Traditional Financial Assistance - Prospective Families
Instructions for Prospective Families for the 2013-14 School YearWestside Neighborhood School seeks students from a broad range of backgrounds, reflecting the community at large. We celebrate diversity in all its forms, including socio-economic diversity. We are proud of our financial assistance program: about 30% of current WNS students receive some level of financial assistance. Award amounts vary widely, but full scholarships are not granted.
As a new applicant to WNS, your child must be accepted for enrollment before financial assistance will be considered. Our goal is to inform applicant families whether they qualify for a tuition discount, as well as the amount, on March 15 (the same date that enrollment acceptance letters are mailed). Your application for financial assistance is processed on a parallel timeline as your enrollment application. FA applications are accepted beginning December 1, 2012. Do not delay starting the financial assistance application process, but take time to provide the most accurate information possible.
To help us qualify each family, WNS collects financial data, and, like most other independent schools, we use the services of an outside company. Independent School Management (“ISM”) provides an online application through its Financial Aid for School Tuition (“FAST”) program. FAST has been adopted by many schools nationwide and is considered user-friendly by parents and an effective analytical tool for schools.
Please note: if you are applying to WNS through the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs, you may already have completed the Parents' Financial Statement ("PFS") through the School and Student Service for Financial Aid ("SSS"). We ask that you also submit the FAST online application.
FAST does not decide whether (or how much) financial assistance will be awarded; rather, FAST provides the school a recommended tuition per family based on the school's policies and the information provided by each applicant. A committee of WNS administrators makes award decisions. All family personal and financial information is kept strictly confidential. In the case of two-household families, each parent's financial data is stored separately and is not visible to the other parent.
All parents of the applicant child must complete the FAST application online. Parents living in separate households apply individually, as "Family 1" and "Family 2" within the same application. Applications may be opened on Saturday, December 1, 2012 and are due no later than Friday, February 1, 2013. The data you submit in FAST is based on your end-of-year 2012 income, expenses, assets and liabilities. Use the most accurate information possible.See below for a downloadable statement of WNS's financial assistance policies and tips for filling our your application. The 2013-14 FA Calendar can also be downloaded.
If you are NOT applying through the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs, please mail or email copies of your 2011 federal tax return, form 1040 to WNS, c/o Carol Garvey, by Friday, February 1, 2013.
All families are requested to mail or email copies of your W-2 or final 2012 paystub(s) to WNS, c/o Carol Garvey, by Friday, Feb. 1st. There may be more than one if you changed jobs in 2012. This is not required of families who are self-employed, who do not receive W-2s.
Also due on February 1st is a WNS form, the 2013 Family Financial Profile ("FFP") (download below). This family budget form gives you an opportunity to report significant changes that you anticipate in your family's finances from 2012 to 2013. For instance, you may have started a new job midway through 2012; or you expect to pay off a car loan in 2013; or you may have had a non-recurring medical or home repair expense in 2012. If you do not expect significant changes, the data on the FFP will be essentially the same as what you enter on the FAST application, which is based on 2012 actual income and expenses.
The next step is to mail signed copies of your 2012 CA state tax return (form 540) and federal tax return (form 1040) no later than Friday, March 1.
The link below will provide access to a secure FAST website specifically for WNS. Click the Get Started button at the bottom of the first page. It will take approximately one hour once you have assembled the necessary data. For your convenience, FAST has a 9-page downloadable worksheet. You may complete the application in multiple online sessions and the data is saved each time.
When you are ready to submit the application, you will be asked to pay a $38 fee using a credit card. If you do not have a credit card, contact Carol Garvey, the WNS financial assistance administrator at WNS (310-574-8650, ext. 415, or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). If you do not have access to a computer, Mrs. Garvey can arrange access at WNS.
These are the due dates for submitting your application and back-up documents:
- Friday, February 1, 2013: Due date to file FAST application online
- Friday, February 1, 2013: Mail or email copy of 2011 federal tax return to WNS (unless already submitted to the Alliance)
- Friday, February 1, 2013: Mail or email copy of 2012 W-2 or final pay stub to WNS
- Friday, February 1, 2013: Mail or email 2012 Family Financial Profile (FFP) to WNS (download below)
- Friday, March 1, 2013: Mail to FAST paper copies of signed 2012 form 1040 (federal tax return) form 540 (CA state tax return) and required schedules and supporting back-up (W-2s, UI statements, etc).
Make your tax appointment early!
IMPORTANT: Login to FAST and download your Quick Processing Wizard, a bar-coded transmittal form that will give you a list of required items and ensure expedited handling of your tax documents. It is NOT necessary to send your documents by Fedex or other courier or overnight mail.
Mail to:
ISM - FAST Processing
1316 North Union Street
Wilmington, DE 19806
If you meet the due dates for completing your FA application and submitting the back-up documents to WNS and FAST, you will receive an award determination letter with the admission letter on March 15, 2013. If funds remain after contracts are returned on March 25, 2013, late applicants may be considered, but there is no guarantee.
Click here to download the 2013 Family Financial Profile (FFP). To complete this form digitally, open the document in Adobe Acrobat Reader (not the default PDF reader such as "Preview" in a Mac). The FFP is programmed to add totals in the shaded boxes, so you don't have to do the math.
Click here to download the WNS Financial Assistance Policies and Tips for Parents.
Click here to download the 2013-14 FA Checklist.
Click below for the link to the online FAST application.
