We are able to give tuition assistance to over 85% of our students
Thanks to our donors and tax credits through STOs.
Tuition & Aid
Saint Mary’s Catholic High School bases its tuition policy on the premise that tuition payments are an investment in your child’s education and Christian formation. It is the duty of the school administration, in the spirit of Christian stewardship, to ensure that adequate financial resources are available for the school and that enrollment is as affordable as possible to all families.
2023-2024 Rates
$17,500/year or $13,500/year for Catholics registered in a Catholic Parish
$325 Registration Fee — non-refundable and not included in tuition
Financial Aid - Tuition Assistance Opportunities
We want to be sure that tuition is affordable for all students who want to attend St. Mary’s. We work with Student Tuition Organizations (STOs), Foundations, private donors and other organizations to provide tuition assistance to all who request assistance. Student’s eligibility for tuition assistance is determined by household size and household income and needs to be documented by 2022 tax returns. Completing all applications recommended by due dates result in the maximum assistance.
Financial Aid assistance will be available in the Business Office. Contact Michelle Hernandez at mhernandez@smknights.org, Veronica Acosta at vacosta@smknights.org (bilingual) or Esther Valerio at evalerio@smknights.org (bilingual) to schedule an appointment.
Merit Scholarship
Saint Mary’s Catholic High School is proud to award incoming freshmen the Saint Mary’s Merit Scholarship. Students are selected for this distinct honor based on multiple factors from their high school applications, including but not limited to, their HSPT scores, grades, teacher recommendations, online application, and student-parent interviews. Upon a critical review of all of these items, Saint Mary’s selects a limited number of students whom we believe will continue to excel academically and greatly benefit from a Saint Mary’s education. The scholarship applies all four years.
Median Saint Mary’s Tuition Cost
Based on Family Size and Income
| Household Size | Annual Income below | Annual Income below | Annual Income above |
| 2 | $33,874 | $62,667 | $62,668 |
| 3 | $42,606 | $78,820 | $78,821 |
| 4 | $51,338 | $94,974 | $94,975 |
| 5 | $60,070 | $111,129 | $111,130 |
| 6 | $68,802 | $127,283 | $127,284 |
| 7 | $77,534 | $143,437 | $143,438 |
| 8 | $86,266 | $159,591 | $159,592 |
| Add for each additional | $8,732 | $16,154 | $16,155 |
|
Classification of Aid eligibility |
Free/Reduced Eligible |
Corporate/Low income eligible |
Individual eligible, can be Switcher/Plus eligible if coming from Public School |
| Median Tuition cost for 2020-2021 at St. Mary’s |
$0 |
$800 |
$5,500 |
| Avg number of funding sources for assistance | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Catholic Education Arizona
The application for Catholic Education Arizona application is due April 18th.
All families seeking assistance must apply!
Parents/legal guardians need to go to www.fairapp.com to apply. The school code and school password will remain the same as last year, as well as the $29 fee.
School Code: 700
School Password: cea700
If your family applied online last year and you log in this year with the same email and password, you will see that an application based on last year’s information has already been started and will have a “pending” status. You will need to click on the EDIT link to update the information for the 2023-2024 school year. The preloaded information will not include financial, school or grade information. Please update your dependent information and school/grade information.
Appointments can be made for financial aid application assistance for parents who have completed 2022 tax returns.
Please contact Michelle Hernandez at mhernandez@smknights.org or 602.251.2510.
School Tuition Organizations
Below is a list of several STO’s (School Tuition Organizations) we partner with.
Please review eligibility guidelines and deadlines prior to applying.
A full list of Arizona STO’s is available at www.azdor.gov
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Step 1
All families need to donate their state income tax to and apply to Catholic Education Arizona
Catholic Education Arizona (CEA) – www.fairapp.com
(You will apply on a site called FAIR (Financial Aid Independent Review) – 3rd party who assesses applications)One Application per family: $29 Application Fee
School Code: 700
School Password: cea700 (same for all schools in Phoenix Catholic Diocese)
Upload 2022 Federal Taxes, W-2/1099’s, SNAP, SSI etc. after submitting application
Deadline April 18th
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Step 2
All Families need to approach family, friends, co-workers, business partners, etc. to donate their state income tax liability to CEA or designate your student to at least 1 of the below STOs. Also all families should apply to all of these STOs.
Institute for Better Education (IBE) – www.ibescholarships.org
First Round Deadline: May 4th Download Form(Individual/Switcher/Corporate) Deadline: August 15
Application for (Displaced/Disabled): Refer to IBE website for more information
No fee to apply; IBE participates in donor recommended tax credit
Arizona Tuition Connection – www.arizonatuitionconnection.com
One Application per student
No fee to apply; AZ Tuition Connection participates in donor recommended tax creditArizona Private Education Scholarship Fund (APESF) – www.apesf.org
One Application per family
No fee to apply; APESF participates in donor-recommended tax credit
School Choice Arizona – www.schoolchoicearizona.org
One Application per student; No fee to apply, SCA participates in donor-recommended tax creditTops for Kids– www.topsforkids.com
One Application per family
No fee to apply; Tops for Kids participates in donor recommended tax credit -
Step 3
If Corporate Income eligible continue to follow the steps below:
Arizona Leadership applications are now available. Please submit applications and documents directly to St. Mary’s Business Office at mhernandez@smknights.org. Incomplete applications sent directly to Arizona Leadership could result in loss of funding.
Scholarship Applications:
Low Income Scholarship Application
DD Scholarship Application -
Step 4
If Free/Reduced Lunch eligible continue to follow steps applicable below:
If the student has a 2.5 GPA apply to:
Pappas Kids Schoolhouse Foundation– www.pappaskidssf.org
Application Opens: February 1st
Deadline: May 15th
One Application per student– available on SM Website and in office once available.
No Fee to apply; minimum 2.5 GPA; Must qualify for free/reduced lunch to apply- Refer to income chart
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Step 5
If you have received ASCT funds in 19-20 school year, apply to:
Arizona School Choice Trust (ASCT) – www.asct.org
For Renewals Only
One Application per family: $30 Application Fee
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Step 6
Limited funding is available from these STOs
Academic Opportunity of Arizona – www.academicopportunity.org
A Degree for Me – www.adegreeforme.org
$7.00 application fee
Please Contact the Business Office at 602.251.2510 with questions regarding Tuition.
