FAQs
Printer-friendly versionBelow are the questions we are most frequently asked about boarding school tuition, fees, and financial aid:
What do the tuition and fees include?
What payment plans do you have?
Does your school offer financial aid? What is the average award?
Are there work opportunities?
What do the tuition and fees include?
The tuition amount itself varies from Upper School to Middle School, Day to Boarding, and International Students. Click here for the tuition costs.
Tuition for boarding students and international students includes room and board.
For day students, tuition includes lunch meals.
The Campus Services fee, an additional fee, covers certain items such as the cost of the yearbook, guest speakers, audio-visuals, school-sponsored cultural and civic trips, science lab fees, placement testing, infirmary services, haircuts, ESL labs etc.
All families must put a set amount into an Expense Deposit, which varies depending on whether a student is day, boarding, or international. The deposit is applied to the cost of books, classroom supplies, uniforms, two R-MA blankets (Upper School boarding only) and personal items for sports and physical education. All required items are available in the R-MA Bookstore or R-MA Clothing Store. Most students will incur additional expenses through the year, so additional deposits may be required.
What payment plans do you have?
Our standard payment plan is the Two-Payment Plan in which the first payment, which is 60% of the tuition plus the campus services fee and the personal account, is due August 1st. The second payment, or 40% of the tuition, is due no later than December 1st. A 5% late fee is added to each payment if it is not received in the Finance Office by the specified date.
A monthly payment plan can be approved for families if they complete an application and have credit approval. The tuition fee is divided into 12 payments beginning June 1st and ending May 1st. There is a 6.5% interest fee added to this plan and credit approval is required.
There are no payment plans for summer programs, international students, or students who enroll at second quarter or second semester.
Does your school offer financial aid? What is the average award?
R-MA provides financial aid to qualified students and families through financial support from a student loan program, endowment funds, foundations, alumni, the United Methodist Church, and other friends of the Academy.
New families can apply for financial aid in the spring of the year prior to their student’s arrival, but their application will not be reviewed unless the student has completed the Admission application and been accepted to the school. After you apply for admissions to R-MA, please contact the Admission Office at admission@rma.edu or 1-800-272-1172 to receive our school code. A Financial aid application can then be submitted online. Please make sure before completing your financial aid application, that you have filed your 2012 taxes. You will be asked to provide your 2012 tax statement, 2012 W-2 forms, and recent pay stubs for your household.
On the average, financial aid can cover approximately 18% of the student’s tuition with a maximum cap of no more than 30% of the tuition given out in aid. A family's average financial aid allotment is between $5,000-7,000.
In addition to need-based aid, R-MA offers, through our affiliation with the United Methodist Church (UMC), scholarships to families who are members of the UMC. A letter from the pastor of the family's church must verify membership. The average scholarship is 10% of tuition (20% for children of United Methodist ministers).
R-MA gives a 10% tuition discount to families with two or more students attending R-MA. The first student pays full price. Each additional student receives a 10% discount on tuition.
R-MA awards a small number of merit-based scholarships without regard to financial need. These scholarships are intended to recognize outstanding accomplishments and exceptional potential for contributions to R-MA while enrolled and to society in the future.
Are there work opportunities?
A number of part-time employment opportunities are open to students 14 years of age and older. R-MA administers the work programs in strict accordance with state and federal laws. Time available for such employment is limited, so earnings provide only a small portion of total funding.
