Your child's education is the best investment for the future. Western Reserve Academy provides a caring, supportive, yet challenging curriculum that establishes a strong foundation for success at the college level. While Western Reserve Academy believes that the primary responsibility for financing education rests with the family, we recognize that not all families have the resources to finance their child’s education. We believe strongly in the importance of socioeconomic diversity and are proud of our 3.6 million dollar financial aid budget.  Over thirty percent of our students currently receive need-based financial aid.

Financial Aid Application Calendar Deadlines

December 15 (Day Students Only): Complete the Parent Financial Statement (PFS) and mail to School and Student Services (SSS) for processing.  A copy of the WRA Financial Aid Supplemental Form will also need to be submitted along with a copy of previous year’s tax returns.

January 15 (Boarding Students): Complete the Parent Financial Statement (PFS) and mail to School and Student Services (SSS) for processing.  A copy of the WRA Financial Aid Supplemental Form will also need to be submitted along with a copy of previous year’s tax returns.

February 15 (Day and Boarding): Send signed copy of current year’s IRS 1040, W2s, 1099s for parents and/or stepparents to Western Reserve Academy. We realize that preparing income tax returns in advance of the IRS deadline represents an inconvenience, yet they are essential to the financial aid process.  No award will be considered final until all required documents are submitted.

January 15: Financial Aid decisions are mailed to new day students’ families, along with admittance letter.

March 10: Financial Aid decisions are mailed to new boarding students’ families, along with admittance letter.

Merit Scholar Program

Western Reserve Academy’s Merit Scholar Program offers scholarships to students that have distinguished themselves as outstanding scholars and displayed additional talents in their extracurricular areas (e.g. leadership, dance, music, athletics, acting, art, volunteerism, etc.).

Each scholar will be given this scholarship for the entire tenure of his or her enrollment, as long as the student annually functions at a high level of achievement academically and extracurricularly.

In order to be considered for the Merit Scholar Scholarship, candidates must meet all requirements for admission. No additional application required for consideration.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How are financial aid awards determined?

  Western Reserve Academy is committed to serving qualified students who are unable to afford full tuition. Once a student has been accepted through the admissions process, the Financial Aid Committee reviews completed financial aid files. Western Reserve Academy subscribes to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS), which assesses and helps to determine a family’s need for assistance based on income, assets and reasonable expenses. In addition to using SSS, we require previous year’s tax returns and all applicable schedules, as well as the WRA Supplemental Financial Aid Form, to help determine the level of need.  After determining a manageable family contribution, the committee determines a financial aid award, and sends the award along with the admittance packet.

• Will our financial aid change from year to year?

  Financial aid need and awards are recalculated every year using up-to-date information. If there is little change in a family’s circumstances, one can expect that grants will be renewed at similar levels plus the yearly tuition increase. If there are significant changes in a family’s situation, adjustments will be made.

• Who qualifies for financial aid?

  There are many factors that affect award decisions, including a family’s income, assets, and the number of children in tuition-charging schools. Qualification for financial aid from Reserve can only be determined after a family has completed all steps in the financial aid application process.

• What about cases of divorce, separation and single parents?

  In cases of divorce or separation, WRA requires information from both natural parents and any stepparents. Each parent must complete and submit a Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS), the WRA supplemental financial aid form and a copy of their current IRS 1040, W2s and 1099s. The family’s ability to contribute is based on both natural parents’ and any stepparent’s income and assets, bearing in mind responsibilities that stepparents may have for their own biological children.

• Does WRA offer financial aid to international families?

  Reserve has a very limited financial aid budget for international families.

• What types of payment plans are available?

  To help manage costs, Reserve offers two convenient payment plans. The standard option allows for payment in two installments as indicated on the Western Reserve Academy enrollment contract. The second option is our monthly payment plan, offered through Tuition Management Systems, a subsidiary of Key Bank, which allows you to pay annual expenses in 10 interest-free installments. For details contact Key at 1-800-347-3430.

• Are there Loan Programs available to help meet the cost?

  Yes, educational loan programs are available to assist families in making tuition payments affordable. An excellent resource for information on these programs can be found on the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) website.