Studio Demo · Fictional school — Montessori Makers School is a fictional school built by Montessori Makers Studio
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What it costs, and how families meet it.
Independent school tuition is a serious number and we will not bury it. Below are the 2026–2027 rates, exactly what they include, and how our need-based aid actually works.
38%
Of families receive aid
$1.1M
Aid budget, 2026–2027
$14,200
Median award
15 Jan
Aid application deadline
2026–2027 rates
Four programs, one fee each.
Primary, Half Day
Ages 3–6 · 8:15 am–12:00 pm
$15,400
Primary, Full Day
Ages 3–6 · 8:15 am–3:00 pm
$19,900
Lower Elementary
Ages 6–9 · 8:15 am–3:15 pm
$22,300
Upper Elementary
Ages 9–12 · 8:15 am–3:15 pm
$23,600
Sibling discount
5% off the lesser tuition for a second child, 8% for a third.
Payment plans
One, two, or 10 installments. The 10-month plan carries no interest.
Deposit
$2,500 on signing, credited against the first installment.
Estimate your cost
What would it actually cost us?
The table above is a list price, and almost no family pays exactly it. Put your own children in and the sibling discount, Extended Day, and an indicative aid range are all worked out together.
Your estimate
Estimated, per year
$19,900
$1,990 a month on the 10-month plan
A $2,500 deposit is due on signing and is credited against your first installment.
Talk to AdmissionsIncluded in tuition
Almost everything.
We do not send fundraising envelopes home with children, and there are no classroom supply lists in August.
Billed separately
Four things.
Extended Day
Morning $95/mo · Afternoon $310/mo · clubs included
Summer programs
$310–$460 per week, aid available
Annual family contribution
Voluntary; see Giving
Uniform
There isn’t one
Financial aid
Aid is need-based, confidential, and decided separately from admission.
Thirty-eight percent of MMS families receive aid, and the awards range from a few thousand dollars to nearly full tuition. The admissions committee does not see financial files, and the aid committee does not see admissions files.
Guides are never told which children are aided. Neither are other families. The one exception is the Head of School, who signs the awards.
If tuition is the reason you have not enquired, please enquire anyway. The families who assume they will not qualify are, in our experience, frequently wrong.
What awards look like
An honest, imprecise guide.
Every award is calculated from a full financial picture, not from income alone — assets, debts, family size, and the number of children in tuition-charging schools all matter. These bands are a starting point for a conversation, nothing more.
Under $80,000
Typically 60–90% of tuition
Some families pay a nominal minimum
$80,000–$140,000
Typically 30–60% of tuition
The largest group of aided families
$140,000–$220,000
Typically 10–30% of tuition
Often sibling-driven
Above $220,000
Typically 0–5% of tuition
Awards are uncommon at this level
How to apply for aid
Four steps, and one deadline that matters.
01
Apply for admission first
Aid decisions are made after a child is offered a place, and never influence whether a place is offered. The two files are read by different people.
02
File with Clarity by 15 January
We use the Clarity application, which pulls your tax data directly. It takes most families about twenty minutes and costs $60, waived on request.
03
Send your prior-year return
Uploaded through Clarity. If your circumstances have changed materially since that return, write to us — this is the most common reason an award is revised upward.
04
Receive your award with your offer
Awards arrive on the same day as admission decisions, in mid-March, so that no family has to accept a place without knowing what it costs.
If you miss 15 January, apply anyway. We hold a portion of the budget for families who arrive late, move to Chicago mid-year, or whose circumstances change after the deadline. Write to aid@montessorimakersschool.org.