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Tuition, Fees & Scholarships

Tuition and Fees

The Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir operates as a 501c3 non-profit organization.  We raise approximately 70% of our revenue from the tuition and fees paid by participating families, with individual costs varying widely based on level and choir assignment. All choir members pay tuition, which covers regular rehearsals and performances.  Upper level singers participate in camp, tours, and/or retreats and are assessed additional fees for those activities.  Choir families are also responsible for purchasing a choir uniform and event tickets for any concerts they may wish to attend.

Current schedule of tuition and fee charges by group/level [PDF file]: DOWNLOAD

The Choir's fiscal year begins August 1st.  Those attending camp that month are asked to remit camp payment by mid-July. All other major charges for the regular choir year (September through June, including fall and spring tuition, and any applicable tou/retreat fees) are bundled together for ease of billing and payment. Each family, new or returning, receives a detailed statement of charges, with several payment options, and is asked to commit to a specific payment plan (see below). Payments may generally be made by personal check, or credit card (VISA, MasterCard or Discover) via the Choir's secure online payment center. 

Installment Plan Fee

In our payment system, a family may pay the year’s aggregate fees either in a single payment, or in scheduled installments. The majority of children’s arts organizations require 100% payment up front, but, aware as we are of the high cost of our tuition and fees, we do our best to allow families some flexibility in stretching out their payments.

However, accepting installment payments means that: a) instead of processing a single payment at the start of the year, someone in the office has to deal with the installments every time they come in, entering them into our accounting system, noting them in the family's record in our student database, making the bank deposit, tracking them and following up when they're late, etc. b) our merchant card processor charges us a fee for every transaction (whether online or not), along with the "cut" they take of the payment itself, and c) when we permit people to participate on "credit" (as it were), the Choir loses the interest we would have earned had the money been in our bank account from the start of the semester. [That's why credit card companies and stores levy a monthly finance charge when customers don’t pay off their entire balance every month.]  For these reasons, we have found it necessary to institute a reasonable installment payment fee, which is divided among the various payments to cover these overhead and interest related expenses.

Installment plan options [PDF file]: DOWNLOAD 

Thank you for your understanding.

Scholarships

Because it is our hope that no student will miss out on Choir participation due to financial concerns, the Choir maintains an active scholarship program. Grants are need-based and generally cover 25%-75% of tuition and fees.  There is no specific “maximum” income allowed; families’ situations are considered on a case-by-case basis. An application form, with further information, is available for download or via the Choir office. For those who do not qualify for scholarships, work/trade arrangements may also be available.

Scholarship Application [PDF file]: DOWNLOAD 

New Singer Trial Period

Because we understand that joining the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir is a major investment of time and resources for your family, we want to make sure that you feel comfortable with us before you sign on for the full choir year. For the first four weeks you attend rehearsal, you and the Choirs can both be “on probation.”  That means that if you decide choir is not for you, you will only be responsible for tuition for the time you attend rehearsal (each week equals 1/17 of tuition) plus a $50 registration/processing fee. This will give you the chance to truly enjoy and try out your new experienced without the burden of an early financial commitment.  After four weeks, you will become a full and permanent member of the Choirs for the remainder of the choir year, ready to accept all of the responsibilities and opportunities the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choirs have to offer you. 

Refund Policies

After the New Singer Trial Period, the following refund policies apply regardless of whether the student withdraws or is dismissed from the Choir.

  • Students withdrawing from the Choir must do so by submitting written notice to the choir office, in the form of a letter or email. Refund amounts will be determined based on the date that the written withdrawal notice is received in the office.
  • A $100 administrative fee will be deducted from any refund.
  • Tuition refunds will be processed as follows: a 50% refund of a given semester's tuition, minus the administrative fee, will be given if the office is notified in writing (see above) within six weeks of the first official rehearsal that semester. After six weeks, no refunds will be available. If a family is on our monthly installment plan and has not yet paid 50% of the semester's fees at the time of withdrawal, automated payments will continue until 50% of the semester's charges have been transferred.
  • Advance planning for camp, tours, and retreats nearly always requires that the Choir makes non-refundable payments for transportation, lodging, and/or program fees on students' behalf to outside vendors weeks, if not months, in advance. For this reason, any refunds of camp, tour, and retreat fees will only be possible to the extent that applicable fees are recoverable from these outside parties. These activities also require a great deal of planning and advance work by staff members, so withdrawing families will also be held responsible for a reasonable amount of administrative overhead.
  • Any refunds earned or overpayments made will be applied as a credit to the specific student's account. Any positive balance remaining thereafter will remain on the account as a positive balance toward future choir tuition and fees, unless a refund check is requested in writing. In this case please allow up to three weeks for processing and mailing.

Sibling Discount

For a family with two or more children in choir, a discount of $25 per child, per semester, applies.

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