How an ECHS Education Can Literally Pay for Itself

While the Kingdom impact and eternal value of Christian education is priceless, I was curious to explore something more tangible (at least in human understanding): the financial value of a quality Christian education at EC. While we can’t put a price tag on eternal value, I wondered: How can we financially quantify the value of an Eastern Christian education? After doing the math, I found out just how valuable an Eastern Christian education really is: both in tangible and intangible measures.

Story Problem

“Sara is in 8th grade in Northern New Jersey. Her parents are considering high school options. What education represents the best financial investment for her family?”

Answer: Eastern Christian High School

For Sara’s family, an Eastern Christian High School is an investment that will literally pay for itself. Over the course of four years, they will pay about $41,650 in tuition. As a result of Sara’s hard work in EC’s challenging 4-year plan, she will graduate with the value of well over $41,650 in combined college credits and tuition savings!

Show Your Work

As EC Middle School students learn in algebra, it’s important to show your work. The claim here is that the financial value of Sara’s education at ECHS will be more than the $41,650 that her parents are investing over 4 years. How did we get to those numbers? Here is the formula:

VT: Variable Tuition

EC’s Variable Tuition program matches EC families’ tuition with their unique financial circumstances. Tuition is not a “One-size-fits-all.” It’s a range; a range that spans from 40-80% of the total cost of education. More families than ever are able to access Christian Education at EC now that High School Tuition ranges anywhere from $7,500 to $15,000. After Sara’s parents applied to ECHS, their Variable Tuition Confirmation was $10,000/year.

4 Year High School Tuition Cost: $40,000

PA: Project Acceleration

Through Eastern Christian’s Project Acceleration, Sara will graduate with 33 College Credits in hand. These credits are through a dual enrollment program with ECHS and Seton Hall University. The current “open market” value of these credits as a traditional Seton Hall student is $40,260 ($1,220 per credit). The Project Acceleration program only charges Sara’s parents $100 per credit ($3,300 for 33 credits). This means that Project Acceleration brings Sara parents a $36,960 net value!

Project Acceleration Cost: $3,300

CS: College Scholarships

EC graduates earn over $7 Million per year in college scholarships! Through our rigorous “4 Year Plan,” the 95% of EC graduates that go on to college receive a lot of personal attention and planning as they prepare for the next level. This plan yields wise choices, scholarship advice, and ultimately, a lot of value!

According to EC’s College and Career Office, the average financial value of college scholarships awarded to an EC graduate over the past 3 years is approximately $42,000 per student.

Cost of 4 Year High School Investment for ‘4 Year Plan’ development: Free! (Included in tuition)

Show Your Work

Grand Total 4 Year Investment:

Grand Total 4 year Value:

Let’s check our work: Is $66,095 greater than $41,650? Yes. The statement is true.

Further Breakdown

In the hypothetical example of Sara’s family, astute readers who like to play “Devil’s Advocate,” might have some quick counter-examples. For example, an argument might be, “Well, what if Sara’s family paid the “exit range” Variable Tuition of $15k?” Or, “Not every student qualifies for $42,000 in scholarships- this is an average number.” Or, “Some of that $42,000 is mutually exclusive because it’s specific to one college/university.” Or even, “I bet I can find a cheaper college credit in the college market than Seton Hall.”

While all of these suggestions merit consideration, it’s also fair to point out that we could also go in the other direction. There are many EC families that have lower Variable Tuition than Sara’s family’s $10k per year. And that there are many EC students that qualify for more than $42,000 in scholarships. And that the Seton Hall credits can be transferred to other universities- many of which have more expensive credits than the $1,095 cited in our example. We also have heard back from proud alumni who tell us that PA allowed them to skip an entire year of college!

So in 4 years, Sara’s parents (and many more EC graduate families like her), will see more than a full return on their four-year tuition investment: That’s how an Eastern Christian High School education can literally pay for itself!

And again, it’s worth remembering- none of this formula can measure Eastern Christian’s priceless eternal value.

Crunch the Numbers for Your Family!

Want to see what an Eastern Christian High School education might mean for your family’s financial investment in high school education? Here are 3 things that you can do (and we won’t even grade your work!):

• Complete your Variable Tuition Application
• Check out our Course Catalog to start planning your “4 Year Plan”
• Contact the Eastern Christian Enrollment Office and talk through options for your family