Admissions/Financial Aid: Financial Aid

Last year, nearly 41% of Trinity students received financial assistance. Generous awards are available to families that apply early. Aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Tuition assistance is funded by donations designated for financial aid. The amount available will not exceed those gifts.

Trinity uses School and Student Services (SSS) to process financial aid applications. SSS is a service of the National Association of Independent Schools. Based on the financial information you provide, SSS gives us an estimated amount your family can contribute to educational expenses. This helps us make fair and objective financial aid decisions.

To be eligible for consideration for financial aid at Trinity, your application must be completed and submitted to SSS by March 31. You must also have a signed enrollment contract and a paid enrollment fee returned to Trinity in order to be considered. Once the SSS report has been returned to Trinity, the school’s Financial Aid Committee will review the reports. Aid will be awarded as funds are available. All applicants will be notified whether or not they will receive aid on or about April 15.

In addition to sending a PFS, parents must send a copy of their 2011 IRS Form 1040 to SSS in Massachusetts.

To begin your financial aid application for the upcoming school year, follow these steps below.

Online (Fee $37)

1. Go to www.sss.nais.org/go/parents.Click on the green "Apply Now" button to enter the PFS online.

2. Login to the PFS online. If you are applying for aid for the first time, click on the green "Create an Account" button. You'll be asked to enter your name and email address and to select a password. If you applied last year, you may enter your login and password from last year in the "Returning Families" section. You only need to complete one PFS if you have several children applying to our school. Trinity's school code is 7724.

3. Begin a PFS for academic year 2012-13. Download the PFS online workbook and refer to on-screen help for guidance along the way. You can log out of the PFS online at any time, and then return later to complete your PFS.

4. Pay for and submit your PFS. The $37 fee is nonrefundable. Once you have paid for and submitted your PFS, we will receive your information at our school.

5. Submitting additional documents online. About 24 hours after you submit your PFS, you can go back to the PFS online to submit any additional documents and to view your family report, which summarizes the information we will receive.

To submit additional required documents online, go to the PFS online and login. Select the 2012-13 button. From your PFS online dashboard, click on the purple "Manage Documents" tab. On the Manage Documents page, under "Upload Documents," click "Browse," then locate the place the document is on your computer.

Documents should be saved in Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe pdf, .jjpg, .gif, or .tif. Each document should be saved as a separate file, not more than 1.5 MB in size. Remove any security or password protection you may have on pdfs and black out any social security numbers. Then click "Upload Documents."

Once you have uploaded a document, it will not appear immediately in the "Received Documents" section on this page. It can take up to 72 hours for it to be received and validated. When it appears in the "Received Documents" section, that means that Trinity now has access to it.

6. We will communicate our financial aid decision to you. To make our decision, we use the information from the PFS as a starting point. We also consider our school policy and practices, as well as the budget we have available.

(Note: If you apply for financial aid online, your information will be delivered more quickly to our school.)

By Mail ($49)

1. Contact Trinity at 634-0909 for a printed Parents' Financial Statement (PFS).

2. Complete the PFS and return it and all required documents to: SSS by NAIS, Application Processing Center, P.O. Box 449, Randolph, MA 02368-0449. (For overnight mail, send to SSS by NAIS, Application Processing Center, 437 Turnpike Street, Canton, MA 02021.)

Call SSS at 800-344-8328 with questions. (Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST. Saturday: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. EST.