We understand and appreciate the financial commitment families undertake in deciding to send their children to St. Michael’s Preschool. And although paying for education is first and foremost the responsibility of a family, we devote significant funds each year to a financial aid budget that helps assist families. In turn, our school community benefits by attracting gifted students that otherwise would not have been able to attend. To help us objectively assess what a family is able to contribute to its student(s) education expenses, we use School and Student Services (SSS By NAIS) as a trusted third party. The SSS analysis of a family’s “Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)” is a critical component of our financial aid decision. However, it is just a start. To make our final financial aid award decisions, we use the SSS figures as the baseline for our own additional review, taking into consideration our total financial aid budget, other information we may have collected, our school’s policies and priorities, and the needs of our entire applicant pool. Due to circumstances like these, and others, our school may not meet the level of demonstrated need shown on the SSS Family Report you might receive.