Affordable American schools in Latin America

Where the affordable American band sits in Latin America

American curriculum tuition across Latin America spans a very wide range. The largest bilingual and international campuses in Mexico City and Sao Paulo charge senior year fees that reach into the upper range, while a number of smaller American style and faith based schools publish tuition at a far more accessible level for the early and middle years. Our own city fee pages show published bands for these markets that start well within reach and rise with age, so the honest picture is that a single school is rarely at its cheapest across every year group. Early years and elementary places are usually the most affordable, and fees climb into the high school years. Currency movement matters too, because tuition set in peso, real or balboa converts differently month to month against the US dollar. Treat any headline figure as a starting point and confirm the exact fee for your child's year group in writing.

The wider point is that a budget shortlist is really a market shortlist. Rather than chase a single cheap school, look first at the cities where the whole fee level sits lower, then compare the established schools within them. Read this alongside our overview of the American curriculum and the relevant international school fees pages so the figures below sit in context.

How we chose these schools

We have drawn this shortlist from established schools that teach an American style programme in the Latin American cities where published tuition sits at the more affordable end of the international range, chiefly Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Panama City. Every school named teaches a United States style curriculum and has a full profile on this site. We do not attach a fixed figure to any single school, because fees change each year, differ between year groups and shift with the exchange rate, and printing a stale number would be worse than none. Instead we tell you which city each school sits in and what to confirm. Read each note as a prompt to ask, not as a quoted price.

Schools to shortlist

Each school below teaches an American style curriculum and has a full profile on this site. The notes tell you what to confirm rather than quote a price, because tuition moves each year and by year group.

• Modern American School Mexico City, teaches an American curriculum in Mexico City, often placed at the more accessible end of the city's international market. Confirm the current fee for your child's year group, as early years places typically sit below the high school years.
• The American School Foundation Mexico City, an established American style school offering the United States high school diploma in Mexico City. Ask the admissions team for the fee schedule by year group and whether any registration fees apply on top.
• Eton School Mexico City, combines an American style programme with international elements in Mexico City. Confirm the current tuition band for your stage, since senior years usually exceed the elementary rate.
• Chapel School Sao Paulo, an American curriculum school in Brazil with a long history. Ask for the current fee by year group in writing and what is included.
• Pan American Christian Academy Sao Paulo, teaches a United States style programme in Sao Paulo at a competitive fee point. Confirm which years fall under your budget and what is included.
• Crossroads Christian Academy Panama, offers an American style curriculum in Panama, one of the more accessible Latin American markets. Ask the admissions office for the fee schedule and whether the senior years remain within your ceiling.

How to check a fee properly

A published headline fee is only the start. Ask each school for the full fee schedule by year group, because a school that sits under your ceiling in primary can rise above it by the senior years. Ask what is charged on top of tuition, since registration, capital or building levies, transport, meals and exam entry are often billed separately and can add a fifth or more to the real cost. Ask whether the fee is set in US dollars or in the local currency, because a figure pegged to a local currency moves with the exchange rate and the number you were quoted may not hold. Finally, ask about sibling discounts and payment plans, which can change what is affordable for a family with more than one child. A school that answers all of this clearly and in writing is showing you the true cost of attendance rather than a marketing number.

It also helps to visit and to line up two or three schools in the same city before deciding, so you are comparing like with like. Use the city guides below to plan those visits alongside the rest of your research.

Markets and fees by city

These are the cities the schools above sit in. Each city guide sets out the local landscape, and each fees page shows the published tuition bands so you can sense check any figure a school gives you.

• Mexico City international schools
• Sao Paulo international schools
• Sao Paulo secondary fees
• Panama City international schools
• Panama City secondary fees
• More guides on the GlobalSchoolGuide blog

Frequently asked questions