International and accessible
Internationale et accessible
Meet Our Financial Aid Manager
Anuradha Mendis, our Financial Aid Manager, is eager to help families navigate the financial aid application process.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email.
Based on program eligibility, 26% of the International School of Los Angeles’s student body typically receive some degree of financial aid, either from France and/or directly from our school.
French nationals studying at our school have the opportunity to apply annually for need-based scholarships (bourse scolaire) directly from the French government. This external financial assistance helps our school maintain a diverse socioeconomic atmosphere and allows for a reasonable overall fee scale compared to other local private schools and French schools around the country. This support is possible because the International School of Los Angeles maintains its accreditation from the French Ministry of Education. Information about the bourse scolaire can be found on the French Consulate’s website.
Our school also administers its own need-based financial aid program. School-funded financial assistance is available for both returning and new families. The application for school-funded financial aid is open on the 1st of October each year and application is available from SSS here.
Please address all financial aid related correspondence to financialaid@lilaschool.com.
Chaque année, environ 26% de nos élèves bénéficient de l’aide financière du LILA ou d’une bourse scolaire octroyée par le gouvernement français. Les ressortissants français qui étudient dans notre école doivent faire une demande chaque année auprès du consulat. La bourse est attribuée en fonction des revenus. L’aide financière contribue au maintien de la diversité économique au sein de notre communauté. L’homologation de notre établissement par les autorités françaises est primordiale pour permettre à nos élèves de bénéficier des bourses scolaires françaises.
Notre école a également son propre programme d’aide financière qui est déterminée sur la base des revenus. L’aide financière provenant de l’école est disponible à la fois pour les nouvelles familles et les familles renouvelant leur inscription. La demande d’aide financière est disponible ici.
Pour comprendre la procédure dans son ensemble et pour avoir accès à la section questions-réponses : Consultez, dans l’ordre, le processus d’aide financière puis le document questions-réponses sur l’aide financière.
Veuillez adresser toute correspondance en rapport avec les demandes d’aide financière à : financialaid@lilaschool.com.
See below for more information
Dear potential financial aid recipients,
The financial aid team uses School and Student Services (SSS) for its financial aid screening process. The Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS), completed via the SSS portal, is used by thousands of K-12 schools and other organizations across the country to help assess a family’s ability to pay school costs.
Families are eligible for financial aid consideration starting in their first year at the School. All families – new and currently enrolled (i.e. re-enrolling) – must complete an annual application in order to be considered for financial assistance.
New families applying for school financial aid must complete the online application on or before January 31st of the preceding school year; prior year tax returns must be included. Aid applications will only be reviewed when all required documentation, including tax returns, has been submitted.
For families with multiple households:
• For families in which parents are remarried, the income of all members of all households is taken into account.
• In the event of separation or divorce, both parents will be required to fill out separate applications.
Financial Aid Process
• Complete a Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) application online here (non-refundable cost of $60). The International School of Los Angeles SSS school code is 3920.
• For line-by-line instructions on transferring information from your tax documents to the application, please review this handy guide.
• Once you finish the online application, you will be asked to scan and upload documents to complete the process. Please upload tax forms directly to the online application; they cannot be accepted by the School. For uploading instructions, please click here.
For additional safety, be sure to black out all social security numbers before scanning and uploading documents.
• Once the documents are uploaded, please email financialaid@lilaschool.com to inform the completion of the application.
• If you have questions regarding completing the online application, please call the SSS customer service team at (800) 344-8328.
• Once your application is verified by the SSS, the application is reviewed by the Financial Aid Team for aid consideration.
• Families of first-time applicants are also asked for a Zoom meeting with the team during the review process.
• New families will be notified of the results with their admissions offer letter (early March)
To be eligible for financial aid consideration, families must be current on all financial obligations to the School. Typical financial aid awards range from 10%- 50% of tuition and fees, with some awards being lower and some being higher.
The International School of Los Angeles reserves the right to request additional documents or information related to financial aid applications. All applications are considered in strict confidence.
If, at any time, families have questions about the financial aid process, they are invited to email us at financialaid@lilaschool.com.
Dear current and potential financial aid recipients,
The financial aid team uses School and Student Services (SSS) for its financial aid screening process. The Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS), completed via the SSS portal, is used by thousands of K-12 schools and other organizations across the country to help assess a family’s ability to pay school costs.
Families are eligible for financial aid consideration starting in their first year at the School. All families – new and currently enrolled (i.e. re-enrolling) – must complete an annual application in order to be considered for financial assistance.
Families applying for school financial aid must complete the online application on or before:
• Returning families new to Financial Aid: January 31 of the preceding school year; prior year tax returns must be included.
• Returning families re-applying for Financial Aid: March 15 of the preceding school year; current and prior year tax returns must be included.
For families with multiple households:
• For families in which parents are remarried, the income of all members of all households is taken into account.
• In the event of separation or divorce, both parents will be required to fill out separate applications.
Financial Aid Process
• Complete a Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) application online here (non-refundable cost of $60). The International School of Los Angeles SSS school code is 3920.
• For line-by-line instructions on transferring information from your tax documents to the application, please review this handy guide.
• Once you finish the online application, you will be asked to scan and upload documents to complete the process. Please upload tax forms directly to the online application; they cannot be accepted by the School. For uploading instructions, please click here.
For additional safety, be sure to black out all social security numbers before scanning and uploading documents.
• Aid applications will only be reviewed when all required documentation, including tax returns, has been submitted.
• If you have questions regarding completing the online application, please call the SSS customer service team at (800) 344-8328.
To be eligible for financial aid consideration, families must be current on all financial obligations to the School. Please note that, for returning families, a student’s academic achievement and discipline record may also affect a family’s eligibility for financial aid. Typical financial aid awards range from 10%- 50% of tuition and fees, with some awards being lower and some being higher.
The International School of Los Angeles reserves the right to request additional documents or information related to financial aid applications. All applications are considered in strict confidence.
If, at any time, families have questions about the financial aid process, they are invited to email us at financialaid@lilaschool.com.
New Families
• Application submission deadline – January 31
• Prior year tax document submission deadline – January 31
• Current year tax document submission deadline – March 31
Returning families new to Financial Aid
• Application submission deadline – January 31
• Prior year tax document submission deadline – January 31
• Current year tax document submission deadline – March 31
Returning families re-applying for Financial Aid
• Application submission deadline – March 15
• Prior year tax document submission deadline – March 15
• Current year tax document submission deadline – April 15
Resources for submitting applications
• Step-By-Step Guide to start the application
• Guided workbook to complete your Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS)
• Making changes to your PFS
• Transferring information from your tax documents to the application
• Submit required documents
What is financial aid at the International School of Los Angeles?
The School’s financial aid program provides need-based assistance to enable qualified students to attend the International School of Los Angeles, “the School.” The amount of each student’s award depends on the available funds in a given year and the family’s documented financial need, as determined by completing the Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) from SSS.
Typical financial aid awards range from 10%-50% of tuition and fees, with some awards being lower and some being higher.
Are all families eligible to be considered for school-funded financial aid?
Yes, all families – new (enrolling for the first time) and currently enrolled (i.e. re- enrolling) – are eligible for financial aid consideration. The financial aid team schedules meetings with new families to discuss the process and learn what to expect during the application process.
Families must reapply each year, and there is no guarantee of continuing assistance.
Is there an income level that automatically disqualifies a family from aid consideration?
There is no income cap; however, the eligibility for aid consideration can only be determined by verifying the tax documentation. Since there are many factors that are pulled into the application algorithm, we encourage families who have a concern about their ability to pay to take the time to complete the Parent Financial Statement through the SSS platform.
If my child re-enrolls, is he/she automatically considered for the School’s financial aid?
No, the re-enrollment and financial aid processes involve separate procedures, with different requirements and deadlines for each. It is the family’s responsibility to meet all deadlines. The financial aid decision is made after the student is re-enrolled.
What happens if parents are separated or divorced?
In the event of separation or divorce, both parents will be required to fill out separate applications. For families in which parents are remarried, the income of all members of all households is taken into account.
When and how will families be notified of the results?
The School will send an email to all families who apply for financial aid. The financial aid team tries to process all applications within 60 days from the application deadline. If a family’s application packet is complete, they should expect to be informed of the final decision according to this schedule:
• New families: with their admissions offer letter (early March)
• Returning/re-enrolling families: May 15
Who makes the decision regarding financial aid?
The decision to grant financial aid is made by the financial aid committee. The committee is advised by the School’s appointed financial aid staff during the evaluation process to ensure proper understanding of submitted financial records and other appropriate information. Once approved, the families who have been granted an award are notified.