Full Cost Tuition

SI’s “full cost tuition” philosophy means that tuition is tied to the actual cost of educating each student. Tuition covers faculty salaries and operational costs for each given school year; it is not used to provide student financial assistance. To guarantee that SI can ensure its policy of not turning away any qualified student for financial reasons, it uses a scholarship endowment to meet the financial needs for any family. Our admissions process is “need blind” which means that students are accepted regardless of family financial circumstances. Any family can apply for financial assistance; the school will meet whatever need each family has.

Tuition for the 1990-91 school year was just under $5,000. For 2006-07 it is $13,230. SI has had to keep pace not only with cost of living increases but also with increases in benefits and health care costs while trying to attract and maintain a talented and competent faculty.

Assuming current trends hold, the below graph projects tuition increases against financial assistance needs. SI’s challenge is to ensure the financial assistance curve keeps pace with projected tuition costs.

The Way it Works

Money donated for a scholarship goes into our Scholarship Endowment, currently $32 million strong. Following what’s called the “Yale Model,” a percentage of the return off the investment of those funds is used to provide the necessary financial assistance each year. The principal of the gift is never invaded and sufficient growth is retained to ensure the perpetual purchasing power of each scholarship.

Each year, a qualified student is assigned to one or more named scholarships. Donors meet the recipient every other year at a Scholarship Luncheon in September. In many instances, students receive the same scholarships throughout their four years.

Named Scholarships

Scholarships may be named for individual donors, a group or family, in honor of others, or in memory of a deceased family member or friend. A corpus of $25,000 will name the scholarship; $100,000 fully and perpetually endows it. All awards are need based, but donors may advise the Scholarship Committee regarding preferred student talents, interests or characteristics. Click here for a full list of all of our partially and fully endowed scholarships.

Click here to view the entire list of perpetually as well as partially endowed scholarships

Read about people who have honored loves ones through a named scholarship
Students start scholarship fund to honor Sablinsky legacy at SI (link to story, below)
Class Of 1957 Creates Gary Leahy Scholarship  (link to story, below)
Scholarship Honors Fr. Dick McCurdy (link to story, below)
Class of 1955 Creates David P. Dawson Scholarship (link to story, below)
Boninos Create Performing Arts Scholarship (link to story, below)
Kurtela Scholarship Honors Father’s Volunteer Work (link to story, below)
Tribute to Memory of Jean Travers ’35 (link to story, below)
The Murphys create scholarship to honor man who built Bay Area landmarks (link to story below)
Jerry Brown’s Class of ’55 honors him by creating fully endowed scholarship (link to story below)
SI Alumni Use Named Funds to Remember Admired Relatives (link to story below)
A Legacy for a Father from Chronicle Reporter John Wildermuth ’69 (link to story below)
It’s Payback Time for Lorraine Jennings ’95 (link to story below)
Jim De Martini’s life consistent with bequest (link to story below)

How do I begin a scholarship?

It’s easy. Contact SI’s Development Office. Any amount can begin a scholarship. Once a scholarship reaches $25,000.00, then it is partially endowed and will be awarded to a deserving student. Donors fill out an agreement with the school on how they would like the scholarship named and on any particulars about the recipient. Please feel free to contact the Development Office (415-731-7500, ext 211)with any questions.

Can I support SI’s scholarship program without starting a scholarship?

Absolutely. Many benefactors simply donate to the SI Fund and pool their donation in the Scholarship Endowment. Others donate to a specific scholarship.

You may make payments to your scholarship fund through gifts of cash (checks should be made out to St. Ignatius College Preparatory), or make a donation online.

For more information please do not hesitate to contact the Development office at 415-731-7500 x 211.