Sources of Funding for Private Elementary and Secondary Education

Books  |  Web Links  |  Software Resources

It is VSAC’s mission to ensure that all Vermonters have the necessary financial and informational resources to achieve their educational goals beyond high school. This means that VSAC assists with funding postsecondary, rather than elementary or secondary, levels of education. The following information is provided as a service to Vermonters who are looking for sources of funding at the elementary and secondary levels. It is not intended to be comprehensive, and we encourage you to explore as many other resources as possible.

Books

Search our catalog online at http://follettweb.vsac.org:9000/webopac/main?siteid=1. Patrons may borrow books either by coming to the Resource Center in downtown Winooski, or by making an interlibrary loan request through their local school or public library.

Peterson’s Game Plan for Getting Into Private School (2000)	Call # 373.12 Lohr
Peterson’s Private Secondary Schools, 2008 (2007)	Call # 378.1 Peterson

Web links

• Vermont SOS (Student Opportunity Scholarships) is a private scholarship program to help low- and middle-income parents choose schools for their children. It is one of the few private scholarship programs in the country that includes public schools. For more information, write: Vermont SOS, PO Box 232, Williston, VT 05495 or call: (888) 558-8883 — www.schoolreport.com/resources.shtml

• National Association of Independent Schools provides a helpful overview on financing a private education, a list of scholarship providers, and a list of payment and loan programs — www.nais.org/admission/index.cfm?itemnumber=145880&sn.ItemNumber=142477

• Education Resources Institute (TERI), a private lender not detailed on the NAIS list, offers a parent loan for elementary and secondary education that is available for most private schools — www.teri.org/loan-center/loan-programs/elementary-secondary/elementary-secondary.asp

• Children’s Scholarship Funds provides partial tuition assistance to low-income families to help send their children to private schools — www.scholarshipfund.org/index.asp

• Association of Boarding Schools provides a summary of the financial aid process at private boarding schools — www.schools.com/admission/afford.html

• FinAid.org offers an overview of financial aid sources for private schooling, including information on several loan programs and a tuition payment plan calculator — www.finaid.org/otheraid/privateschool.phtml

• National Center for Education Statistics offers a searchable database of private schools. Available information includes type of school, affiliation, association membership, race/ethnicity, student/teacher ratio, and enrollment by grade. See individual schools for possible scholarships — http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch

• Foundation Center provides information on youth scholarships, including funding for private education, special projects, and summer programs — http://foundationcenter.org/focus/youth/kids_teens/youth_scholarships.html

• Camp Kids Foundation helps low-income families send their children to summer camps — www.campkidsfoundation.org

• VSAC’s Scholarships pathfinder lists several online scholarship databases

Software Resources

VT Guidance Central is a web-based, personalized, self-guided program that provides comprehensive career, college, and education planning tools

You can use VT Guidance Central as a tool to:

• explore career possibilities
• plan the training you need for specific careers
• search for colleges/universities that fit your desired criteria (e.g., location, size, programs/majors, activities, costs)
• prepare for the SAT and ACT
• learn about financial aid options
• and much more!

Visit the VSAC Resource Center in Winooski to utilize other assessment, career, and education planning software tools.

Updated: May 2007

Compiled by: VSAC Resource Center, 10 East Allen Street, PO Box 2000, Winooski, VT 05404
Call: 800-642-3177 toll-free, or Burlington area 802-655-9602 • Fax: 802-654-3765 • E-mail: info@vsac.org

The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. was established by the Vermont General Assembly in 1965 to help Vermonters obtain the information and financial resources they need to pursue their education goals beyond high school.