Does GDS grant financial aid to students and how are financial aid grants determined?
19% of students at GDS (approximately 170) received financial aid grants in the 2010-11 school year, comprising almost one out of five students. The average grant per student is $10,500. The financial aid committee, made up of qualified school administrators, endeavors to spread aid evenly across each grade level. A student desiring financial aid must go through the standard need-blind application process and be admitted to GDS before applications for financial aid are considered. The financial aid application process begins with submission by the family of financial information to the Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST) service, which computes the family’s need and ability to pay based on the financial information submitted. If financial aid dollars are available, GDS grants are made based on 95% of the family’s need (i.e., GDS requires a family to pay slightly more in tuition than the FAST system determines it is able). For purposes of computing need, the potential income of non-
