Tuition & Affordability

Every year the Head of School, Business Office, and Board of Trustees work together to set the school’s tuition. Many factors go into this decision, and the overarching goal is to further the mission of the school. The Board is committed to creating a budget that allows MTS to retain and hire excellent faculty and staff, provide an unparalleled program for our students, and maintain the long-term financial strength of the school.

Tuition for the 2024-25 academic year is $44,320 for Kindergarten-5th grade and $46,360 for 6th–8th grade.

MTS dedicates over 15% of the operating budget to maintain financial accessibility in our school. Over 20% of families receive financial assistance. We encourage families to apply for financial assistance if they feel affording the full tuition is out of reach.

Affording MTS

Financial Assistance

Integral to MTS’s commitment to sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community is our commitment to socio-economic diversity. MTS allocates ~15% of its tuition revenue toward financial assistance. MTS has a Financial Assistance Committee that reviews applications and determines grants. Determining financial assistance is a complex process that prioritizes equity and confidentiality. Our full Financial Assistance Policy can be accessed here.

Financial Assistance Application Steps

All families applying for financial assistance complete an application through Clarity, a third party that provides objective and consistent analysis used by many schools in the Bay Area and beyond. Please follow the steps below to submit an application for financial assistance. Joelle Dodge, Director of Finance and Operations, is available to answer any questions you may have regarding financial assistance (jdodge@mttam.org).

Clarity Application Steps

To get started, please go to the Clarity Application and create an account.

Start with household & applicant information. Select that you are applying to Mount Tamalpais School.
Sign and submit a Form 4506c to give Clarity permission to pull your prior year tax returns. This means you won’t have to upload any of them yourself.
Complete your financial information, including income, expenses, assets, and debts.
Note that MTS may require additional documents in addition to last year’s taxes.

Application Deadline*:

Returning Families: January 5, 2025
New Families: January 15, 2025

*This deadline includes all relevant supplemental documents.

The application typically takes less than 30 minutes to complete and is mobile-friendly so you can complete it from anywhere. You are able to save your progress and return at any time.

Clarity Application Fee

There is a $60 fee to submit your application, and you can share your application with additional schools that accept the Clarity Application for no additional charge. Simply use the dropdown menu in the application to select those schools. If you would like an application fee waiver, please contact Joelle Dodge (jdodge@mttam.org).

Application Support

If you need support during the process of completing your application, in-app support is available through the “Help” button in the bottom left of the screen, as well as email and phone support at support@claritytuition.com or 206-210-3752, in both English and Spanish. The application itself is also fully translated into Spanish.

Financial Assistance Process & Notification

Families applying for financial assistance will receive their admission decision and financial assistance decision at the same time. The admissions committee is a separate committee from the financial assistance committee. Financial assistance information is not shared with the admissions committee at any point in the application process.

Financial assistance awards are granted for one year and families reapply for assistance each year. Unless there is a significant change in income or assets, families can expect the same level of assistance to continue from year to year, with a slight increase in line with an annual tuition increase.

Applying for Financial Assistance

Clarity Application

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