Application fee
- USD 100.00 application fee required for each application; this fee is non-refundable.
Tuition (published annual rates for 2026–2027)
- Kindergarten — USD 11,000 per year.
- Lower School (Grades 1–5) — USD 12,500 per year.
- Middle School (Grades 6–8) — USD 14,000 per year.
Per-term / installment examples (calculated from the published annual tuition)
- Kindergarten (USD 11,000):
- Per semester (2 equal installments): USD 5,500 per semester. (Calculated.)
- Per trimester (3 equal installments): USD 3,667 per trimester (rounded). (Calculated.)
- Per 10 monthly installments: USD 1,100 per month. (Calculated.)
- Lower School (USD 12,500):
- Per semester (2): USD 6,250 per semester. (Calculated.)
- Per trimester (3): USD 4,167 per trimester (rounded). (Calculated.)
- Per 10 monthly installments: USD 1,250 per month. (Calculated.)
- Middle School (USD 14,000):
- Per semester (2): USD 7,000 per semester. (Calculated.)
- Per trimester (3): USD 4,667 per trimester (rounded). (Calculated.)
- Per 10 monthly installments: USD 1,400 per month. (Calculated.)
Billing schedule and payment terms
- Invoices and billing communications are issued through the school's Gradelink system. Families receive invoices, report cards, and other account communications via Gradelink.
- Re-enrollment contracts are issued to current families at the end of January with a specified return date in February; enrollment contracts for newly accepted families must be signed and returned within the due date listed in the acceptance notification.
- Past-due accounts are subject to collection procedures; accounts past due 60 days or more may result in the withholding of report cards, transcripts, and other paperwork, and collection costs (including attorneys' fees) may be charged.
Boarding fees
- Boarding is not applicable. The school serves Kindergarten through 8th grade as a day school.
Other costs and typical additional fees
- Annual Student Fee: an annual student fee is part of the school's fee structure (specific dollar amount not published on the public materials). This fee commonly covers items such as student materials and some field-study costs; financial-aid awards do not apply to the annual student fee.
- Field study fees: field-study and overnight-trip fees are charged as required; families are notified of amounts and must pay by the date specified by the classroom teacher. Field-study fees may be covered in part by the annual student fee when applicable.
- After-school program fees:
- Punch-card option (ten punches): USD 120 total (USD 12.00 per day when using a punch card).
- Drop-in after-school pickup (no punch card): USD 15.00 per day.
- Homework Help only (pickup by 4:15 pm): USD 6.00 per day.
- Extracurricular, overnight field-study, summer program, yearbook, lunch, and similar program fees exist and are billed separately; Hickory Day–sponsored financial aid does not apply to these fees.
- Application fee validity: a paid application fee is valid for six months from the initial application or check date.
Refund information
- The USD 100.00 application fee is non-refundable.
- The admissions/wait-list policy indicates that certain fees will not be refunded in the event of wait-list changes; specific refund rules for tuition and other program fees are not published in the publicly available materials.
Fee payment options
- Application payments are processed through the online application interface (an online payment button is present on the application form).
- Invoices and account billing are managed through Gradelink; families receive invoices and account communications via Gradelink.
Notes for parents
- Published annual tuition rates (USD 11,000; USD 12,500; USD 14,000) are the baseline charges by grade band for the 2026–2027 school year. Per-term and per-installment figures above are calculated directly from those published annual rates for convenience and comparison; actual billing installment structure (if any) will follow the school's issued invoice/contract and Gradelink billing setup.
