Hello! At the Scandinavian School and Cultural Center, our goal is to offer our unique Scandinavian language immersion preschool education at a cost that takes into account the financial challenges of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. We strive to make our school programs as accessible as possible to families from all economic backgrounds while also considering the financial sustainability and operational well-being of our organization.

Therefore we have implemented a tuition assistance program at the Scandinavian School to offer financial support. Tuition assistance is available to families with students in the preschool and is offered on the basis of the demonstrated financial need of the family. Although we cannot make any guarantees because we are a relatively small school with a small operating budget, our goal is to support as many families as possible each year. Please do not hesitate to inquire about tuition assistance. 

How do I apply? 

  • Parents should use the following link to  apply via FAST for The Scandinavian School & Cultural Center.: http://apply.ismfast.com/

  • Please note that there is a $60 application processing fee. Please contact the Scandinavian School if this is a case of extreme hardship as some scholarship vouchers are available to cover the application fee. 

  • The application process is self-guided. You may navigate in and out of the program allowing you to partially complete an application and go back to it at another time. 

  • The application includes questions about your expenses and assets. 

  • In addition to completing the online application you will be required to approve FAST access your tax documents for verification purposes.

  • For the 2025-2026 school year, you must complete an application by February 15th 2025.

Who should I contact with questions? 

  • Application questions:

    • FAST has a 24/7/365 helpline available to you should you have any questions, which can be reached by calling 1-877-326-FAST (3278). 

    • A FAST Parent User Guide is also available. 

  • General questions:


What is FAST?

  • We utilize an online software tool called FAST (stands for Financial Aid for School Tuition) to process all applications. Over one thousand schools around the country use FAST to support their financial aid processes. 

  • We chose this tool to formalize and professionalize our financial application process and “level the playing field” because every family will fill out the exact same application and submit the same materials.

  • Note that FAST does not decide whether financial assistance will be given or how much to give; rather FAST provides a need-based financial aid analysis service which includes a recommendation of what a family should reasonably contribute toward tuition. 

How do you determine awards?

  • Grants are awarded based on the applicant's need and the budgeted funds available.  

  • Unfortunately, there is always a greater demand for tuition support than there are resources and all requests may not be approved. 

  • Step 1: Completed applications are first processed and analyzed by FAST (the third-party system) using a standardized format that takes into account the cost of living in the Bay Area. Step 2: The report from FAST is reviewed by the Scandinavian School Tuition Assistance Committee (all names are anonymized) along with the application. Once a financial aid award amount has been decided, SSCC will communicate this information to the family.

  • All applicant information requested in the application is held in strict confidence and committee members do not see the names of applicants.

How do I estimate a potential tuition assistance grant amount?

  • Past tuition grants have ranged from $500-$2000 per year depending on a family’s financial circumstances and depending on the school’s budget for financial aid that year. 

What are the deadlines?

  • We seek to communicate financial aid decisions in a manner that allows families to make timely, careful, and fully informed enrollment decisions.

  • Annual Applications:

    • Typically, we ask for applications to be submitted in February/March for the following school year. 

    • For the 2025-2026 school year, you must complete an application by February 15th 2025.

    • As a reminder, you must reapply each school year. 

    • We also accept applications continuously and grant awards of funds are available.

How does applying for tuition assistance impact my chance of getting accepted to the Scandinavian School?

  • Admission decisions are made without regard to the financial circumstances of a candidate’s family. Financial information is NOT shared with the Admissions Committee.

  • Once all Tuition Assistance applications have been received, the administration will seek to balance the needs of the individual families and the tuition assistance budget.  

How is the Tuition Assistance budget funded?

  • Our tuition assistance budget is made possible from donations from our current families, alumni, and community members. The school also allocates funds from it’s operating budget each year to support financial aid. 

  • The Board allocates a certain dollar amount for financial aid each year as part of the budgeting process.