Tuition & Financial Aid

Dalton’s tuition unlocks a world of opportunity, and we are committed to ensuring that a socioeconomically diverse group of students has access to the  Dalton experience. The annual cost of tuition, which is $64,300 for the 2024-2025 academic year, is about as “all-inclusive” as you will find, going further than most of our peer schools in the city, with no additional fees for lunches or books, local curricular field trips or grade trips, sports uniforms, or equipment, musical instrument rentals, art supplies, or technology. All Dalton students, grades K-12, are provided access to a personal laptop for older students or iPads for our younger students, to support their learning at no additional cost to families. 

A deposit is due at the time of enrollment, and there are multiple payment plans and options available for families for paying the balance of the tuition: one single payment (due July 1), two payments (due July 1 and January 1), or 10 monthly payments (from March to December).

Dalton has one of the largest financial aid budgets of any independent school in New York City. Enrolling and supporting a socioeconomically diverse student body is very important to us, and this is reflected not only in our efforts to eliminate additional fees on the tuition contract so that families know what to expect, but also in the significant percentage of our annual budget that is earmarked for tuition assistance. Over 20% of our student body attends Dalton with the support of more than $14.5 million in need-based financial aid.

Applicants for financial aid must meet the following financial aid application deadlines in order to be considered: 

In addition to completing the online application, supporting documentation may be required to be uploaded, such as recent paystubs and any business tax returns. The Clarity portal will indicate any required documents that are relevant to your family’s financial situation.

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 a family thinks 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 after enrollment, including subsequent years, if the need is due to significant, unexpected change in circumstances, such as job loss. Current families in this position may reach out to the Financial Aid Office to discuss the possibility of temporary emergency tuition aid. 

Families from a wide range of incomes and financial situations can qualify for financial aid. The median income of families receiving financial aid at Dalton is $205,000, and grant amounts range based on family incomes, the number of children in tuition-charging schools, and family assets and other resources and factors. Families earning under $100,000 and with few assets, for instance, will likely pay less than $1,000 in annual tuition; whereas a family earning $400,000 with a low to moderate level of personal assets and two children in the school may still qualify for assistance, but will likely be able to pay $35,000 or more toward each of their children’s annual tuition.