Instructions

Welcome, New User!

has chosen to use FAST – Financial Aid for School Tuition – by Independent School Management (ISM) to process your financial aid application. ISM will provide standardized and impartial processing in a confidential setting. If you would like to know more about how ISM protects your privacy please click here.

Before you begin

We hope that you will find this application easy to complete online. There are a number of financial records you will need. If your school did not provide a list of the necessary financial records, please click here for a downloadable pdf. Once you have gathered your financial information, it takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete the application online. Gathering your financial information is similar to collecting information to file your taxes and takes about the same length of time. You do not have to complete the entire application at one time. Your user name and password will allow you to access your data until you have completed the payment section.

There is a $53 US non-refundable application fee, payable by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, and American Express). If you do not have a credit card, you may purchase a voucher from your school that will allow you to complete the application.

Upon completion of the FAST application, you will need to submit copies of your tax documentation to FAST for verification.

Due to the COVID-19 situation FAST’s offices are closed to the public. For faster processing times, please upload documentation electronically. If you must mail in documentation, please only send via USPS.

Applying to multiple schools

The FAST application is specific to each school, camp, or program. Therefore, if you are applying to an additional organization that also uses FAST, a separate application must also be submitted. In order to apply to multiple schools, you would complete, pay for and submit an initial application. Once that initial application has been submitted, you will receive an email with a specific link and PIN #, which will allow you to submit a subsequent application for another FAST client.

Using the Link and Pin # will transfer over a majority of your information that was entered in the initial application, with the exception of the grade selections, since they differ from each school, camp and program, and School Specific Questions. You will also be provided the opportunity to submit a different letter, should you want it to be more specific for the subsequent school. Utilizing the link and PIN # also allows for a reduced fee of $10, as opposed to the normal application charge.

Navigating this program

There is a color-coded system of icons to help you move through the various sections. A green arrow () means that the section is open and ready for you to enter information. A blue check mark () means that you have completed that section, but it is still available if you need to go back and change any information. A gray arrow () means that the section is not available at this time.

You may enter information in any order. If, for example, you wish to enter information about your expenses before you enter information about your income, you may do so, even though income comes before expenses on the navigation bar.

For more information about any question, click on the red number next to the question, or position your cursor in the answer box.

Cautions

Please do not use the "back" button on your browser. If you need to go back, use the gray Navigation bar on the left to select the section to which you wish to return. If your browser closes, you will have to log back into the system. Any section that you have completed – i.e., any section that has a blue check by it – will be saved. If you were in the middle of a section, you may have to reenter information in that section.

Use your mouse or the tab key to move from field to field. Do not hit return/enter until you have completed each section. If you press enter/return after completing a field but prior to completing the section, the program will return red error messages for all the fields you had not filled in.

Answer all questions. Do not leave any numeric fields blank. If you do not know the dollar amount, place a question mark (?) in the box. This will put the field on hold. You can return later and fill in the dollar amount. If a particular question does not apply to you, please enter 0 in that field.

If you are divorced, separated, widowed or never married, please click here for more complete directions.

General Information

To change your username or password, go to the Account Settings section. If you forget your username or password click here

If you have any questions about any required information on this application or if you experience any technical difficulties, please contact help@ismfast.com or call 1-877-326-FAST(3278). Our Call Center hours are 24/7/365.

To get started with a new application click the "Get Started" button