Winter FAQ.indd

WINTER TERM FAQ

As many of you may know, SAB’s Summer Course can be a entry point to the School’s year-round training program. Below we

are answering common quetions about how the Summer Course relates to SAB’s Winter Term.

Please note that some of the details and processes described in this FAQ are subject to change depending upon adjustments to the pro-

gram that may occur as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

What is the relationship between the

Summer Course and Winter Term?

While the ﬁve-week Summer Course is designed

to be an enriching, short-term training experi-

ence for all students who attend, it is also a very

important component of the School’s mission

to enroll and train promising young dancers for

professional careers in ballet. As soon as Sum-

mer Course classes commence, SAB’s faculty

begin to closely assess summer students’ poten-

tial for year-round training at SAB. Historically,

a large percentage of the School’s intermediate

and advanced Winter Term students have been

recruited through the Summer Course. Most

students who enroll in the Winter Term after

attending the Summer Course remain at SAB for

the duration of their pre-professional training.

The Winter Term begins in early September and

ends in mid-June.

Who is invited to Winter Term?

In general, the faculty consider all students who

are a minimum of 14 years old and entering the

9th grade as candidates for SAB’s Winter Term

residential program. Twelve and thirteen-year-

old summer students may also be considered

for the Winter Term if they are from the local

area and able to continue living at home while

training at SAB. There is no standard amount

of “Summer Course experience” that qualiﬁes a

student for Winter Term eligibility. All students

who meet the age/grade criteria are considered

for the Winter Term, whether they are attending

their ﬁrst SAB Summer Course or perhaps have

been to several Summer Courses. In any given

year, 10 to 15 percent of enrolled summer stu-

dents may be invited to join SAB as Winter Term

students. The number invited year-to-year varies

as a result of annual variations in the number of

open spaces in SAB’s Residence Hall.

Do parents/students need to notify SAB

that they would like to be considered for

Winter Term?

As explained above, all students who meet the

age/schooling criteria are considered. A formal

request or application is not needed.

When are students invited to Winter

Term?

The faculty evaluates students for the duration

of the Summer Course. While some students

will receive an invitation to the Winter Term early

in the Summer Course, others might be invited

towards the end. Often the decision to invite a

student to Winter Term becomes clear only after

the faculty have spent many hours in summer

classes with that student. In general, Winter

Term invitations usually begin during the third

week of Summer Course.

Where do Winter Term students live?

SAB operates a fully-supervised on-site Resi-

dence Hall for approximately 64 winter students.

Summer students who are invited to enroll for

Winter Term will be told at the time of the invita-

tion if they are also being offered a space in the

Residence Hall.

Is ﬁnancial aid available for Winter Term

and how is it determined?

Yes, assistance is available for families who

demonstrate ﬁnancial need. SAB also may

supplement academic scholarships awarded by

Professional Children’s School (PCS). All parents

of students interested in ﬁnancial aid must

submit an application to TADS, an independent

ﬁnancial assessment company that evaluates

ﬁnancial need using detailed information pro-

vided by a student’s family. A TADS application

remains valid for one year and is transferable

among other educational institutions that also

use the service (e.g. only one TADS application

needs to be submitted for use by both SAB and

PCS).

When should I apply for ﬁnancial aid for

Winter Term?

While SAB cannot make the determination of

who will be invited to the Winter Term until

Summer Course has started, anyone considering

the prospect of year-round training can take

the step of applying for ﬁnancial aid this spring.

Once we have made the ﬁnal decision regarding

the format of this year’s Summer Course, fami-

lies will be invited to submit a ﬁnancial aid ap-

plication through TADs. Doing so in advance of

the start of the program, will allow SAB to make

a ﬁnancial aid offer simultaneous with a Winter

Term invitation, providing parents with crucial

information they may need in order to make a

decision about their child’s future training plans.

Parents who do not submit a TADS application

until SAB has extended a Winter Term invitation

may wait up to two weeks for the ﬁnancial as-

sessment to be completed. (A list of documents

you can prepare in advance of submitting your

ﬁnancial aid application is included in the ﬁnal

question.)

What are the academic options for Win-

ter Term students?

All students attending SAB must also be pur-

suing an academic diploma (unless they have

already graduated from high school). The School

of American Ballet has formal relationships

with two local schools: Professional Performing

Arts School (PPAS) and Professional Children’s

School (PCS).

The Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS)

is a NYC Public School located on West 48th

Street, in the heart of New York City’s theater

district. It is the mission of the school to devel-

op, reﬁne, and showcase students in dance, dra-

ma, and vocal music while also providing them

with a rigorous, meaningful academic curricu-

lum. In addition to their partnership with SAB,

PPAS works with The Ailey School, Waterwell,

Rosie’s Theater Kids and The National Chorale.

For more information, visit PPAS’s website.

Professional Children’s School (PCS) is located

on West 60th Street, just south of Lincoln

Center. PCS is a fully accredited, independent

private school enrolling 200 students in grades

6-12. PCS has been providing college preparatory

education to young people pursuing challenging

career goals since 1914. Today’s students include

ballet, jazz, and hip hop dancers, musicians,

athletes, actors and entrepreneurs. The cost of

tuition for 2019-20 was $46,900. Need-based ﬁ-

nancial aid is available from both PCS and SAB.

For more information about the school, visit the

PCS website.

What are the options for students who

are currently home-schooled?

Students who have already been participating

in online, virtual or home school programs are

generally able to continue their education in

this manner upon entering SAB. We ask that

families of such students discuss their aca-

demic plans with a Student Life staff member

upon being invited to the Winter Term. SAB will

collect information about the student’s current

schooling and provide information on the re-

sources SAB makes available to home/virtual/

online-schooled students.

What happens when a student is asked

to attend the Winter Term?

Parents of selected students will receive a

phone call from SAB. Once parents have indi-

cated interest in further exploring Winter Term

training for their child, they will be provided

with a billing statement outlining the costs of

training, and if they have already completed

a TADS application, the ﬁnancial aid award

(if any) will be indicated on the statement. If

you have not already applied for aid, you must

do so at this time. Note that it can take up to

two weeks from the application to determine

whether aid will be awarded. If housing in SAB’s

Residence Hall has been offered to your child,

you must contact a Student Life staff member

to discuss any questions or concerns you might

have in addition to practical details related

to living in the dorm, roommate requests and

move-in procedures. You will also discuss your

child’s academic options and take any immedi-

ate steps needed to enroll in a new academic

school.

What steps can I take now to prepare

for the possibility of being invited to the

Winter Term?

Keeping in mind that an invitation to Win-

ter Term is not guaranteed regardless of any

advance plans a student’s family might make,

those who are strongly interested in the possi-

bility of training at SAB during the Winter Term

can take some proactive steps now.

1. You can prepare the following materials for

a submitting a ﬁnancial aid application:

• Federal income tax and payroll information

(i.e. W2, recent pay stubs, federal tax form

1040, 1099, etc.)

• Utility bills

• Rent or mortgage payment information

• Debt information (e.g. credit card debt,

loans, medical bills)

Later this spring, SAB will provide directions

for submitting a ﬁnancial aid application to

interested families. Note: if you have already

submitted a TADS application for the 2020-21

school year for another educational institution,

you do not need to reapply.

2. To prepare for the possibility of transition-

ing to a new academic school, families are

encouraged to collect high school tran-

scripts and letters of recommendation from

their current school, and assemble copies of

the student’s birth certiﬁcate and immunization

records.

3. Parents escorting their children to New York

for the start of the Summer Course should

consider attending a special academic ori-

entation meeting at SAB currently scheduled

for Monday, June 29, at 10:00 a.m. This

meeting will provide interested families with

more detailed information about the academic

options available to SAB students. Note that

this meeting is optional.

4. Those interested in submitting applications

for Professional Children’s School’s 2020-21

term (which PCS will accept now from pro-

spective SAB students on a provisional basis)

can contact the PCS Director of Admissions at

212-582-3166. Note that PCS will also accept

applications later this summer after SAB’s

Winter Term invitations have been made.

Typically, PCS hosts a tour and info session for

families during the Summer Course. If it can be

arranged, more information about such a tour

will be forthcoming.