Tuition & Financial Aid
At Harker, we want a K-12 education to be within reach for every admitted student whose family demonstrates financial need. Each year, we award approximately $10 million in financial aid — helping talented students from many different backgrounds join our community, and making the Harker experience more rewarding for everyone.
Our tuition covers nearly all the costs of a Harker education, so families can plan with confidence and know what to expect. Financial aid closes the gap between what a family can reasonably contribute and the cost of tuition.
If affording Harker feels out of reach for your family, we hope you'll still apply — this is exactly the situation financial aid exists for.
Admission and financial aid applications happen during the same cycle, but they're evaluated separately. Harker's admission process is need-blind: Your family's finances are never a factor in whether your child is admitted, and applying for aid won't affect your child's chances.
We know some families hold back from applying because they're not sure they'll qualify, or because the process feels unfamiliar. Please don't let that uncertainty stop you from exploring what's possible — our financial aid office is here to answer your questions and walk with you through every step.
Clarity Financial Aid Application
Harker uses Clarity, a secure, third-party platform, to assess each family's demonstrated financial need. As part of the application, you'll share your financial information through Clarity and authorize the platform to securely retrieve and verify your tax information directly from the IRS. Most families complete the application in about 30 minutes.
To begin, submit your Harker admission application and indicate your intent to apply for financial aid. Once that's submitted, we'll send you a Harker-specific code to access your financial aid application in Clarity — use it to create your Clarity account.
Clarity charges a $65 application fee, which covers your application to Harker and to any other participating schools using the platform. The fee is automatically waived for families who meet Clarity's income eligibility guidelines.
Clarity also offers native-language support: the platform is fully translated into Spanish, and live bilingual assistance is available by chat, email and phone, so you can complete the application with confidence.
Harker Financial Aid Information Session
Curious to learn more about how financial aid works at Harker? Each December, our financial aid team hosts an information session covering how to apply, how we assess demonstrated need, and what to expect along the way. It's designed to answer your questions and help you navigate the application with confidence. Register here. The session is recorded, so if you can't attend live — or want to revisit it later — a recording will be available afterward.
Clarity Information Sessions
Clarity also offers Application Information Webinars throughout the season, open to families applying to any school on the Clarity platform, including Harker. Each live session walks through the application process, key deadlines and required materials, the tax verification process and how to complete your application, with time for your questions.
Once you apply to Harker and indicate your intent to apply for financial aid, we'll send you the current Clarity webinar schedule and registration details along with your financial aid materials.
Financial Aid Process
How to apply — by Jan. 5, 2027
Step 1: Apply to Harker and let us know you intend to apply for financial aid. Complete and submit your Harker preliminary application for admission. On the application, select "yes" in answer to "Do you intend to apply for financial aid?" Once you've submitted your admission application and indicated your intent, we'll send additional instructions, including the Harker-specific code you'll need to access your financial aid application in Clarity.
Step 2: Complete the Clarity Financial Aid Application Complete the Clarity Financial Aid Application and submit the following documents through Clarity by Jan. 5, 2027:
- 2026 federal tax return (Form 1040, including all schedules), if available
- 2026 W-2 form(s)
- 2026 1099 form(s), if applicable
- Any additional documentation Clarity requests
By Feb. 16, 2027
If your 2026 federal tax return (Form 1040, including all schedules) isn't available by Jan. 5, please submit it through Clarity no later than Feb. 16, 2027.
To be eligible for financial aid for the 2027-28 academic year, please complete the Clarity application and submit all required documentation by these deadlines.
What happens next?
Once your financial aid application is complete:
Financial aid committee review — Harker's financial aid committee reviews Clarity's recommendation along with the information your family has provided, to determine your family's contribution and financial aid award.
Award notification — Financial aid decisions are shared with admitted students at the same time as admission decisions, in mid-March.
We award financial aid based on demonstrated need, weighing many factors to help bridge the gap between what a family can reasonably contribute and the cost of tuition.
We welcome any questions about the process. Reach out to our financial aid office at fainfo@harker.org, and we're glad to talk through how we can help make Harker affordable for your family.
2026-27 Harker Tuition
Harker’s tuition includes before- and after-school care, lunch and most school expenses, such as our intercampus shuttle between our three campuses, yearbooks, local field trips, athletic uniforms, etc. Non-tuition expenses include laptops, which are required for middle and upper school students, and textbooks. Additional costs families may encounter are for specific activity choices such as a particular after-school activity or elective travel trips for specific extracurricular activities.
| 2026-27 | Tuition |
|---|---|
| Transitional Kindergarten | $46,350 |
| Kindergarten-Grade 5 |
$51,550 |
| Grades 6-8 | $61,450 |
| Grades 9-12 | $66,950 |
I can't thank you enough for the support you have given to me and my children. The entire Harker community has been incredibly supportive as I've navigated some difficult challenges over the past few years. Our childrens’ love of learning, love of reading, their curiosity, the way they articulate their thoughts and express their creativity - it all stems from their experience at Harker and their incredible teachers and staff. It brings so much joy to my life to watch them develop within the Harker community. Please extend my deepest gratitude to the financial aid team as well as to everyone involved in making this support available. I am deeply grateful.
Financial Aid Recipient
Questions?
For questions specific to financial aid, visit our FAQ page.