$0 to Attend St. Andrew's: Free Boarding School for Admitted Students from Families Under $150K

Building on a Legacy

Under St. Andrew's historic new financial aid policy, admitted students from qualified U.S. households making less than $150,000 will pay $0 to attend.

Our founder's choice to settle a boarding school in the sweeping cornfields of Delaware and fling the doors open for any student admitted, regardless of means, was as counter-cultural in 1929 as it is today. He understood then, as we do now, that who is in the room shapes everything about the education.

For nearly a century, St. Andrew's has positioned itself at the vanguard of schools that see an exemplary boarding education as a life-changing experience that should be available to any young person who's earned it. As we head into our next hundred years, we’re building on that legacy.

The school arrived at this moment thanks to generous support from an anonymous donor who provided an additional $1 million in annual funding exclusively for financial aid. This gift helped push the school’s financial aid budget to over $8 million this admissions cycle and opened the door to the $150,000 household income initiative. 

What's covered

Under the initiative, admitted U.S. students from households that earn less than $150,000 per year will be granted a full scholarship—tuition, room, and board. It's our signal to the nearly 80 percent of American families in this income bracket that St. Andrew's is possible for them. Students with demonstrated high need will also be supported with additional necessities, such as books, transportation, technology, learning evaluations, medical care, school store spending, driver's education, and various outside lessons or programs.

Who qualifies

The initiative is open to families who must show two years of verifiable W-2 income with assets consistent with their income profile.

For admitted students from families earning between $150,000 and $350,000, tuition will be capped at 10 percent of annual household income, and may be lower still, depending on factors like net worth, cost-of-living adjustments for their zip code, and other children in tuition-charging schools.

Why it matters

"I received a scholarship to attend St. Andrew's, and the school changed the trajectory of my life and that of my family," says Head of School Joy McGrath '92. "It's impossible to overstate what a St. Andrew's education has meant to the thousands of us who have benefited from the founding vision. Now this transformative experience will be available to even more young people, and our more transparent approach will make it easier for families to understand that if their child is ready for this intellectual and personal challenge—if they have the courage, grit, and kindness that we seek in our students—they will be able to afford St. Andrew's."

This policy caps an already robust financial aid profile: 46 percent of our students currently receive aid, totaling more than $8 million in scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year.

McGrath is particularly excited that the policy will allow St. Andrew's to continue bringing students from every pocket and corner of the United States to the school. A great education, she says, is built on sustained encounters with unfamiliar ideas—even ideas that offend us—and the declining diversity of American schools has surely weakened the education available to most children. "This new policy underscores the fact that students of all backgrounds should have a seat at our table," McGrath says, "where they will benefit from a wide variety of perspectives and points of view, and offer greater opportunities for dialogue and inquiry."

Social media has played its own role in sorting young people by algorithm rather than conversation, McGrath notes—a hurdle St. Andrew's overcomes with its face-to-face, phone-free culture.

Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Will Robinson '97, who also attended St. Andrew's on financial aid, is thrilled the school is positioned to embrace these new initiatives, particularly as it heads toward its centennial. 

He notes that the $150,000 threshold policy will bring new families into the fold, as will a 2025 gift endowed by former chair of the St. Andrew’s Board of Trustees Scott Sipprelle ’81 P’08—also a financial aid recipient—and his wife, Tracy Sipprelle P’08. The Sipprelle Scholars Fund seeks to offer financial aid to promising students from regions in the U.S. that St. Andrew’s doesn’t typically recruit from.

"St. Andrew's has always been at the forefront of financial aid among U.S. boarding schools," Robinson says. "But this renewed commitment via these transformational gifts will ensure the most promising students, regardless of means, will continue to find a home at St. Andrew's well into the school's second century." 

How to Apply

For admissions information, please visit our admission page and complete an inquiry form to get started. The financial aid application process is simple and typically takes less than 20 minutes to complete.

Support Financial Aid at St. Andrew's

The school actively seeks endowment gifts to support the program in perpetuity. If you'd like to support financial aid at St. Andrew's please contact Laurie Kettle P'23, '26 in advancement.