Tuition & Financial Aid

Tuition for the 2023-2024 school year, for grades K-12, is $61,120. Dalton's tuition includes the full cost of books, laptops/tablets, and lunch. Depending on a student's interests and needs, there may be additional costs beyond tuition, such as the After School program, global trips, or student activities in high school. 

Options for tuition payment include a single full-year payment (due by July 1), two bi-annual installments (July 1 & January 1), or an eight-month monthly payment plan (May - December). 

Financial aid, based on the demonstrated need of a family, is available to supplement family resources for those whose ability to pay school costs is limited. Dalton is strongly committed to a generously-funded tuition assistance program that is designed to ensure that our educational offerings are open to academically qualified applicants regardless of their family's ability to afford the full tuition. Through our commitment to financial aid that is strictly need-based, we strive to maintain a socio-economically diverse student body and to ensure that our process of allocating aid is fair and equitable. 

We encourage the families of all applicants to carefully evaluate their own ability to pay school costs for the coming year and in future years. If parents think they will need assistance with the tuition, they must apply at the time of admission. If the request for assistance is not made with a student's initial application for admission, consideration for financial aid will only be granted at a later date, including subsequent years, if the need is due to a significant, unexpected change in circumstances, such as job loss. 

Eligibility for financial aid is based on a family's demonstrated need -- as determined by important factors such as family income, assets, family size, and tuition obligations for other dependent children. In order to determine the financial need of a family, Dalton utilizes recommendations from School and Student Services, and requires financial documentation such as federal tax returns to be submitted. All financial aid is given in the form of grants which do not have to be repaid. For the current school year, Dalton granted over $13 million in need based aid to approximately 20% of the student body. The amount of aid received by families rates from partial to almost full assistance, and families from a wide range of income levels have qualified based on individual family circumstances.

For currently-enrolled families who have experienced a significant, unexpected, and often temporary disruption to their income or resources and who may need support from the school to keep their children enrolled at Dalton, we want to help.

If you expect that you will not be able to make your upcoming tuition payment, we encourage you to reach out early, as that will allow us the most opportunity to work out an alternative payment arrangement. Diane DiMuro, Dalton's Billing Manager (212-423-5440), is available to counsel families about alternative payment plans that may be arranged.

Emergency tuition aid in these situations may also be available (but is limited).  As per our principles for financial aid administration, in all cases families must demonstrate need, and must also submit documentation that verifies their current financial situation and that a significant change has occurred since the student's initial enrollment. Parents should contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss the change in their situation, as documentation may vary based upon the context, but may include several years of past tax returns, business tax returns if parents are owners/partners of a business, furlough/termination letter, recent pay stubs, and recent bank or investment statements -- and of course, the Parents' Financial Statement (PFS).