Students are often torn over the choice of which high school to attend. While not quite as momentous as college, different high schools offer very different experiences, and large cities can offer a significant number of options, each with different things to commend them. Public schools, even selective magnet schools, are free, funded by taxpayers. Private high schools, on the other hand, can be remarkably expensive.
Indeed, the cost of some private high schools is comparable to that of college, especially state schools. This is a bit much for many parents, and leaves some curious as to whether or not any scholarships exist for private high schools, the way they do for colleges. The answer is yes, sometimes. That’s not very satisfying, so in this article, we’ll dive into all of the nuances, so you can understand when and how you can earn scholarships from private high schools.
The Kinds of Aid at Private High Schools
For colleges, there are multiple sources of aid, from need-based grants offered by the schools, to government funding, to third party sources. High schools have far fewer options, in large part due to the existence of public high schools. Most funding goes there, and so the options for aid are more limited.
Need Based Aid From Schools
The most common kind of financial aid available at the high school level is need-based, and offered by individual schools. How each school calculates what counts as need depends on their own particular metrics, and how generous they are with it depends on how large their endowment is. Most private schools rely on tuition for funding, and so scholarships are only offered to a few select students each year.
The amount of need-based funding can be partial, or can cover up to the full tuition of the school. This is most generous, and most prevalent, at the more competitive schools. Wealthier schools have more funding to provide aid with. In spite of that, most of the students at all boarding schools will be full-pay.
Merit Based Aid From Schools
Most boarding schools do not offer any form of merit aid. This is in stark contrast to colleges; while there are a small number of colleges without any merit aid, most offer a great deal of it. No matter how high your test scores or how impressive your grades, private high schools don’t offer merit aid.
In some rare cases, certain schools do offer merit aid for athletes in particular sports, but this is not the norm for private schools as a whole.
Government Aid and School Voucher Programs
There is no federal aid for private high schools; federal education funding goes to states, and from there is distributed to school districts, with all of the money being set aside to fund public schools. Some states have created voucher systems where parents who are sending their children to private schools may receive a tuition voucher funded by the state. These rarely cover the full cost of tuition, but can make schools more affordable.
Some schools do raise prices when voucher systems come into effect, but this depends on the school in question. Voucher systems are hotly debated politically, and so are unlikely to be widely adopted across all states; whether or not they’re available to you depends on where you live.
Third Party Aid
There are a great many third party scholarships for colleges, everything from charitable trusts to scholarships offered by local banks. There is no such assortment for high schools. Once again, the assumption is that if students struggle to afford tuition, they may always attend a public school. The major exception is the Caroline D Bradley Scholarship, which we explain in great detail in an article here, and which is one of the only scholarships available for private high schools.
How to Apply for Financial Aid at Private High Schools
For most private schools, you apply for aid when you apply to the school itself, on a separate but related application. This is designed to understand your financial need; as we covered above, these schools generally only provide need-based aid to students.
Most private schools will take your ability to pay into account when making admissions decisions. There are a small number of need blind schools, but these are limited to the oldest and wealthiest private schools, in New York and New England primarily; most are far too reliant on tuition funding for that.
For this application, you will need to enter your income, assets, and investments. How each school calculates need differs; schools with more funds tend to be more generous when deciding whether or not you have a need for funding. In some cases, you will be asked to provide tax returns to verify the information you have entered.
As with colleges, each school has their own internal calculations for how aid is awarded, and they generally don’t allow for appeals. You will need to reapply for aid each year, and changes in your financial circumstances will be taken into account. Note that getting an aid award from one school does not mean aid will be forthcoming from others.
How to Afford Private School
The overall theme thus far is that financial aid for private schools is limited, competitive, and not an option afforded to most students. Thus the task of affording private school is one that falls most often to parents. The simple fact is that in most cases, private school is only an option if you have the disposable income to afford it. If you don’t have a significant income or other source of financing, private school may be out of reach.
There are some things you can do to try and make it more affordable, but that is always going to be a relative term. We’re going to go through each of these, to explore how they can help.
529 Savings Plans
529 saving plans are a form of tax-advantaged savings accounts meant for college savings for families, with any money put in needing to be spent on educational expenses. While these are meant to pay for college, you are able to withdraw up to $20,000 per year from these accounts to pay expenses connected with K-12 education. This was previously capped at $10,000 per year, but the limit increased in 2026.
This is an excellent option if there are people in a student’s life, such as grandparents, who want to contribute to their educational expenses. They may pay into the savings account in a tax-advantaged way, money may be withdrawn from the account to pay for tuition expenses, and it isn’t taxed as a gift. Note that how different states regulate 529 accounts differ, and some of them do assess taxes on funds withdrawn from these accounts for K-12 education.
The major con of using a 529 plan to pay for private school expenses is that the amount of money saved in the account to pay for college later will be reduced, and there will be less money in the account to accrue interest over time. We recommend speaking with a financial planner to make the most advantaged use of these plans when paying for education.
Less Expensive Schools
Not all private schools cost the same amount, and how much they cost does not necessarily correlate with their quality. You can compare how expensive schools are in your area to the academic results they provide, and find ones which are more (or less) worth the price. Note that in areas like New York, which are simply more expensive, private school tuition is higher across the board.
In some cases, Catholic schools are less expensive than their peers, as they receive funding at the Diocesan level. This is not universal however, and there are plenty of Catholic schools which are quite expensive (once again, especially in cities like New York).
Voucher Programs
There are some states which have implemented voucher programs. These can be in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), which are accounts with a certain amount of funding parents are given access to to use for educational expenses, or in the form of vouchers which are paid directly to private schools to defray tuition costs. These are only offered by a small number of states, but are something to consider if you live in one of them.
Final Thoughts
Private school is a major investment, one which can give great benefits, but isn’t guaranteed to. We hope this article has helped you understand how financial aid works at private schools, and what you can do to make the high cost of it more manageable. The high school you attend has a major impact on your college applications, from the courses you are able to take to how well it supports you. Private schools may not be the right choice for every student, but considering all of your options is always the right choice.
If you’re looking for help evaluating your high school options, and deciding if a private school is best for you, then Ivy Scholars can help. We know what colleges want to see, and we have a lot of experience helping students find the right high school to support them on their educational journey. If you have questions about which high school is right for you, or advice on applying to a private high school, then schedule a free consultation today. We’re always happy to hear from you.
