Applying for a Tuition Assistance Scholarship
Ames Christian School utilizes Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST), a third party assessment and verification service. FAST provides a need-based financial aid analysis which includes a recommendation of what a family should reasonably be able to contribute toward tuition.
Information provided to FAST is confidential and private. This service provides an extra level of confidentiality by providing only the critical pieces of information to the Scholarship Committee. The scholarship committee reviews the results of the FAST analysis and provides a final recommendation to the school board based on available funds. Upon school board approval, offers of financial aid will be sent to families for consideration. Families may either accept or decline the offer.
Families are required to complete the FAST application, scan or mail in all required tax documents before they are eligible for financial aid. Families seeking financial aid must reapply each school year. Financial aid dollars are limited and will be awarded in the order applications are received.
Who Should Apply?
Any family with a student in kindergarten through seventh grade who feels the combination of their income and expenses limits their ability to reasonably pay the full tuition.
How Do I Apply?
The FAST application process is available by clicking the FAST logo near the top of this page, or Click Here for the FAST site.
The application process is self-guided and there is a downloadable guide to help you prepare your financial information prior to completing the online application. You may log in and out of the site, though you should be sure to save changes as you make them.
For questions, please use the online email and a 24/7 phone help line that is provided by FAST instead of calling the school.
Things to Know
- Most of the form requires details about your income, assets, and expenses. We recommend downloading the application guide to help with preparing the required information.
- There is a $41, non-refundable application fee. This fee is payable online, but is not required until the entire application has been completed. Cards with the MasterCard, Visa, or American Express logos are accepted for payment (but NOT Discover card).
- Copies of your 2014 state and federal tax returns will be accepted by FAST either by scanning the documents electronically using the FAST Quick Processing Wizard or by U.S. Postal Service mail. FAST envelopes for unstapled documents to be mailed in are available in the ACS office. FAST will email you if additional information is required. FAST will not make any recommendations without receiving all the required documents.
Expectations of Families Receiving Scholarships
In order for the scholarship to be valid, parents must be accepted for enrollment and complete the entire registration process, including payment of the registration fee. To receive your scholarship throughout the school year tuition must be paid on time.
Finally, the school simply could not operate efficiently without the countless hours of volunteer time invested. At least one parent from every ACS family is expected to volunteer, serve, or donate to a minimum of one large and one small fundraiser annually. We expect scholarship awarded families to volunteer with Christian passion at fundraisers and events for the betterment of ACS.
