Thanks to some generous donors, we are able to provide tuition assistance (above and beyond the discounted rate) to some parish families whose children attend John Paul II Catholic School. To help ensure that these funds go to families dealing with financial challenges, we are using FACTS (a web-based program) as our primary tool for financial need analysis.

Who Is Eligible to Apply for Additional Assistance from the Parish?

Families who:

• Are registered members of St. Bartholomew Church.
• Have registered their child(ren) with John Paul II Catholic School for the coming school year and paid the registration fee.
• Are up-to-date with their tuition payments for the current year.

Key Dates for Your 2018-2019 School Year FACTS Application

Things to Know about the FACTS Process

• Early in the application process you are asked to choose the institutions to which you are applying for assistance. JP2 and St. Bartholomew are considered by FACTS to be SEPARATE institutions; you must select BOTH institutions in your list of "schools" for each child attending JP2 in order for your application to be seen by both institutions. You may also select other institutions (like your older child's high school). By submitting your FACTS application, you will automatically apply for aid from the Archdiocese (Catholic Education Foundation).
• Be sure to answer ALL of the questions - even if they seem redundant. The parish/school can each ask specific questions but will not see answers to the specific questions asked by other institutions to which you apply. For example, both JP2 and St. B may ask, "Is there anything else you think we should know about your financial situation?" You must answer it BOTH times in order for both institutions to receive your answer.
• There is a $28 family fee for applying; if you are applying to multiple institutions for assistance, the fee only applies once. That fee gets paid online (via credit card or bank transfer) during the application process.
• It takes about 20 minutes to complete the online application if you have all of your documents readily available.
• Additional guidance can be found in this document from FACTS.

What You Need to Know about Supporting Documents

Once your online application has been completed, you will be required to submit various documents so that your application can be verified. You want to submit these documents as early as possible because it can take several weeks for FACTS to process documents; if your documents have not been processed by the time decisions are made, that may affect your level of aid. The Archdiocese makes decisions in early February, so act sooner rather than later.

At a minimum, you will be required to submit:

• Your Federal Income Tax Form for the prior-prior year (including all supporting schedules). For example, for the school year beginning 2018, you will submit your 2016 tax return. 
  • Note: If one of the organizations to whom you are applying requires 2017 tax information that you don't have ready yet, don't let that stop you! Fill out the online application and supply all of the 2016 documentation that is required so that your application will be "active" for the organizations that only needed 2016 info. For organizations that require 2017 documents, watch their deadlines so that you are sure to finish your return and get that information uploaded to FACTS in plenty of time.
• Your W-2s for the submitted tax return(s) (for both you and your spouse)
• Documentation for any applicable Social Security Income, Welfare, Child Support, Food Stamps, Workers' Compensation, or TANF for the submitted tax return

To submit your documents, you can:

a. Fax them to: 1.866.315.9264

b. Upload them as PDFs (You will see the prompts for this in the FACTS online application.)

c. Mail copies to: FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment; PO Box 82524; Lincoln, NE 68501-2524