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Affording SFFS

At San Francisco Friends School, we are committed to engaging our students in experiences, ideas, ways of thinking, and ways of being that are different than their own. Creating a diverse community is critical to providing a rich, challenging educational experience for every student in our school.

One way we create a diverse community is by adjusting our school’s tuition to meet the financial circumstances of each of our families. San Francisco Friends School subscribes to the School and Student Services for Financial Aid (SSS), a service widely used by independent schools, in order to receive an objective report of each family’s financial need. SSS processes the information provided by each family on the Parent Financial Statement, and calculates an estimate of a family’s ability to contribute toward tuition. Through the Adjustable Tuition Program, each family’s individual situation is considered and a tuition is determined in conjunction with SSS. In the current school year, tuition for individual families ranged from $500 to $24,045. More than 25% of our students took advantage of this program and had their tuition adjusted to meet the financial realities of their families.

We strongly encourage every family to apply for the Adjustable Tuition Program if they think they may qualify. Families participating in the program have a wide range of incomes, assets, and individual situations (e.g., multiple children in school, supporting a grandparent.) See examples of case studies below to get a sense of the details.

Returning families need to complete a new application each year. It is the family’s responsibility to report any change in their financial circumstances so we can adjust their tuition accordingly. If a family’s circumstances are the same, they can expect to have their tuition adjusted to approximately the same percentage each year.

NOTE: A family’s application for an adjusted tuition has no bearing on a child’s application for admission to the Friends School.

Letters notifying families of their adjusted tuition rate are sent with admission acceptance letters in March. We are eager to help you any way we can with the Adjustable Tuition application process. If you have any questions, contact Yvette Bonaparte in the Admissions Office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 415-565-0400.

Adjusted Tuition Examples

Every family’s financial and personal circumstances are unique. Income and assets are only part of the criteria involved in adjusting tuition for families. These examples are meant to give a general idea of how much tuition different familes may pay. Actual calculations of adjusted tuition may vary.