Greenville-Area Private School Costs: Tuition, Fees, and ESTF

Research checked: September 30, 2026. Tuition year: 2026–27.

Private school tuition is not the whole family bill. This guide compares published prices at eight Greenville-area schools, separates documented fees from tuition, and shows conditional scholarship calculations. It is a cost-planning resource, not a ranking of educational quality or a complete directory of every school.

Current scholarship status: South Carolina's official ESTF program lists a $7,634 award for 2026–27. Applications are closed after the program reached its 15,000-student cap. The program offers a waitlist for updates about the next application cycle. A waitlist registration is not a scholarship award. Official program status and resources.

How to read the ESTF examples

Every calculated gap below assumes an eligible student already has a full $7,634 award and can apply that entire amount to the listed school's tuition. These are annual arithmetic examples, not admissions offers, funding promises, monthly payment quotes, or final family bills.

Tuition-only gap = published annual tuition minus $7,634.

Fees, supplies, uniforms, transportation, optional services, and other assistance are outside that calculation. Do not subtract the award again from a school quote that already incorporates it. A midyear enrollment or partially used award requires a different calculation.

Provider verification level: Scholarship examples are shown only where the school publishes information about using ESTF or applying for it in connection with its assistance process. That school-published evidence is identified below; it is not an independently verified match to the current state provider roster. Confirm the correct school, campus, grade coverage, and payment arrangement through the South Carolina Department of Education's provider resources before relying on an example.

For Hampton Park and Christ Church Episcopal, participation was not established in the sources reviewed, so no ESTF subtraction is shown. That means unverified, not ineligible or nonparticipating.

Elementary tuition comparison: the same first-grade starting point

All figures in this table use the published first-grade tuition for 2026–27, without sibling, church-member, alumni, prepayment, or needs-based reductions. Schools are alphabetical. St. Joseph's is covered separately below because its published schedule starts with middle school.

School and tuition source	Annual first-grade tuition	Conditional tuition-only gap after $7,634
Bob Jones Academy	$9,040	$1,406
Christ Church Episcopal School	$23,555	Not calculated: participation unverified
Greenville Classical Academy	$11,500	$3,866
Hampton Park Christian School	$8,250	Not calculated: participation unverified
Mitchell Road Christian Academy	$11,374	$3,740
Southside Christian School	$16,147	$8,513
St. Mary's Catholic School	$10,400	$2,766

This is not an all-in price table. Read the fee notes before comparing a tuition-only gap with a family budget. Hampton Park's annual amount is calculated from its published ten-payment schedule; the other figures are published annual amounts.

Bob Jones Academy: tuition and a separate commitment fee

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: The school publishes ESTF payment instructions, including separate provider selections for K5–5 and 6–12. Confirm the appropriate selection for the student.

In addition to the elementary rate above, published annual tuition is $8,370 for full-day K5, $10,090 for grades 6–8, and $11,170 for grades 9–12. Their conditional tuition-only gaps are $736, $2,456, and $3,536, respectively.

The commitment fee is $300 per student for new families or $150 for current families. Textbooks are supplied without charge unless damaged or lost. Uniforms and selected activities or support services can add costs.

The current admission-process page additionally lists a $125 nonrefundable application fee and $75 first-grade readiness-screening fee. That page does not label those fees by academic year; confirm applicability to the student's contract.

Expanded first-grade example: $9,040 tuition + $300 commitment fee + $125 application + $75 screening − $7,634 applied to tuition = $1,906, before uniforms and other applicable expenses. This combines dated 2026–27 tuition with currently posted admissions charges, assumes those charges apply, and treats them as family-paid. It counts only one $300 charge, not separate enrollment and commitment charges without evidence that both apply.

Source: BJA 2026–27 tuition and fees.

Christ Church Episcopal School: avoid adding the tuition deposit twice

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: Participation not established in this review; no scholarship gap calculated.

Published tuition is $23,555 for K5–4, $26,215 for grades 5–6, $27,170 for grades 7–8, and $28,095 for grades 9–12.

For new students, the school separately lists a $150 application fee and a one-time matriculation charge of $2,000 for K5–4 or $2,500 for grades 5–12. Its enrollment deposit is credited toward tuition; adding it on top of annual tuition would count the same money twice.

Known new first-grade subtotal: $23,555 + $150 + $2,000 = $25,705, before any other applicable charges or assistance. This is a subtotal, not an independently confirmed complete attendance cost.

Source: CCES 2026–27 tuition and fees.

Greenville Classical Academy: a common tuition rate, different extra costs

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: The school says families seeking its Tuition Partnership Plan must apply for ESTF and commit any award toward GCA tuition. It also explains that ESTF approval does not guarantee separate school assistance. School assistance policy.

The 2026–27 schedule lists $11,500 for full-day K5 and grades 1–12. The conditional tuition-only gap is $3,866.

Documented charges include a $75 application fee, $350 K–12 enrollment fee, and $45 grammar-school student activity fee. Enrollment timing can affect charges. Upper-school activities, retreats, courses, and graduation can create additional costs; families also purchase uniforms and supplies.

Illustrative new first-grade subtotal: $11,500 + $75 + $350 + $45 = $11,970. Applying $7,634 to tuition leaves $4,336, before uniforms, supplies, timing-related charges, and any other applicable expenses. This example does not assume the scholarship pays the fees.

Source: GCA 2026–27 tuition and fee schedule.

Hampton Park Christian School: monthly prices need annualizing

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: Participation not established in this review; no scholarship gap calculated.

The school quotes tuition in ten payments, August through May. Using the first-child column, annualized tuition is $8,250 for grades 1–6, $8,700 for grades 7–8, and $9,000 for grades 9–12. The K5 option with Panther Prime Time also annualizes to $8,250; it should not be confused with the shorter half-day option.

The schedule lists a $325 annual registration fee. Secondary-school tuition excludes textbooks. Kindergarten readiness testing and testing for some new students can add charges.

For a first-grade student to whom that registration charge applies, the known tuition-plus-registration subtotal is $8,575, before other applicable costs. No early-payment or family discount is assumed.

Source: Hampton Park 2026–27 tuition and rate sheet.

Mitchell Road Christian Academy: use the correct rate category

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: The school's financial-aid page directs families to apply for ESTF before applying for its own assistance. A current state-roster match remains unverified here.

The published standard annual rates are $9,174 for K5/transitional first grade, $11,374 for grades 1–4, and $12,034 for grades 5–8. Conditional tuition-only gaps are $1,540, $3,740, and $4,400.

The schedule also has separate church-member rates and sibling provisions. Neither is assumed in this guide. The eleven-payment plan carries a $55 annual FACTS enrollment fee; include it only when that plan applies.

The current admissions-process page lists an $80 nonrefundable application fee, a $225 nonrefundable student enrollment fee, and a $250 one-time new-family fee. The accepted student's enrollment packet is due within 10 days of receipt. These process charges are not labeled by academic year; verify them for the student's contract, and do not treat a per-family fee as a separate charge for every sibling.

The tuition schedule also refers families to handbooks for other charges. A complete mandatory-fee total remains unestablished, so the main comparison stays tuition-only rather than a final attendance price.

Source: MRCA 2026–27 tuition schedule.

Southside Christian School: what tuition already includes

Location: Simpsonville, within this Greenville-area comparison. ESTF evidence: The school reports ESTF funding received by its families and publishes related assistance instructions.

Annual tuition is $16,147 for K–5, $18,812 for grades 6–8, and $21,706 for grades 9–12. Conditional tuition-only gaps are $8,513, $11,178, and $14,072.

The school identifies general supplies as included; middle-school tuition also includes Chromebooks and retreat fees, and high-school tuition includes retreat fees. Do not automatically add those items again. Its linked financial agreement governs additional charges, which are not comprehensively totaled here.

Source: Southside tuition and assistance.

St. Joseph's Catholic School: tuition is not the listed annual total

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: The school's assistance page discusses ESTF; use the official state program for current rules rather than older figures elsewhere on a school page.

Published middle-school tuition is $19,307 and high-school tuition is $21,606. Their conditional tuition-only gaps are $11,673 and $13,972.

The annual schedule separately lists $425 capital, $25 activity, and $255 tuition-insurance charges: $705 combined. Adding those line items gives $20,012 for middle school or $22,311 for high school, before additional fees. The high-school total displayed on the source page contains a typographical error; $22,311 is our sum of its individual items.

Additional listed expenses include a $100 application fee, $450 new-student enrollment fee or $300 returning-student fee, textbooks estimated at $500–$700, and initial uniforms at $400–$500. Confirm which charges and insurance terms apply to the student's contract.

Source: St. Joseph's tuition and fees.

St. Mary's Catholic School: distinguish standard tuition from parish discounts

Location: Greenville. ESTF evidence: The school states that it is an approved ESTF service provider. That statement has not been independently matched against the current state roster in this guide.

The 2026–27 standard tuition schedule is $10,400 for the K5–8 grades used in this comparison. The conditional tuition-only gap is $2,766.

Registration is $450 for a new student or $325 for a returning student. The current admissions-process page additionally lists $150 placement testing per child in K5–8. Combining dated tuition with those currently posted charges gives an expanded new-student subtotal of $11,000, or $3,366 after the illustrative tuition scholarship, before other applicable expenses. Confirm that the undated testing charge applies to the student's contract; this does not assume the scholarship pays it.

The published 25% verified-Mass-attendance discount has conditions. It is not assumed for every Catholic family, automatically combined with other assistance, or included in these calculations.

Sources: 2026–27 tuition schedule and school discount and aid conditions.

Planning for 2027–28: application dates and next steps

Admissions sources checked September 30, 2026. The tuition comparison above remains 2026–27, not a 2027–28 quote. Below, explicitly dated milestones are separated from annual guidance, older calendars, and dates needing confirmation. School admission, school financial assistance, and state ESTF funding are separate processes.

Dated milestones published by schools

School	Published milestone	Important qualification
St. Joseph's Catholic School	Its 2027–28 applications opened September 27, 2026. Financial-aid applications open November 1, 2026; priority testing is November 14, 2026 or January 23, 2027.	The introduction and timeline give February 1, 2027 for completing the priority process; the notification paragraphs instead say the end of January. Confirm the cutoff. New-family aid applications are separately due February 6, 2027 on its timeline.
Southside Christian School	November 2, 2026 opens 2027–28 new-student/new-sibling applications and school tuition-assistance applications.	Its application page says new-student acceptance notices begin in March 2027. An application is not an offer or reserved seat.
Christ Church Episcopal School	K–3 applicant group visits: January 9 or 11, 2027. Grades 5–8 testing: December 12, 2026, or January 11, 2027. Rising grade 9 testing: December 12, 2026, or January 9, 2027.	These are grade-specific visits or tests, not application-opening dates. Its headline October 1 opening, December 1 priority date, and January 15 application deadline omit years; confirm their applicability in the admissions portal.

Complete the file, not only the application. St. Joseph's lists records, teacher recommendations, testing, and a family interview; high-school applicants also have shadowing. Its $100 application fee is nonrefundable. CCES separately says all steps must be complete by January 31 for first-week-of-March decisions, again without years alongside those dates. Its application fee is $150, nonrefundable. See the linked school checklists for grade-specific requirements.

Southside's application page lists a $100 nonrefundable K–12 new-student application fee, or $50 for a current family's new-sibling application. The school requires a separate enrollment fee but does not state its amount on that page. These are next-cycle planning details, not an established all-in 2027–28 bill. Southside application steps and charges.

Annual guidance and dates not yet confirmed

Bob Jones Academy: Its admissions overview still identifies 2026–27 enrollment. A specifically dated 2027–28 opening was not established in the reviewed material. Do not treat the current-year availability statement as a next-year offer.

Greenville Classical Academy: The published timeline still labels its January and summer dates 2026–27. This review did not establish a 2027–28 calendar; we have not advanced those dates by one year.

Hampton Park Christian School: The accessible prospective-parent page provides application and visit routes, but a dated 2027–28 timeline was not established. That is an evidence gap, not a finding that admissions are closed.

Mitchell Road Christian Academy: Its admissions overview prints October 1, 2027 as the opening for 2027–28. We have not changed the printed year to 2026 or treated it as a dependable near-term deadline. Ask the school to confirm the intended opening before planning around it.

St. Mary's Catholic School: Its annual guidance says applications and tours begin in October before the admission year, with priority testing in early January and February and first-round decisions by March 1. These are recurring month-based instructions, not a dated 2027–28 event schedule; confirm exact appointments with the school.

No statewide 2027–28 ESTF opening date or award amount is established by this section. Check the official program separately. No school was contacted during this research, and no unverified open-house date has been added as a confirmed event.

Questions to resolve before paying an enrollment charge

Ask the school for a written, grade-specific quote distinguishing tuition, required annual fees, one-time charges, refundable or credited deposits, and optional services. Ask what remains payable without scholarship funding and when each payment is due.

Confirm how school assistance interacts with ESTF, rather than assuming the advertised awards simply add together. Check whether admission is available in the child's grade; a tuition schedule or provider listing does not establish an open seat.

For a family comparison, use the same assumptions at every school: the same grade, attendance schedule, enrollment status, and actual aid decision. Keep unknown costs marked unknown. Never replace an unpublished fee with $0.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the $7,634 scholarship make these schools free?

Not in the tuition examples shown here. Each calculated tuition figure exceeds $7,634, and fees may remain payable. These calculations assume an existing full award and do not establish any particular student's entitlement. Official award information.

Why are there no after-ESTF figures for Hampton Park or Christ Church Episcopal?

Participation was not established in the school sources reviewed. Their tuition is included for comparison, but subtracting a scholarship without that evidence could imply an available benefit that has not been confirmed. Unverified does not mean nonparticipating.

Are these complete out-of-pocket prices?

No. The main table is tuition-only. Worked examples add only the specified documented charges. Unknown required costs, optional services, and any actual assistance decisions can change the family's bill.

Does a school enrollment deposit increase annual tuition?

Not necessarily. A deposit credited to tuition changes when money is due, not the annual tuition amount. CCES explicitly credits its enrollment deposit toward tuition; other schools' charges must be checked individually. CCES deposit treatment.

Can I use the figures for 2027–28?

Use them only as labeled 2026–27 benchmarks until the relevant school and program publish the next-year amounts. The planning section distinguishes dated school milestones from recurring guidance, conflicting dates, and unconfirmed state-program details.

Methodology and corrections

Scope: eight selected schools with retrievable 2026–27 first-party tuition schedules and Greenville-area campuses. Selection does not imply endorsement, a complete market inventory, or school availability. Prices are in U.S. dollars, annual unless explicitly described otherwise. Monthly schedules are annualized using the school's stated payment count, not an assumed twelve months.

School websites and linked fee schedules are the sources for prices; the official ESTF program is the source for the scholarship amount and application status. School-published ESTF references are distinguished from independent state-roster verification. No complete all-in cost has been certified, and no automatic monitoring is claimed.

September 30, 2026 update and fee clarification: Added the admissions planning section and currently posted process charges at BJA, MRCA, and St. Mary's. The BJA worked example now includes $125 application and $75 first-grade screening charges, increasing its specified gap from $1,706 to $1,906. St. Mary's example now includes $150 testing, increasing its specified gap from $3,216 to $3,366. These are expanded conditional examples, not changes to published tuition or confirmed 2027–28 prices. Fee pages without an academic-year label remain identified as such.

Known evidence gaps: current roster matching for all eight schools; participation evidence for Hampton Park and CCES; comprehensive additional-charge totals where noted; unconfirmed 2027–28 prices and state-program dates; and school-calendar uncertainties described above. Updates should replace an affected figure only after checking a dated original source and should retain a visible correction note for material changes.

For related coverage, visit South Carolina, Education & Parents' Rights, and Greenville local coverage.