subject: Financing Private School With Grants And Assistance [print this page] We often hear the complaint from parents that they are simply too poor to afford private school. This attitude is dismissive and limiting; parents should be encouraged to think more creatively in order to be able to afford private education. You need to be persistent and perhaps a bit creative in finding options to afford private school tuition and if you are determined you will find a way to afford tuition. Private schools want students and exceptional children will be very welcomed in most schools in the private sector.
There are a number of ways that you can fund private education. These include scholarships, if your child qualifies; loans, including bank loans and payment plans from the schools themselves; and tuition assistance, sometimes offered by the schools for parents in exceptional circumstances. An idea often neglected by parents but certainly worthy of learning more about is private school grants and bursaries.
Private school grants are offered by a variety of organizations. For example, there are a number of conservative organizations with an interest in promoting private education and they offer money to worthy students. For example, the Canadian Conservative think tank, the Fraser Institute holds an annual lottery awarding grants to worthy students in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. The grant can cover tuition for a worthy family for the entire duration of their child's education.
Other grants for private school function much the same way as research grants. For example, if a student has an exceptional academic record and/or a research interest there are organizations offering awards to worthy students. One instance of this is The Annual Great Canadian Questions Essay Competition, a student competition with awards ranging up to several thousand dollars. This is just one example of the awards that are available for students and parents wiling to look around. The award is certainly as good as a grant and there are numerous other contests and awards out there for creative people determined to alleviate the cost of private school tuition.
