Affording Northwest

Learning Support: Students with documented disabilities receive a personalized Learning Support Plan (LSP) detailing the reasonable accommodations necessary to fully access the school’s curriculum and programs. Additionally, all students benefit from the Academic Resource Center, Peer Academic Leaders, and faculty trained in Universal Design, ensuring comprehensive support for a wide range of learning needs.

Study Abroad: Eligible Upper School students can spend from four to eight weeks studying abroad in one of our seven partner schools, living with a host family, including France, Spain, and Japan. In exchange, the host family student is eligible to attend classes at Northwest.

Middle School Laptop Program: Northwest has a 1:1 program, whereby each middle school student receives a school-owned computer at no additional cost for all three years of Middle School.

Middle School Athletics: Our students compete with middle school teams throughout the region in Basketball, Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Girls’ Volleyball, Track & Field and Cross Country at no additional cost.

Note: The following costs are covered fully by the Experience Fund, which covers all non-tuition fees and expenses for families who receive Financial Aid.

Laptops for Upper School Students: In the Upper School we use a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach. We provide the necessary specifications for purchasing a device. If you already have a device, and it does not meet the recommended specifications, we can evaluate it based upon your student’s course schedule.

Grade Level Trips & Programming: There are occasional, modest additional costs for grade level trips.

Books and Supplies: The cost of books, textbooks and materials varies by grade level and course.

Health Insurance: International students living in the dorm are required to have a basic health insurance plan to cover medical emergencies, but families may opt for an external provider as long as the chosen plan meets the school's minimum coverage requirements.

Note: The following costs are covered fully by the Experience Fund, which covers all non-tuition fees and expenses for families who receive Financial Aid.

Yearbook

Outdoor Program Trips: Costs vary by trip. As an example, the 2025 Snowshoeing and Snow Shelter Building Day trip was $55.00 and included meals, transportation, snowshoes, permits and other expenses.

School Bus Transportation:

Northwest offers a daily, five route am and pm bus service to transport students to/from school. Northwest owns a fleet of modern, well-maintained buses operated by experienced drivers. Families may sign up for full year am and pm bus service or opt for either am or pm service each trimester.

Exchange and Cultural Trips: Students may apply to participate in school trips lasting approximately two weeks to countries such as Costa Rica, Morocco, Cambodia, Spain, France, Japan and Taiwan. Trip fees vary based on location and length of stay and include meals, transportation, and cultural activities fees. Homestays and partner schools’ programming are included at no additional cost.

Upper School Athletics Fee:

Students participate in interscholastic sports that vary by season, ultimate, basketball, soccer, track and field, cross-country, etc. Fees are calculated annually. In 2025, the Athletics Fee was $195 per sports season.

Submit a financial aid application through Clarity. Based on the financial information you provide, our office estimates the amount your family can contribute to educational expenses. This helps us make fair and objective financial aid decisions. Please allow up to 30 minutes to complete either application.

Apply via Clarity

This application is mobile-friendly and available in English and Spanish. There is a $60 application fee due at the time of submission.*

*If the application fee presents a burden, please reach out to the admissions team.

If possible, we ask for your 2024 W2 as part of the application process. When applying via Clarity, the system will automatically ask for your permission to access your 2023 tax documents directly from the IRS. If you expect your 2024 or 2025 finances to be significantly different from the 2023 taxes, please submit an explanation of the anticipated changes in income.

We ask families to fill out an online application and include supporting materials such as W2s and prior year’s tax returns. We then review all of the materials focusing first on income, then on assets. Multiple variables are considered, such as the family’s size, parents’ ages, number of children attending tuition-charging schools, any unusual circumstances, etc. Ultimately, we calculate the number that we believe the family is capable of paying for educational costs for all of their children. Financial aid represents the difference between that number and our tuition.

At the same time they learn if their student is admitted to Northwest.

Priority for financial aid goes to returning students who received financial aid in the preceding school year. However, all families who receive aid must resubmit their current financial information each year so the financial aid committee can verify the award amount. 

Families can anticipate costs in addition to tuition, some of which apply to all students while others would depend on an individual student’s opt-ins.

• Books ~$200*
• Grade-level trips ~$90 per trip*
• Outdoor program ~$100 per trip
• Upper school athletic fees ~$125 per season
• After-school program ~$15 per day
• Transportation

*Required fees that apply to all students

The school considers the income and assets of all parents and guardians when evaluating the need for financial aid. If either parent has remarried or has a domestic partner, we also consider the income and assets of the stepparent or domestic partner (bearing in mind the obligation of that stepparent or domestic partner to their own children). It is the responsibility of the parent filling out the financial aid application to ensure that all the required adults who are described above are included in the application and that they each submit the appropriate tax forms and schedules.

In general, all parents/guardians must be employed to receive financial aid from The Northwest School. We also realize, however, that certain circumstances may make it impossible for this to occur. Please explain any such circumstances in your financial aid application and describe the nonworking parent/guardian’s circumstances and plans.

If your financial situation changes after your student is enrolled and the full cost of tuition presents a hardship to your family, you may apply for financial aid as a returning family regardless of whether you previously received financial aid. Please contact the financial aid office to request information. Your contract may be revised if you qualify for financial aid and funds are available.

Each year, we have more applicants who are qualified for both admission and financial aid than we can fund from our financial aid budget. Students who are admissible and qualify for financial aid but whom we are unable to fund will be placed on our waitlist.

Because financial aid is awarded with priority to families who meet our deadlines, it is unlikely that financial aid will become available after our deadline. This includes families who apply for aid after their child has enrolled in the school, as well as students accepted from the wait pool, and applicants who apply after the application and/or financial aid deadlines.

Yes, we do. If you are offered a financial aid award and find that you cannot afford the tuition with the amount of assistance awarded, we encourage you to ask for an appeal. You will be asked to provide additional information to allow the financial aid committee to evaluate an adjustment to the award amount, including a list of monthly expenses, copies of recent paystubs and information about any unusual expenses that may not have been included in the original application.

The Experience Fund (X-Fund) was established to provide additional financial assistance to families receiving financial aid. The aim of the fund is to ensure that all students have the full experience of opportunities available at Northwest.

The X-Fund covers costs associated with additional expenses, including transportation for families of financial aid. Unanticipated expenses unique to each student (e.g., cleats for soccer) are also covered.

We offer optional opportunities for both families and students to participate in Financial Aid Affinity Groups, which meet throughout the year.

These groups provide an opportunity for families receiving financial aid to connect across shared experiences. 

Our financial aid deadline is earlier than some schools because we use prior-prior year (PPY) tax information, which allows us to begin the process sooner. While some schools require the most recent tax returns (due in April), we ask for tax information from two years prior, which is typically already available. This allows families to submit their applications earlier, ensuring that we can assess financial aid awards in a timely manner without needing to wait for the current year’s taxes.