During this current time of economic difficulty, families need financial aid in order to pay for Catholic school tuition perhaps more than ever. But a lot of people are confused about where the money for tuition assistance comes from and how it is awarded. Understanding the process can help make the whole endeavor a little less intimidating.
There are a few different sources of financial aid for families of children in Louisville's Catholic schools. In addition to the funds rasied by individual parishes and high schools for tuition assistance, resources also come from the Archiodiocese of Louisville and the Catholic Education Foundation. In order to allocate the available funds in the most equitable and confidential manner possible, all Catholic elementary and high schools in Louisville use a third party service that works independently of any of the schools, called the Private School Aid Service. The job of PSAS is to objectively assess each applying family's ability to pay the tuition. After completing all of these assessments, PSAS reports back to the individual schools who then notify their families about the amount of their financial aid awards for the coming year. According to the Archdiocese of Louisville website, over $5.5 million was awarded for the current 2009-2010 school year. Naturally, there is always more of a need than there are funds available to meet it, but this process does allow a lot of students to attend Catholic schools who wouldn't be able to without this assistance.
Parents who would like to apply for tuition assistance for the 2010-2011 school year should get an application from the school their child(ren) will attend. It is possible to receive financial aid for more than one child even if they attend different Catholic schools. All applications for next year's aid are due to PSAS no later than March 15, 2010. Anyone with questions should call the business manager at their school or check out the PSAS website.
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