SSS.