Our whole community benefits when learning is available to a wide variety of students. At Trinity College School, we strive for diversity in our student body, welcoming learners from different socio-economic backgrounds, as well as ensuring that our cohorts include a mix of Canadian and international students, day and boarding students, genders and other diversities. By doing so, the School is supporting its mission of developing habits of the heart and mind; our classroom discussions become more informed through a variety of perspectives, our celebrations introduce us to different cultures and practices, friendships span geographical boundaries, and understanding and compassion blossoms. One concrete way that we take action on this goal of ensuring diversity in our community is by creating financial assistance programs that make a TCS education available to those who would not otherwise be able to access it.
Financial assistance at TCS is available in two forms: bursaries and scholarships. Scholarships are merit-based, meaning they are awarded based on academic ability, leadership and community involvement or other specific factors. Bursaries are need-based, meaning that they are awarded based on demonstrated financial need. At TCS, need-based bursaries range from $5,000 to up to 75% of tuition costs, and scholarships range in value up to and including full-tuition plus a stipend for ancillary costs. Once granted, financial assistance does not need to be repaid.
“The guiding principle for the TCS financial assistance program is to support families who would not otherwise be able to afford a TCS education on their own,” explains Kathy LaBranche, the School’s executive director - strategic enrolment. “Through generous donations from alumni, parents and the broader community, the School’s endowment has grown significantly over the last two decades from $24 million to close to $73 million, and now helps to support nearly $4 million in financial assistance annually.”
How are scholarships awarded?
Each scholarship awarded at TCS has a specific criteria and process. Most include an essay written by the student and an interview process. Successful recipients are selected by a committee at the School. An exciting step forward was marked when a new type of scholarship, covering the full-tuition cost over the course of a student’s high school career, was first introduced back in 2016 with the inaugural Cirne National Scholarships program. Today, TCS supports five full-tuition scholarship programs – representing 12 students on full scholarship each year – that are based on certain criteria (including geographical factors) and are not necessarily tied to need. TCS scholarships are not awarded specifically for athletic or artistic ability; instead, they consider a student’s overall strengths, such as academic distinction, co-curricular dedication, strong leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit and citizenship.
How are bursaries awarded?
Of TCS’s annual financial assistance budget – which is nearly $4 million dollars for the 2024-2025 academic year – 90% is directed towards need-based bursaries. After a student has applied and been accepted to TCS, there is a process to apply for assistance. A third party organization assesses the family’s finances to help determine if a bursary award will be granted. Bursary awards are solely granted based on demonstrated need, and are reassessed each year.
Here are a few recent examples of financial assistance offerings that have supported deserving students in joining the TCS community:
- Peter N. Thomson Family Bursary established by Andrew & Julie Raenden P’18 ’23 to support a promising student from the Bahamas
- Burns Atlantic National Scholarship, a boarding need-based award (thanks to increased funding through the estate of H. Michael Burns ’56)
- The Indigenous National Scholarships, offering three full-tuition boarding scholarships for Indigenous students funded by Eric Jackman ’53, Tim Price ’59 and James Aitken ’93
Why is financial support so important?
As part of the School’s nearly $73 million endowment, 86% is dedicated to financial assistance. As evidenced by the 102 scholarship and bursary funds at TCS, financial assistance is an important priority for our donor community. “Helping great young people come to TCS is an incredibly rewarding experience for our donors,” says Doug Mann, executive director - philanthropy and alumni. The School is most grateful for the legacy of giving that is a hallmark of this school’s history. Mr. Mann confirms: “Our donors support financial assistance at TCS because they care deeply about young people and their potential to make the world a better place.”
Financial assistance equals a more diverse and inclusive TCS. Given the School’s vision of being “internationally regarded for excellence in developing leaders of character, purpose and vision due to the strength of its people, program and place,” offering a community comprising people who represent different experiences and perspectives is essential for growing a broad definition of character and leadership. The School prides itself on each new step taken towards expanding our financial assistance program in both scope and depth; the goal would be to offer more assistance (larger scholarships and bursaries) to more families. For example, TCS was one of the first schools to look at offering financial assistance to international students. The School also limits the dollar amount of individual need-based bursaries in order to assist as many students as possible. At the same time, we continue to work to increase the number of bursaries that cover 75% or more of tuition costs.
In order to ensure young people and their families – whether local or international – are aware of the School’s financial assistance offerings, the School employs a variety of tactics including, but not limited to: digital advertising, engagement of communities through targeted admissions team travel and word-of-mouth, thanks to TCS alumni and current families.
How do we continue to grow our financial assistance program?
Typically, one-third of TCS students receive financial assistance each year. This is remarkable, and highly impactful -- but the School has big goals when it comes to increasing our financial assistance funding! One such goal is to double the number of full-fee scholarships, creating more opportunities for talented students to come to TCS without financial limitations. Another is to have the TCS Foundation positioned to fund 100% of our annual financial assistance program (currently some funding comes out of operating funds). This would bolster the long-term sustainability of our assistance program, while also allowing the School to redeploy operating funds to further enhance programs and infrastructure.
In the School’s upcoming Unlock Remarkable fundraising campaign, growing our financial assistance capacity will be a top priority. Regardless of socio-economic background, we want to give more keen and motivated students a life-changing educational experience at TCS!
