Private School Financial Aid Donations Drop as Recession Takes its Toll

Online, September 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Once upon a time, the financial aid offered to students to help families fund the expensive tuition and expense of a private education was provided almost entirely by donations from alumni, budget surpluses from increasing enrollments and the return schools made on investment and endowment funds. Unfortunately for students and their families, charitable donations as well as the return schools have earned on endowment and investment portfolios have been adversely affected by the recession of the past few years. Enrollments are also down for many schools, compounding the problem for many private school financial aid administrators.

Although the vast majority of parents who choose to send their child(ren) to private primary or secondary schools agree that private schools offer a superior education with lower teacher to student rations than public schools. Unfortunately, affording a private school education has become increasingly difficult in recent years, as many families have experienced financial reversals during the recession. Even committed parents are, in some cases, opting to send their child(ren) to public schools because of the high cost of private schools.

A 2003 study by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) found that most parents drew from a combination of various sources to meet tuition expenses, including financial aid received directly from the school. Private schools that used to offer financial aid typically limited that assistance to low or moderate-income families, but fewer schools are able to do so now. Financial assets are worth less than they were before the recession and many investment accounts and endowments significantly lost value.

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