Hebrew Day School - Ann Arbor, Michigan Judaic and general studies, Immersion Hebrew programs
 
 
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Hebrew Day School Scholarship Process

Families are welcome to apply to the Hebrew Day School’s Scholarship Committee for tuition assistance. The Scholarship Committee is charged with carrying out the Hebrew Day School’s commitment to make Jewish day school education accessible to all. This is done with funds from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor and from private donations. The financial aid committee holds all information in strict confidence.

The scholarship aid decision is separate from the admission process. Before a scholarship application will be considered, the student must be accepted for enrollment and all completed Tuition Contract forms must be submitted to the HDS office, along with the required enrollment fees.

In order for the committee to make scholarship decisions fairly and efficiently, applicants are required to follow the process described below within the timeline set for that year.

 

Hebrew Day School Scholarship Program

 

 

HDS Scholarship Process

Each year, the Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor designates a substantial amount of scholarships to assist families with demonstrated need. A loan may also be offered if a family is only temporarily financially impaired. Assistance comes from a variety of sources including grants from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, school scholarship funds, and the school’s operating budget. The scholarship program helps ensure that the school maintains its diverse and inclusive student population.

 

How Much is Allocated?

In 2009-2010, over $130,000 was allocated in scholarships. Of that amount, $81,200 came from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor.  In each of the prior three years, at least 90% of all applicants received an offer of either a grant or a loan.  Approximately 28% of HDS students receive financial assistance.

 

Process of Applying

To apply for scholarship funds, families who have enrolled and paid the registration fees are asked to complete two steps:

 

1)      Fill out an online form provided by SSS (School and Student Service for Financial Aid), a service offered by NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools). This service is used by independent schools throughout the country. Based on the provided financial information, the service determines the amount of money that a family is able to pay for private school education.  SSS sends this analysis to the HDS Scholarship Committee.  To view the application form, parents may go to http://sss.nais.org/Parents/Apply/content.cfm?ItemNumber=154285 and use the school code of 1404.  There is an application fee of $35.

 

2)      Mail financial documents to SSS

a.       The most recent year of tax returns

b.      The HDS scholarship application, which provides an opportunity to add additional information regarding the family situation.

These forms are scanned by SSS and made available for the HDS Scholarship Committee’s electronic review.

 

The HDS Scholarship Committee meets over several months during the spring and families are notified of the results. Once an allocation is granted, parents are asked to inform the school of their acceptance and submit a school tuition contract within a two-week period.

 

Privacy and Confidentiality

The school and the HDS Scholarship Committee know that privacy and confidentiality are of the utmost concern to parents.  The Committee consists of five individuals who are either alumni parents or other members of the community.  The following steps have been implemented to ensure the privacy of applying families and the confidentiality of their information.

 

  • There are no current parents on the committee.
  • Every attempt is made to keep the names of the committee members confidential to avoid any possible discomfort. 
  • The Committee discusses the relevant information only within the context of committee deliberations, and never outside of that context.
  • The HDS staff is not privy to the financial information submitted to SSS and the Committee. 
  • Information about data security and privacy regarding the online documents can be found at http://sss.nais.org/schools/CompAssist/content.cfm?ItemNumber=152194.

 

Feel free to direct any further questions about scholarships and the process to hdsscholarship@hdsaa.org.

 

  1. Notification of award. If you are unable to enroll your child/ren at HDS because of the Scholarship Committee’s decision, the enrollment fees will be refunded to you provided that you notify the HDS office of your decision within two weeks of receipt of your financial aid determination letter.
  2. Submit Tuition Payment Agreement Plan and first payment. Once a family decides to accept the financial award and enroll the student at HDS, the Payment Agreement Plan form must be submitted to the HDS Business Manager along with full tuition payment, Electronic Funds Transfer form, or 10 postdated checks.

Please remember:

  • Incomplete  Applications will not be considered.
  • All enrollment documents and fees (Tuition Contract, enrollment fee, book and supply fee, and PTO dues) must be submitted to the HDS office before a Financial Aid Application can be considered.
  • Late applications will only be considered if there are available, remaining funds after the on-time applications have been considered.
  • Current HDS families must be up-to-date on all payments and school obligations to HDS before a Scholarship Application can be considered.

Please direct your scholarship questions to hdsscholarship@hdsaa.org.