FIT vs. financial aid

Compare the two systems side-by-side in this graphic, or read more below.

Timely answers

with FIT
Families learn their price within ten days of completing an application, engaging with the FIT portal and interviewing.

with financial aid
Families who apply in the fall do not learn their price until March, at the earliest. The first tuition bill could arrive only weeks after a family has learned their price.


Long-term planning

with FIT
Families know their FIT price for three years, and the prices for additional siblings can be easily and quickly projected.

with financial aid
Families are given a price for one year and must reapply each year.

Equity, not negotiation

with FIT
Every families’ price is calculated by the model. There is no negotiation. Two families with the same financial profile would get the same price.

with financial aid
Schools only fund, on average, 60% of the amount recommended by the financial aid process.  The balance is left up to the school's discretion and to the families' ability to negotiate.

A transparent system

with FIT
There is total clarity about how prices are determined during the entire journey from Nursery to eighth grade.

with financial aid
When schools do not fund the full need, there is a lack of clarity about how final prices are determined. 
 

One community

with FIT
All families engage in the same tuition system. Prices are set at each family's maximum level.

with financial aid
There are two systems of tuition pricing, one for “full pay families” and another for those “on financial aid."
 

Respectful billing

with FIT
Every family at Gordon is billed for their individual FIT price in a process that values their full investment and participation in the Gordon community.

with financial aid
Every family is billed the full tuition, with financial aid then subtracted.