Tuition and Financial Aid

Achieve provides four-year high school scholarships to underserved, low-income students at three Bay Area private schools: Archbishop Riordan High School and Mercy High School in San Francisco and Holy Names High School in Oakland. As a year-round program, Achieve provides students with extensive academic support, mentoring, summer internships, and cultural and community service activities. It is the ultimate goal that all Achieve students go on to college, graduate, and become successful citizens who will give back to the community. More information about the program and information about how to apply can be found here.

The Achieve Application Deadline is December 6, 2019 for the 2020-21 school year. 

Learn more about Riordan graduates in the Achieve Program in this article.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco offers a limited number of scholarships and grants to families. Consideration for these scholarships is indicated on the TADS application. Your must also submit a Clergy Recommendation Form from your Pastor. Families do not need to be Catholic to apply, but must be active in a church of any denomination. More Information

A nonprofit Bay Area network hub for change through education, Bay Scholars exists to make it possible for promising low-income scholars to have access to and flourish at successful college preparatory Catholic high schools in the SF/Bay Area. Awards are determined based on financial need and family size and are renewable for four years as long as the student is in good standing with the Catholic high school. More information and how to apply can be found at www.bayscholars.org.

Boys Hope Girls Hope Academy San Francisco Bay Area helps academically capable and motivated children-in-need to meet their full potential and become men and women for others by providing after-school academic support and tutoring, service learning, career exploration, and college-related literacy, tuition assistance, and financial support. More information can be found here.

In 2014, Hope Academy moved their operations to Riordan’s campus. Read more about the program in this article.

The Michael and Sally Mayer Family Foundation is pleased to offer a scholarship of $1,000-$4,000 to the sons of law enforcement officers applying to or currently enrolled at Archbishop Riordan High School. “We are fortunate to be able to help law enforcement officers send their sons to Riordan,” said Michael Mayer ’71, past chairman of Riordan’s Board of Trustees. “My dad and my brother are both retired San Francisco police officers, and Sally’s brother (deceased) was a San Francisco police officer. My two brothers and I and all three of Sally’s brothers are Riordan graduates. We hope that scholarship recipients will benefit, as our families did, from a Riordan education, and that when able these individuals will help out future generations of Riordan Crusaders.” The Foundation awarded $60,000 in 2018 and more than $500,000 over the past eight years. The number of applicants has more than tripled since the program began in 2010.

Please see below for requirements of how to apply to this scholarship. Please be sure to carefully read all instructions.

For Students Applying to Riordan’s Freshman Class of 2024

The following is required to apply for this scholarship:

• A minimum national percentile rank of at least 50% on the High School Placement Test (HSPT)
• A letter of recommendation from the applicant’s 8th grade teacher or grammar school principal attesting to his character and potential to fully participate in student life at Riordan
• An essay of 250-500 words: How has your parent’s job as a law enforcement officer inspired you?

The due date for all materials for the Class of 2024 is January 21, 2020. The essay should be typed and signed and contain the following statement: “I attest that this essay is my own work.” All materials should be mailed to the Admissions Office at Archbishop Riordan High School (175 Frida Kahlo Way, San Francisco, CA, 94112); the letter of recommendation should be mailed by its author directly to that address as well.

For Current Riordan Students or Transfer Students

The following is required to apply for this scholarship:

• A cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 for the last two semesters
• A letter of recommendation from a Riordan faculty member attesting to the applicant’s character and full participation in life at Riordan
• An essay addressing the following topic: What are the three biggest challenges that high school students face? What skills are necessary to cope with and overcome these challenges?
• The essay should be about 1,000 words, spell-checked and written in six paragraphs.
  P#1 – “Tell me what you are going to tell me.” State the three challenges and the skills you employ to handle them.
  P#2-4 – One separate paragraph on each challenge.
  P#5 – One paragraph on the skills needed to successfully cope with and overcome these challenges.
  P#6 – “Tell me what you told me.” Summarize your essay.
  
  Essays that do not follow these instructions cannot be accepted.

The due date for all materials for current and transfer students is January 28, 2020. The essay should be typed and signed and contain the following statement: “I attest that this essay is my own work.” All materials should be dropped off to the Admissions Office.

For questions, please contact Sally O’Connell in the Admissions Office, saoconnell@riordanhs.org.

Updated 12-16-19.