Cornerstone provides needs-based financial assistance each year to assist families with a demonstrated financial need and the desire to provide classical, Christian education for their family.
Eligibility
To be eligible for need-based tuition assistance, the student(s) must be enrolled for the upcoming year. Prior to enrollment, no need-based assistance is calculated. However, families may submit the information for the need-based application, but no final decision will be made prior to the enrollment of the student(s).
Step One: Complete an on-line application
Cornerstone utilizes Independent School Management (ISM) FAST (Financial Aid for Student Tuition) services to provide a web based, confidential and unbiased analysis of a family’s financial circumstances. Parents are encouraged to read the ISM-FAST Parent User Guide to review the information required to complete an application. Requests for tuition assistance must be submitted annually for the upcoming academic year.
Step Two: Application review
After submission of the FAST application, verification of information and calculations will be reviewed by the Cornerstone Scholarship Committee. The committee will review all documentation and determine the amount of any need-based tuition to be awarded. All information submitted to FAST is kept confidential.
Review Timeline: Applications due by May 15
Award Notification: June 15
*The Tuition Assistance committee meets in early June and mid-July to consider Tuition Assistance applications. The Tuition Assistance committee accepts Tuition Assistance applications year-round. Applications received after mid-July through the school year will be considered as they are received.
*Tuition assistance after June 15 is contingent on the availability of funds.
Step Three: Tuition assistance award
Cornerstone will inform families in writing of any tuition assistance that is awarded. To accept the tuition assistance award, families will complete the Parent Financial Agreement and return it by June 15 or within two weeks for applications after June 1.
Academic and Behavior Expectations
A student is expected to maintain a 70% average in coursework to continue to qualify for tuition assistance. The student’s academic progress will be reviewed at the end of each quarter. Students not maintaining satisfactory grades may become ineligible for continued assistance. A student is also expected to maintain appropriate conduct at Cornerstone. Students failing to meet this standard may become ineligible for continued assistance.
Family Remaining Tuition Responsibility
The portion of the family’s tuition bill that is not covered by tuition assistance is expected to be paid in a timely manner. A family not keeping the tuition payment schedule may jeopardize their tuition assistance award.
Review and Cancellation of Awards
Cornerstone reserves the right to review and cancel a need-based tuition assistance award at any time because of changes in family financial resources, failure to pay any outstanding tuition amounts in a timely fashion or the student’s failure to remain in good standing at the school, whether academic or disciplinary.
Parent’s Responsibility
It is the parent’s responsibility to: 1. Complete all FAST application materials accurately and to submit them in a timely manner. Inaccuracies can result in delays in consideration for tuition assistance. Intentional misreporting of information on applications may require that funds be paid back to the school. 2. Understand and comply with the conditions under which need-based assistance is offered. 3. Pay in a timely manner any portions of the tuition bill not covered by tuition assistance. 4. Notify the school office of any changes in the family’s financial status. 5. Monitor student(s) progress during the school year to ensure continued eligibility for tuition.
Applying for Tuition Assistance
The FAST service provides Cornerstone a need-based analysis, which requires pertinent data on the parents’ income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. The online application process is self-guided. You may partially complete an application and return at a later time if you are unable to complete the application in one sitting.
On the application, please use your name as it appears on your tax return.
Please click the FAST icon below to start or resume your FAST application: If you have any questions about the application process, please call the FAST Call Center at 1-877-326-FAST (3278), open 24/7. The non-refundable application fee is $56, payable by Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. The application fee will be billed to your credit card under the name of “Independent School Management”, the company which provides the FAST application service.
As part of the application process, you will be required to mail tax documents to ISM for income verification purposes. You will send ISM a copy of your IRS form 1040 for the most recent tax year just prior to the year of enrollment. For example, a family submitting a FAST application for enrollment during the 2016-2017 school year must submit their filed 2015 federal tax return. After completing the application, please mail copies of your tax documents to the address below.
Please do not send any originals, and do not fax or e-mail the tax information.
FAST Processing
1316 N. Union St.
Wilmington, DE 19806
