Financial Aid

Cost should never be a barrier to a Deerfield education.

“Deerfield’s commitment to affordability and access in the form of need-based financial aid is historic, deep, and central to its educational mission. It is founded on the idea—beautifully articulated over a century ago when Frank L. Boyden asked families to ‘pay what you can’—that the Deerfield Experience should be accessible to all young people of promise regardless of means.”—Head of School Dr. John Austin

For more than 40 percent of prospective families, applying to Deerfield Academy also means applying for financial aid. Our Financial Aid Office works with families throughout the application process and, for those who enroll, throughout their Deerfield Experience. We strive to make the process simple, streamlined, and completely confidential.

Deerfield is a possibility for you

For all qualifying and admitted students, we provide generous grants and meet 100% of demonstrated need.

Current Program: 2024 – 2025

  • 40% of all current families receive financial aid
  • Average boarding grant: $60,850
  • 13% of currently funded students are international
  • In addition to our current program, in 2025 – 2026 families receiving financial aid this year and newly-admitted families may qualify for a new initiative:
Domestic families making
up to $150,000 will pay
$ 0
Domestic families making above $150,000 will pay no more than 
0 %
of their total income
for tuition and fees 
(per student)

Qualifying families must live and work in the U.S. and have two years of verifiable W-2 (only) income with assets consistent with their income profile.
All families, including International and 
non-W-2 income earners, are eligible to receive need-based aid, and if admitted will receive 100% of demonstrated need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Domestic families making up to $150,000 may receive assistance to cover all tuition and fees. Families making above $150,000 may receive assistance to reduce tuition and fees to a maximum of 10% of their total income (per student).

Deerfield provides grants based on financial need only. We do not offer financial aid on the basis of athletic and academic performance or any other merits.

Financial Aid grants are reviewed annually. Once admitted, we strive to assist a family at a consistent level throughout their time at the Academy. If things change and a family has an unexpected circumstance (job loss, divorce, death in the family, etc.) we review each case on an individual basis and, budget permitting, adjust accordingly. Likewise, we will decrease grants when families have a change in circumstance that allows for an increase in their contribution amount.

Possibly. Deerfield has a very generous financial aid budget. However, it is limited, and therefore we cannot always accept all admissible financial aid applicants.

No. Deerfield grants are outright awards based on financial need. There is no repayment required.

Yes. If admitted we meet the full demonstrated need of international students, up to 100% of tuition and fees.

Yes. Some students receive assistance with additional expenses such as airfare, health insurance, books and laptops. Other benefits may include music and dance lessons as well as athletics and global studies travel.

At Deerfield, “tuition and fees” includes the cost of attending the Academy (room and board), textbooks, use of a MacBook Air, and use of the Academy’s health center.

Yes. All families are eligible for financial aid and can apply through Clarity Financial Aid.

Yes. All legal parents/guardians, including step-parents must complete a financial aid application.  We understand each family’s situation is unique.  Please reach out if you have specific questions about your situation. 

The Cost of Applying to Deerfield

Admission Application

Domestic: $60
International: $125

Application Fee waiver:

Fee waivers are granted on the basis of financial need. In order to be considered for a waiver, the Candidate Profile must be completed. 

Testing: SSAT Upper Level (Domestic)

Standard or school Flex: $165
Prometric SSAT: $235
Flex with an educational consultant: $240
SSAT at Home: $255

Testing: SSAT Upper Level (International)

SSAT Upper Level (International)
Paper-based Testing $320
Flex Testing $320
SSAT at Prometric Test Centers $320

ISEE Testing Options and Pricing can be found here

Financial Aid application

Domestic/International: $60

Clarity Financial Aid application Fee waiver:

Clarity has established its own Fee Waiver Guidelines for financial aid applications. They will automatically grant a Waiver if you fall within their qualifying income guidelines. Deerfield does not provide Fee Waivers for the Clarity application.

The Cost of Attending Deerfield

2024–2025

TuitionAcademic
Services fee
Technology feeHealth services feeTotal Tuition & Fees
Boarding$71,770$1,250$880$540$74,440
Day$51,510$1,250$880$220$53,860
2024–2025BoardingDay
Tuition$71,770$51,510
Academics Services Fee$1,250$1,250
Technology Fee$880$880
Health Services Fee$540$220
Total tuition and fees$74,440$53,860

Payment Options

When a student is accepted at Deerfield, families will be asked to confirm enrollment by signing their Enrollment Contract and, if applicable, making their Tuition Deposit. Deposits are non-refundable and will be credited to the first tuition bill.

The Academy offers three tuition payment options, one installment due August 1, two installments due August 1 and December 1, or a monthly payment plan with various due date options for a small fee. All student billing is administered through FACTS Management.

New Student Applications

Instructions

All new financial aid applicants must submit their application(s) to the Clarity Financial Aid platform: https://auth.clarityapp.com/en/signup/ 

U.S. Tax Filers Only: As part of the Clarity Financial Aid application process (with authorization using the IRS 4506C tax release document), Clarity will pull your 2023 1040 tax return and 2023 W2s directly from the IRS and import the documents directly into your application.

All applicants must use the exact same name that they use on their admission application.  Please do not use nicknames. 

More information about how to apply through Clarity may be  found here.

Documents to Upload to Clarity:

  • U.S. Applicants: All 2024 W-2’s must be manually uploaded by February 15, 2025
  • Canadian Applicants: 2023 T-4 Slip and Canadian Tax Return must be uploaded by January 15, 2025
  • International (Non-Canadian) Applicants: Current Bank Statement, Salary Verification or Non-U.S. Tax Filing must be uploaded by January 15, 2025

Key Dates

September 1, 2024: Clarity Financial Aid begins to accept applications.

January 15, 2025: All applications must be submitted to Clarity.

February 15, 2025: All U.S. tax filers with W-2 income must upload those documents to their application.

March 10, 2025: Financial aid decisions are emailed with acceptances to admitted students.

April 10, 2025: Deadline for parental acceptance of the financial aid grant offer. After April 10, 2025, financial aid grants will be made on a funds-available basis. 

Returning Student Applications

All students receiving financial aid must submit a financial aid application annually. Please follow the key dates and instructions listed below.

Instructions

All returning financial aid applicants must submit an application to the Clarity Financial Aid platform: https://auth.clarityapp.com/en/signup/ 

U.S. Tax Filers Only: As part of the Clarity Financial Aid application process (with authorization using the IRS 4506C tax release document), Clarity will pull your 2023 1040 tax return 2023 W2s directly from the IRS and import the documents directly into your application.

More information about how to apply through Clarity may be  found here.

Documents to Upload:

  • U.S. Applicants: All 2024 W-2’s must be manually uploaded by February 15, 2025
  • Canadian Applicants: 2023 T-4 Slip and Canadian Tax Return must be uploaded by January 1, 2025
  • International (Non-Canadian) Applicants: Current Bank Statement, Salary Verification or Non-U.S. Tax Filing must be uploaded by January 1, 2025

Note: If you are a family that does not currently receive financial aid and wish to apply for financial aid, you must first reach out to Melissa Persons to review eligibility. Only families who have experienced a significant and unpreventable financial change will be permitted to apply.

Key Dates

December 1, 2024: All returning financial aid students must submit their application(s) to Clarity Financial Aid.

April 15, 2025: Financial aid grants are emailed along with re-enrollment documents.

May 15, 2025: Deadline for parental acceptance of the financial aid grant offer.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the financial aid process or affording a Deerfield education, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Melissa Persons
Director of Financial Aid

Melissa Persons P’16, P’19, P’21, is the Director of Financial Aid at Deerfield Academy. Melissa attended Miss Porter’s School and graduated from St. Michael’s College with a degree in Business Administration. Her experience in Finance began at Walt Disney World and also includes time at Blue Cross BlueShield of New Hampshire.  She began her time at Deerfield in 2008.

Frequently Asked Questions

Deerfield welcomes applications for students currently in 8th-12th grade who are applying to grades 9th-12th or a postgraduate year for the following academic year.

Current 6th graders and beyond may request our viewbook to be entered into our system for future application years.

Prior to 6th grade, we encourage you to explore our website to familiarize yourself with Deerfield and all it has to offer.

7th graders can visit campus April-August. Dates may vary, but traditionally these appointments are offered on weekdays.

Over the summer, our office provides Tour and Interview appointments for 8th grade families and above who are applying for the upcoming fall.

Academic year appointments are for application eligible students only. 

In GPS systems, you can use: 7 Old Main Street, 1 Albany Road, or 1 Academy Lane in Deerfield, MA.

An interview is an important part of Deerfield’s holistic application process. As space becomes limited in December and January, we highly recommend that you book your interview appointment early.

No, Deerfield does not admit students in the middle of the academic year.

Yes. If you are thinking of repeating your current grade, we encourage you to discuss this with your admission officer during your interview. This process is also called reclassifying. 

You should make the recommendation request through Gateway to Prep Schools with your English or Math teacher from last year and inform our office of your situation.

Deerfield requires all candidates to submit standardized testing as part of our holistic admission process. Please review our testing requirements for the current admission cycle.



Deerfield does not hold academic classes on Saturdays; instead many of our students participate in co-curricular activities.

Yes, Deerfield has an academic dress code policy. The dress code is a shared experience and an everyday practice that signals seriousness of purpose and mutual respect within our community.  You can view our dress code policy HERE.

Deerfield does provide application fee waivers for qualifying families. To be considered for a fee waiver, applicants who have completed their Candidate Profile must submit our Fee Waiver Request Form. This is a financial need based process.

Deerfield’s financial aid program is a need-based program that supports 100% of demonstrated need. Currently, our program provides funding for 39% of our student body.  The program is comprehensive and may cover up to 100% of the total cost of tuition and fees.  We also support additional expenses such as travel and health insurance for a portion of our community.

Our financial aid deadline is January 15.  You can find more information on financial aid HERE.

Financial aid awards are sent on March 10.

Deerfield accepts students for September enrollment only. Our priority application deadline for September enrollment is January 15We will make every effort to fully consider applications completed (including testing) after January 15, however we cannot guarantee a March 10 notification.

Admission opportunities for late candidates, who do not receive a March 10 notification, is limited by the number of spaces available after April 10. The Admission Committee meets periodically throughout the spring to make decisions on this group of candidates.

Our Day Student vs. Boarding Student Residential Policy:

Deerfield Academy recommends that Day Student applicants reside within a 25-mile radius.  This radius restriction does not apply to children of employees. 

An Applicant residing more than 25 miles from campus must apply as a Boarding Student. Note:  the typical Deerfield schedule requires that students be on campus, at a minimum, from 8:30 am – 5:45 pm. 

Any applicant who would qualify as a Day Student per the radius restriction may apply as a Boarding Student. However, a Day student applicant should not expect to change to a Boarding Student any time after the admission process closes (January 15). Please note that tuition and fees may vary depending on the Day or Boarding designation.

 

Contact Admission Office

admission@deerfield.edu
413-774-1400
Fax 413-772-1129

Main School Building
Mon-Fri, 8:00am4:30pm

7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 65
Deerfield, MA 01342