Tuition and Financial Aid
Harpeth Hall offers a transformative education to the girls and young women of Nashville, and it's more affordable than you may think.
We are delighted you are interested in Harpeth Hall. For many families, investing in an independent school education requires careful financial planning. We work to keep tuition and fees as low as possible to make a Harpeth Hall education feasible.
2018-19 school tuition is:
Upper School Students: $28,900
Middle School Students: $27,850
Middle School Fees
Middle School Expenses
- Books: $250 to $750 depending on grade level
- Laptop: All 5th – 8th graders will lease a laptop for $350 per year.
- School Uniform: A complete new uniform $200 - $250. (A uniform can be purchased from our monthly consignment sale, the Hang Up, for a reduced price).
- P.E. Uniform: Approximately $40
Overnight class trips in Middle School (note these are trip costs for 2018-2019)
- 5th grade trip to Birmingham: $140
- 6th grade trip to Tremont: $280
- 7th grade retreat to Camp Laney: $350
- 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C.: $1,489
Optional Expenses
- Aftercare: Free until 5 p.m. The 2018-19 fee for 5-6 p.m. is $14 per day (prorated for families receiving financial aid).
- Choir: 7th/8th choir dress is $60 new; Upper School choir dress is $81 new. There are previously worn dresses available for purchase ($30 for MS, $40 for US).
- Orchestra: Instrument rentals are approximately $35-$50/month. Middle School and Upper School orchestra uniform is $56.
NOTES:
- The Hang Up Sale is our consignment uniform sale, held monthly.
- Families receiving financial aid may apply for the Olivia Fund and the Adeline Fund to potentially help cover costs beyond tuition.
Upper School Fees
Upper School Expenses
- Books: $250 to $750 depending on grade level
- Technology fee: Middle School - $350 annual fee; Upper School - $400 annual fee
- School Uniform: A complete new uniform $200 - $250. (A uniform can be purchased used from our monthly consignment sale, the Hang Up Sale, for a reduced price.)
- P.E. Uniform: Approximately $40
- Athletic Team Expenses: Athletic equipment that is necessary for a particular sport such as practice gear, cleats, lacrosse stick, softball, glove, etc. is purchased by families. This equipment will remain in the possession of the families after the season.
- Upper School art fee is $170
- Upper School Winterim trips: costs vary based on location
NOTES:
- The Hang Up Sale is our consignment uniform sale, held monthly.
- Families receiving financial aid may apply for the Olivia Fund and the Adeline Fund to potentially help cover costs beyond tuition.
How Financial Aid Works
Admission decisions are made separately from financial aid determinations. The application process for both occur concurrently, in parallel. Families will receive an estimated financial aid package at the same time they receive their admission decision. All families contribute toward the cost of a Harpeth Hall education. We expect this investment to be among a family’s highest financial priorities. Financial aid determinations are confidential agreements between Harpeth Hall’s Financial Aid Committee and each family.
For any additional questions about applying for financial aid, please contact Director of Admission and Financial Aid, Wellesley L. Wilson, at 615-346-0098, or Associate Director of Admission and Financial Aid, Jessica Viner, at 615-346-0103.
Apply for Financial Aid
Steps to apply for Financial Aid for the 2019-20 school year:
Create an account with SSS, a confidential third party financial information review service. Harpeth Hall's school code is 3718.
October 2 | SSS opens for families seeking financial aid for the 2019-20 school year.
January 7 | Parent Financial Statement (PFS), 2017 and 2016 Federal Tax Returns and all related schedules due in SSS for all families seeking financial aid in 2019-20. Please note all tax returns and all related schedules must be uploaded directly to SSS.
February 1 | 2018 W-2s and/or 1099s due in SSS. Please note all W-2s and/or 1099s must be uploaded directly to SSS.
March 2 | Admission and Financial Aid Decisions are available in the admission portal.
March 8 | Admission and Financial Aid Response Deadline
April 1 | 2018 Federal Tax Return and all related schedules due in SSS.
Late April | 2019-20 Final Financial Aid Awards are available.
May 1 | Enrollment Contract Binding Date
For any additional questions about applying for financial aid, please contact Director of Admission and Financial Aid, Wellesley L. Wilson, at 615-346-0098, or Associate Director of Admission and Financial Aid, Jessica Viner, at 615-346-0103.
Named Scholar Programs
- The Armistead Scholarship Fund
- Atticus Trust Scholarship Fund
- Christina Spengler Bumstead Scholarship Fund
- The Gary L. Christy Scholarship Fund
- Anita and Bill Cochran Scholarship Fund
- The Davis Scholarships Permanent Endowment Fund
- The Deaton Family Scholarship
- The Doolittle Family Scholarship Fund
- Carol Clark Elam Scholarship Fund
- Edie and David Johnson Family Scholarship Fund
- Carolyn Jones Estes Scholarship Fund
- Elizabeth Pope Evans Scholarship
- M. Stratton Foster Scholarship Fund
- The Francis Family Scholarship Fund
- Susan Barbara Leake Glasgow Scholarship Fund
- Ingram Scholars Program
- The Margaret Helen Lowe '12 Scholarship Fund
- The Melkus Family Scholarship Fund
- Owen Scholars Program
- Madeline and Eugene Pargh Scholarship
- The Poteat Scholarship Fund
- Smith-Warner Family Scholarship Fund
- The Corinne Sphire and Joseph Teaff Scholarship Fund
- The Trinity Scholarship
- Sara Womack Warner Scholarship Fund
- The Wiley Family Scholarship Fund
- The Chadwell/Delony Scholarship Fund
The Armistead Scholarship Fund
Atticus Trust Scholarship Fund
Christina Spengler Bumstead Scholarship Fund
Family and friends established this fund in 2004 to honor the memory of Christina Spengler Bumstead ’87. Christy’s wish was for gifts made in her memory to be used to support her alma mater. The scholarship goes to deserving students who demonstrate leadership potential and share Christy’s enthusiasm for life, love of learning, and commitment to community.
The Gary L. Christy Scholarship Fund
Established in 2015 by the Vandewater family, this endowment honors veteran teacher Gary Christy who taught reading in Harpeth Hall’s Daugh W. Smith Middle School from 2003 to 2015. Beloved by his students, Mr. Christy began his teaching career in 1969 in the public school system and brought years of experience, wisdom, and magic to his classroom at Harpeth Hall. Students selected as the Gary Christy Scholar must demonstrate financial need and a passion for reading and learning.
Anita and Bill Cochran Scholarship Fund
The Davis Scholarships Permanent Endowment Fund
The Frances Bond Davis Scholarship was established in 1993 to honor the 100th birthday of Frances Bond Davis. The Rascoe Bond Davis Scholarship was established in 1996 to honor her son, Rascoe, whose three daughters, Anne Davis '73, Beth Davis '74, and Pat Davis '82, graduated from Harpeth Hall and whose wife, Dugan Davis, was a teacher at Harpeth Hall. In 2008, these funds became the Davis Scholarships Permanent Endowment Fund. The scholarship recipients are students who demonstrate financial need, advanced academic ability, and determination to succeed in spite of obstacles they may encounter.
The Deaton Family Scholarship
The Doolittle Family Scholarship Fund
Carol Clark Elam Scholarship Fund
Edie and David Johnson Family Scholarship Fund
Carolyn Jones Estes Scholarship Fund
Elizabeth Pope Evans Scholarship
This scholarship was established through the generosity of Mrs. Walter A. Greenspan to honor the memory of her granddaughter, Elizabeth Pope Evans, who was an instructor in French and Chair of the Foreign Language Department from 1975 to 1985. This fund is designated to assist deserving students who have demonstrated promise in foreign languages, especially French.
M. Stratton Foster Scholarship Fund
The Francis Family Scholarship Fund
Susan Barbara Leake Glasgow Scholarship Fund
The Susan Barbara Leake Glasgow Scholarship was established in 2010 to honor Bobbie Glasgow ’36, a Ward-Belmont alumna and past Harpeth Hall trustee, for students who need and qualify for financial aid. Throughout her life, she was a firm believer in education as all-important, and her family supported her in this conviction. Her daughters are Harpeth Hall alumnae Susie Glasgow Brown ’60 and Emily Glasgow Bruno ’64, her daughter-in-law is Candace Floyd Glasgow ’71, her granddaughter is Barbara Keith Brown Payne ’85, and her sons Sam ’60 and Bim ’69 are alumni of Montgomery Bell Academy. Mrs. Glasgow was proud to be a part of the large Ward-Belmont/Harpeth Hall body of alumnae.
Ingram Scholars Program
This program was established through a bequest of E. Bronson Ingram in honor of his daughter, Robin Ingram Patton ’84. Ingram Scholars are awarded aid based on demonstrated need. Academic potential, commitment to community service, and involvement in a variety of extracurricular activities are important factors in the award decision.
The Margaret Helen Lowe '12 Scholarship Fund
A bright light to all who knew her, Margaret Lowe was an outstanding student, a talented athlete, an inspired classics scholar, and a servant leader who knew no bounds in giving to her friends and community. Her family, classmates, and friends established this scholarship fund in 2015 to honor her memory and to support girls who demonstrate financial need and who have a passion for learning and a heart for serving others.
The Melkus Family Scholarship Fund
Lynn and Ken Melkus and Lauren Melkus ’96 created the Melkus Family Scholarship Fund in 2002 in order to assist the school in attracting the most qualified students regardless of financial circumstance. The gift was funded through the Melkus Family Foundation. The family’s priority is to use the funds to increase cultural diversity at Harpeth Hall.
Owen Scholars Program
Madeline and Eugene Pargh Scholarship
The Poteat Scholarship Fund
This endowment fund was established in memory of Mary Jane Poteat ’66 by her sisters, Sylvia Poteat Cannon and Cynthia Poteat Sewell ’61. Upon the untimely death of Sylvia in 2004, gifts made in her memory were added to a permanent scholarship endowment fund for a scholarship for an alumna’s daughter.
Smith-Warner Family Scholarship Fund
The Corinne Sphire and Joseph Teaff Scholarship Fund
Ann Teaff, Harpeth Hall Head of School from 1998 – 2014, established this fund with her husband Don McPherson to inspire future generations of young women at Harpeth Hall to pursue their own endless possibilities. This scholarship honors her parents who encouraged their children to pursue their own endless possibilities. The fund provides tuition assistance for young women with financial need.
The Trinity Scholarship
The scholarship fund was established by Thomas W. Schlater III in 2011 rewarding a deserving student who sets and achieves high goals. Tom learned the value of education from his father and his mother, Mary Hughes Schlater ’24. Each of his daughters benefited from a Harpeth Hall education: Sarah Schlater Yavorski '75, Amy Schlater-Berg '77, and Mary Elizabeth Schlater '81.
Sara Womack Warner Scholarship Fund
The Wiley Family Scholarship Fund
David and Margaret Hayes Wiley ’49 established this scholarship in 2003 to be awarded to an outstanding Upper School student who demonstrates need and who will make a significant contribution to the Harpeth Hall community. The scholarship honors the four generations of their family and friends who have attended and benefited from Ward-Belmont and Harpeth Hall.
The Chadwell/Delony Scholarship Fund
Established in 2014 by Harpeth Hall Trustee Patty Litton Delony '66, this endowment provides opportunity for girls who demonstrate financial need, with an emphasis on ensuring economic and racial balance in the student body. Her hope is that recipients will benefit from an all girls’ education as she and her sister, Frances Delony ’69, did at Harpeth Hall, and as her mother, Jane Chadwell Delony '39, and her aunt, Patty Litton Chadwell ’35, did at Ward-Belmont.
Additional Financial Aid Resources
- Elizabeth Bond Davis '74 International Exchange Scholarship Fund
- Grace Wilson Irvin '70 Winterim-In-France Scholarship
- The Olivia Fund
- The Winterim Travel Fund
Elizabeth Bond Davis '74 International Exchange Scholarship Fund
Elizabeth "Beth" Bond Davis '74 was an adventurous traveler, open to new cultures, high achieving, brave, and kind to everyone. She was Harpeth Hall's first American Field Service student receiving an American Abroad Scholarship to travel to Malaysia in 1973. To honor Beth's memory, the Joe C. Davis Foundation, family, and friends established an endowment fund in 2014 to enable students who demonstrate financial need to participate in International Exchanges and explore our world.
Grace Wilson Irvin '70 Winterim-In-France Scholarship
The Olivia Fund
This fund was established anonymously in 2001 by a Harpeth Hall parent in honor of his young daughter, who was in her 2nd year of eight at the school. Its purpose is to help students and their families with expenses that are important to an inclusive school experience but are not covered in financial aid awards for tuition, such as class trips, books, and various extracurricular activities.
The Winterim Travel Fund
Harpeth Hall has various resources to provide students on financial aid with partial scholarships for Winterim academic travel and International Exchanges. One such fund is described below. The Director of Winterim and International Exchange shares information about applying for scholarship funding when Winterim travel opportunities are announced each year.
The Winterim Travel Fund
Peggy Smith Warner ’54, Jeannette Warner ’78, Mary Laird Warner Stewart ’82 and Overton Thompson Smith established this fund through the Henry Laird Smith Foundation in 2014 to assist girls on financial aid with expenses related to Winterim Academic Travel and International Exchanges. These experiences foster a deeper understanding of the world and other cultures, and this fund will allow girls to have access to life-changing opportunities regardless of financial circumstances. The Smith-Warner Family hopes that others who have enjoyed and have been impacted by Winterim and Exchange travel will be inspired to help future generations of young women have similar global study experiences.
Financial Aid Policies
2019-20 Harpeth Hall Financial Aid Policy
- Harpeth Hall does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, or disability in its financial aid policies.
- Harpeth Hall requires all families seeking financial aid to apply each year. Families who apply for financial aid after the published deadline are awarded need-based financial aid based on the availability of funds.
- Harpeth Hall uses the SSS Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) as a guideline in determining financial aid awards. The Financial Aid Committee reserves the right to make adjustments to the EFC based on Harpeth Hall’s financial aid policy.
- Harpeth Hall requires families to submit a Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) through School and Student Services (SSS by NAIS). In addition, Harpeth Hall requires a copy of the Federal Tax Return 1040, including all related schedules, and W-2 Form(s) and/or 1099s for the two tax years prior to the year the student’s financial aid begins from all parent(s)/guardian(s) financially responsible for the applicant, including step-parents. Harpeth Hall reserves the right to request verification of all financial documents via Form 4506T. From time to time, the Financial Aid Committee may request that families receiving financial aid complete Form 4506T to verify tax documents submitted.
- Harpeth Hall expects that all financially responsible parent(s)/guardian(s) contribute to cost of the applicant’s education. In the event that a parent/guardian is not working, the Financial Aid Committee will impute income equivalent to one full tuition for the appropriate school division. Exceptions to this policy include a household with a child under the age of 5, a household responsible for the care of a family member or a household in which a parent is enrolled in school during the same year for which the family is applying for financial aid. In the event that a parent/guardian’s wages are below that of tuition for the appropriate school division, the Financial Aid committee will impute the difference between the wage and the appropriate tuition.
- In the case that a parent or guardian is unable to complete the PFS and provide required documentation, the financially responsible parent/guardian must submit a completed Non-Custodial Parent Waiver Form.
- All financial aid awards are made on the basis of demonstrated need. The Financial Aid Committee does not allow any unusual expenses including closing costs, legal fees, business expenses, past debt, consumer debt, medical expenses above $5,000 and cash charitable gifts above $2,500.
- The Financial Aid Committee notifies newly accepted families of financial aid awards at the time of their acceptance. The Financial Aid Committee notifies returning families of financial aid awards at the time of online re-enrollment.
- Harpeth Hall requires that all student accounts be current in order for a family to be considered for financial aid.
- Harpeth Hall regards all information, conversations, and awards related to financial aid as confidential.
FAQs
- When should I apply for Financial Aid?
- How and when is financial aid determined?
- I'm not sure if our financial situation would qualify us for financial aid. Should I still apply?
- Is my financial information confidential?
- Do I have to reapply for financial aid each year?
- Are there any payment options?
- How is financial aid funded?
- What other expenses are there other than tuition?
- How does financial aid benefit full-pay families?
When should I apply for Financial Aid?
The financial aid process begins the year before a student would like to enter Harpeth Hall. If you are seeking financial aid for the 2019-20 school year, your financial aid process begins October of 2018. Families seeking financial aid will complete the online application available on SSS by NAIS. A timeline of financial aid application deadlines is below.
For prospective families seeking financial aid in the 2019-20 school year:
October 2: SSS opens for families seeking financial aid for the 2019-20 school year.
January 7: Parent Financial Statement (PFS), 2017 and 2016 Federal Tax Returns and all related schedules due in SSS for all families seeking financial aid in 2019-20
February 1: 2018 W-2s and/or 1099s due in SSS
March 2: Admission and Financial Aid decisions available in the admission portal
March 8: Admission and Financial Aid Response Deadline
April 1: 2018 Federal Tax Return and all related schedules due in SSS
May 1: Enrollment Contract Binding Date
For any additional questions about applying for financial aid, please contact Wellesley L. Wilson, director of admission and financial aid, at 615-346-0098, or Jessica Viner, associate director of admission and financial aid, at 615-346-0103.
How and when is financial aid determined?
Harpeth Hall uses an objective third-party processor, SSS, to provide a financial profile of an applying family. SSS estimates the amount a family is able to pay according to their methodology. After careful consideration, Harpeth Hall determines a financial aid package for a family. We make every effort to partner with families who seek a Harpeth Hall education for their daughter.
Financial aid packages are available to current families during the re-enrollment period in late January and are available to new families at the time of admission in late February.
I'm not sure if our financial situation would qualify us for financial aid. Should I still apply?
Yes. Each year, the Financial Aid Committee makes a wide range of tuition decisions based on your family’s specific situation. The Financial Aid Committee considers a family’s income, assets, debts, the number of students in a tuition-charging school and/or university, and other financial responsibilities. After reviewing these items, many families are eligible to receive financial aid; therefore we strongly encourage everyone to apply for financial aid each year.
Is my financial information confidential?
Do I have to reapply for financial aid each year?
Are there any payment options?
How is financial aid funded?
Harpeth Hall as a whole is funded through a combination of tuition, fees, philanthropic giving, investment income, and auxiliary program revenue. The breadth and depth of educational opportunities available at Harpeth Hall entail substantial fixed costs, each family’s share of which decreases as more students are enrolled. The Financial Aid program reduces the expense of a Harpeth Hall education for full-pay families by distributing our total fixed costs across a broader base of tuition payers. Harpeth Hall is deeply committed to moderating tuition and fee increases for all families by augmenting our other sources of income and controlling our operating costs.
What other expenses are there other than tuition?
Uniforms, textbooks, co-curricular activities, and class trips are not covered by financial aid. Harpeth Hall has additional resources for families receiving financial aid that allow every girl to enjoy the full Harpeth Hall experience. More information can be found here.
How does financial aid benefit full-pay families?
To reduce the cost of a Harpeth Hall education for full-pay families, we distribute our fixed operating expenses across the entire student body. Harpeth Hall students are an engaged group of bright and curious girls from different socio-economic backgrounds. At Harpeth Hall, we aspire to reflect the composition of metropolitan Nashville. Read more about Harpeth Hall’s mission and values here.