FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Berean Christian will begin accepting 2020-2021 financial aid applications in mid-January 2020. Please thorougly review the overview information below, including the instruction documents found via links at the bottom of the page, then return to this page to apply after mid-January 2020.  IMPORTANT: need-based aid applications will not be evaluated unless a 2019 federal tax return (among other items) is supplied. Therefore, potential aid applicants are advised to file their 2019 taxes as early in 2020 as possible and NOT to file for an extension.

(Families inquiring about assistance availability for the current school year should review the information below to see if they have a chance of meeting award criteria, but prior to submitting an online aid application are advised to email the Accounting Manager to inquire if aid funds remain available for the current year).

Berean Christian offers two tuition discount programs to qualifying families of full time students only (enrolled in 5 or more on-campus classes), both of which require completion of an application. The financial assistance/discount application process is separate from and independent of the application for admissions - completion of an application for financial assistance/discount is not an application for enrollment, and admissions decisions are not affected by a family's application for financial aid. The award types are as follows:

• TUITION ASSISTANCE (TA) – awarded solely on the basis of financial need. Main criteria considered include income, family size, and number of students currently enrolled at Berean Christian. Aid amounts and percentages are determined at the discretion of the Berean Christian Finance Committee and, since funds are limited, can vary from year to year depending upon the number of qualifying applicants sharing the funds available. For detailed instructions, please review the PDF document found at bottom of this page.

• CHRISTIAN MINISTRY DISCOUNT (CMD) – granted upon application to families with a parent employed full-time for pay in selected Christian church and school ministries. Award levels may vary by household income level and ministry position. Some CMD awards do not require income verification, in which case the CMD application is simply certification from the ministry employer of applicant's employment status. However, awards for some ministry positions and/or for higher award levels require income verification; for these awards, both completion of a Tuition Assistance application AND employer certification letter is required. Please review detailed instructions found in the PDF documents at bottom of this page.

For both of these programs, any assistance granted DOES NOT carry forward from year to year, in neither percentage nor amount. Families with continuing need must reapply annually to determine financial aid and/or ministry discount eligibility.

Tuition Assistance and income-based CMD applications are not evaluated unless they include a copy of completed federal tax return from the prior calendar year (among other items). I.e., applicants for need-based aid for the 2020-2021 school year will need to supply a 2019 federal return and their 2019 W-2s.

All potential applicants to either type of award should thoroughly review Berean Christian's Tuition Assistance Application Instructions & Guidelines (below) for important information about qualifying criteria, application deadlines, and specific application instructions. CMD applicants must also review the CMD Application Instructions & Guidelines document found below.

Berean Christian uses an independent 3rd-party, FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment (FGAA), to collect all income-based aid applications and supporting documents, and to provide objective data analysis to Berean Christian’s Finance Committee. However, all final tuition aid decisions, including determination and notifications of award amounts (if any) continue to be made by the Berean Christian Finance Committee, not FGAA. The income-based aid application requires a $30 fee paid directly to FGAA. Once the aid application cycle opens in January and you have reviewed the most current Instructions & Guidelines (see documents at bottom of this page), you may begin your application. Please be mindful to apply for assistance in the correct school year AND for the correct school, Berean Christian High School of Walnut Creek, CA with zip code of 94598.

To start an application for an income-based award, click on the link below:

https://online.factsmgt.com/aid

Valedictorian Scholarships

8th grade valedictorians from Bay Area middle schools who attend Berean Christian full-time as freshmen are eligible for a $1,000/year scholarship under the following terms:

• Family must arrange for the middle school office to send a letter to Berean Christian attesting to the student's valedictorian status no later than August 31st of freshman year.
• Scholarship is automatically renewed at $1,000/year for subsequent consecutive years of student's full-time enrollment at Berean Christian as long as student has maintained a 3.75 or above GPA at Berean Christian.
• This scholarship is effective with the 2018-2019 freshman class and is not applicable to valedictorians of prior years or to transfer students.

• Tuition Assistance Application Instructions & Guidelines
• FACTS Grant & Aid English Flyer
• FACTS Grant & Aid Spanish Flyer (Espanol)
• CMD Application Instructions & Guidelines