You may have received an email from Head of School Dr. John Austin recently or seen an article in the WSJ. Deerfield has announced that families earning below $150,000 will pay $0 in tuition or fees starting with the 2025-2026 school year.
That's what you can do when your endowment is large enough. ALL contributions to Deerfield in the past have helped lead to this moment.
Here is the email :
Dear Deerfield Alumni, In the early 20 th century, our legendary Headmaster Frank L. Boyden asked families to "pay what you can," establishing one of the first need-based financial aid programs in the United States. Today, we seek to build on that pioneering commitment. Beginning in this admission cycle, and for our returning families in the 2025 - 26 school year, all qualifying domestic families with income below $150,000 will pay $0 in tuition and fees to attend the Academy. Families with incomes above the $150,000 threshold will pay no more than 10% of their verified income for tuition and fees. Our international families will continue to receive generous aid packages as part of the broader financial aid process; domestic families who currently receive aid but do not qualify for this initiative will also continue to benefit from the Academy's robust financial aid program. Details regarding Admission and our Financial Aid Program are available on our website, and earlier today, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about our new initiative. Deerfield’s commitment to affordability and access in the form of need-based financial aid is historic, deep, and central to its educational mission. It is our hope that this new initiative will increase access to Deerfield for families of all income levels, expand opportunity, and allow the Academy to continue to attract and enroll young men and women of promise—regardless of means. Should you have any questions regarding the new initiative or financial aid in general, please do not hesitate to reach out to Chief Advancement Officer Chuck Ramsay '88 or to me. Thank you, as always, for supporting Deerfield. Sincerely, |
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John Austin
Head of School |
