Tuition and Aid
Tuition and aid, in plain numbers
Deerfield gives aid on need only. Read how it works before you decide whether to apply for it, because the aid application has its own deadline.
Checked against Deerfield's published admissions pages on November 4, 2026.
Tuition and aid
Tuition and need-based aid.
The tuition shown is for 2026-27. Aid at Deerfield is based on need only.
- Boarding tuition
- Boarding tuition for 2026-27 is $79,940.
- Day tuition
- Day tuition for 2026-27 is $57,850.
- What tuition includes
- Tuition covers room and board, textbooks, use of a MacBook Air and use of the Academy health center.
- Payment options
- Deerfield offers three tuition payment options: one installment due August 1, two installments due August 1 and December 1, or a monthly plan for a small fee. Billing runs through FACTS Management. Deposits are non-refundable and credited to the first tuition bill.
- Tuition after fall 2027
- When the West Campus Dorm opens in fall 2027, Deerfield says it will move to a single tuition rate with no additional fees. The 2027-28 amount was not on the pages we read.
- How aid works
- Financial aid at Deerfield is need-based, and the school says it meets 100% of demonstrated need for admitted students. Grants are outright awards with no repayment.
- No merit awards
- Deerfield does not give aid for athletic or academic performance or any other merit.
- How many families get aid
- For more than 40 percent of prospective families, applying to Deerfield also means applying for financial aid. For 2026-27, 38% of current families receive aid, 35% of aid recipients pay nothing, and the average boarding grant is $68,235.
- Families up to $150,000
- Under Deerfield's Financial Aid Initiative, domestic families making up to $150,000 pay $0. To qualify, families must live and work in the U.S., have two years of verifiable W-2 income only, and have assets consistent with their income.
- Who can apply
- All families, including international families and families without W-2 income, can apply for need-based aid and receive 100% of demonstrated need if admitted. Families who own a business apply through Clarity Financial Aid too.
- Effect on admission
- Applying for aid can affect admission. Deerfield says its aid budget is generous but limited, so it cannot always accept every admissible aid applicant.
- Both parents
- Every legal parent or guardian, including step-parents, must complete a financial aid application.
- Where to apply and the fee
- New aid applicants apply through the Clarity Financial Aid platform and must use the same name as on the admission application. The Clarity application fee is $65, and Deerfield does not waive it, though Clarity has its own waiver guidelines.
- Aid application opens
- Clarity Financial Aid began accepting applications on September 1, 2026.
- Aid deadline
- All financial aid applications must be submitted to Clarity by January 15, 2027.
- Tax documents
- U.S. tax filers with W-2 income must upload those documents to their Clarity application by February 15, 2027.
- Canada and other countries
- For new financial aid applicants, Canadian families upload a 2025 T-4 slip and Canadian tax return by January 15, 2027. Other international families upload a current bank statement, salary verification or non-U.S. tax filing by January 15, 2027. Returning aid families have an earlier date.
- Accepting an offer
- The deadline for parents to accept a financial aid offer is April 10, 2027. After that, grants are made on a funds-available basis.
- Every year
- Aid grants are reviewed every year, so families reapply annually. Deerfield reviews unexpected changes such as job loss case by case.
- Costs beyond tuition
- Some students also get help with costs beyond tuition, such as airfare, health insurance, music and dance lessons, athletics and global studies travel.
- 01
Recheck tuition and aid figures on the school website before you apply.
- 02
Gather tax documents early so the aid application does not compete with essays in January.
- 03
Remember that the aid application has its own deadline and fee, separate from the admission application.