<p>Hi,
I'm floundering on knowing where to apply. I'm going to have to pay for all of my college. So finances will be part of the equation. But I also do not want to go to a state school just because of that. I need to balance prestige/money.</p>
<p>35 ACT
National Merit Finalist
1 of 68 in class
4.0
Tons of activities
NHS President
Speech Team Captain</p>
<p>Colleges I'm Applying to:</p>
<p>University of Nebraska at Lincoln (my home state and back up)
Princeton
Harvard
Yale
U of Chicago
Wash U St. Louis
Notre Dame</p>
<p>I don't plan on having a shot at HYP because my SAT was disastrous (2100). So now I'm looking for some middle ground schools. Suggestions?<br>
I think Michigan will cost too much for oos, unless anyone knows of any other scholarships.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt - how difficult is it to receive their full tuition scholarships? Does anyone know anything about this?</p>
<p>(I'd like to aim for full tuition unless it is an incredible academic school, then I'd be alright with paying.)</p>
<p>I don't see a whole lot of point in traveling to Bama or Tulsa because Nebraska would give me tuition + 2k/yr which would be an alright package.</p>
<p>I'm interested in musical theatre, which adds another piece to the puzzle because I need to play apply to those schools now before I even audition.</p>
<p>However, I'm more focused on getting to a well rounded academically solid school that I can afford. </p>
<p>(I’d like to aim for full tuition unless it is an incredible academic school, then I’d be alright with paying.)</p>
<p>Then you need to submit an application to USC U of Southern Calif, [#24 USNWR], but do it FAST, as your application has to be complete by Dec 1. USC offers 150 Full Tuition scholarships and 350+1/2 tuition scholarships to kids with top stats. As a NMF you would automatically receive a 1/2 tuition scholarship there.
And they have a great theater program, along with 19 other schools.</p>
<p>@Waverly - I do not plan on getting a whole lot of need based aid. I did look at HYP mainly because of their generous fa. I received an estimate of about 10-15/yr at Yale. I would strongly consider that option.</p>
<p>@menloparkmom - Thanks, I have been told about USC a few times. I guess I am hesitant because of its location in LA and because the standard of living is a little different (room and board is around 12k) and it would be expensive to travel back and forth. Although it seems like a great place, I’m not sure if it is incredible enough to merit me spending the difference between USC and University of Nebraska.</p>
<p>U of Chicago’s location is no better than USC’s-[ son was at both so I know both areas really well] .And their FA is miserly, to say the least. have you run your FA numbers through all the school FA calculators?
And R + B at Chicago, plus their ridiculously expensive health insurance put its total costs above USC. Are you Ok with doing the core there?</p>
<p>Most of the other Ivies and Stanford also offer excellent financial aid. (Of course, none are as generous as HYP.) Emory Scholars? Wake Forest? Richmond? Michigan does offer scholarships to OOS students, but I have no idea how much. </p>
<p>One reason for adding Alabama to your list, aside from that fact that you would get a full ride as a NMF, is that it is the only school other than Michigan that has been mentioned so far on this thread that offers a musical theater major. (You can minor in musical theater at Nebraska or USC.) Check out the “big list” on the musical theater forum for more information on schools that offer majors in musical theater.</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross-very good LAC that offers merit aid for music scholarships. Holy Cross has nice combination of academics and athletics with great campus 1 hour from Boston. HC is easier to get into than Notre Dame.</p>
<p>Have you gotten your auditions set up for the MT schools? You should post on the MT forum as well. </p>
<p>While NYU does not have a good rep for fin aid, in fact, there are a number of posters on the MT / theater forum who have talked about getting better aid there than other schools. NYU’s MT program is by audition, and it is a BFA (through Tisch). Students often turn down “more selective” schools (eg, Ivies and other “top 20”) to attend Tisch, and it is the most academically balanced in terms of the BFA programs. </p>
<p>Muhlenberg is a school that offers excellent merit aid and has a great theater program. It is a non-auditioned BA program; it also offers talent scholarships, but these are by audition. </p>
<p>You should have Northwestern on your list. It is a non-auditioned BA, one of the best theater programs in the country, with an option to audition into the MT program sophomore year. I don’t know anything about aid there. </p>
<p>These are just some options for you. Finding academically strong schools with MT programs is not easy; but there are plenty of excellent schools that offer acting performance tracks within the theater major and also have strong dance programs and voice lessons available. Alot of theater departments don’t put on musicals – or do so on a limited basis – so you want to check this out, and if they don’t put on musicals you want to be sure that at least there is a strong student group on campus that puts up these shows.</p>
<p>I"m glad to see WUSTL on your list. It does have a performance track in the theater major and offers some MT classes, IIRC. It isn’t mentioned often on the theater forums, but my D loved it (but she picked Tisch over it, because her preference was a BFA; she auditioned for acting, not MT). As you probably know, WUSTL has merit scholarships that you can apply for. I would recommend that you put down theater as your choice of major on your application!</p>
<p>Are you male or female, btw? That will play into your competitiveness for these programs as well. </p>
<p>I would put Vassar and Brandeis on your list, but I don’t know about the aid there. Brandeis has phased out alot of its non-need merit aid I believe. </p>
<p>Oberlin is another school that has merit aid and a strong theater program. However, it is very competitive to get into shows – it also has a music conservatory – and I know there is a poster on CC whose D transferred out because she just couldn’t get cast.</p>
<p>I agree, you already have a very good instate option for the NMF full ride scholarship. UNL makes more sense than Bama given the very close similarities of these schools, and both are full rides for NMF (and Lincoln’s theater program is good). I agree with menlopark, USC would be one that I would focus on, and you might want to look at U or Richmond or Denison U. for their full tuition rides for NMF (separate application for Denison, so don’t forget to send in their Paschal Carter app.).</p>
<p>also: regarding the applying before auditioning: this is not the case with all the schools. At UMich, yes, but not at all schools. You need to get audition dates scheduled if this is really something you want to pursue. </p>
<p>You are right to have a well-rounded list of schools to apply to. Even if you don’t think you want to pursue a BFA, it is a worthwhile experience to audition for some of these programs, and to have all your options open come April.</p>
<p>Add WUSTL, Michigan, Duke and Stanford to your list. The former two you might get a full ride scholarship too depending on how good the rest of your non-academic attributes are.</p>
<p>Thanks guys.<br> @goldenboy8784 - I had been really considering Michigan, but I can’t find any info on ops scholarships and they give nothing for nm. Also, their mt program is insane (I’m not sure I’m ready to go to that focused of a training). Stanford is giving me a FASFA estimate of 19/yr, I’m afraid that would be hard to justify. Other than the Robertson scholarship (which I did not apply for and appeared to be super competitive), I do not think I will get too much money at Duke. True or False? </p>
<p>USC got axed (deadline passed).</p>
<p>My non-academic attributes are very strong (lots of ec’s, great letters of recommendation). </p>
<p>I’m kind of stressing that all of my work is going to waste though as I just missed a few deadlines (December 1) because I was too confused to really focus in on a school and their scholarships.</p>
<p>The list remains virtually the same, but I will need to look at all the suggestions you guys are giving. I’m interested in musical theatre, but not 100% sure that it is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want a school with options. I may end up studying a more “academic” major and want a school that will set me up for success in the future. (If I would be going strictly for mt I would’ve accepted at OU or OCU already. I was gun-shy, which tells me that I’m not ready to devote my whole life to it.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the help! I’m trying to finalize everything and get these applications finalized!
Any more advice would be great. AGAIN,THANKS AND KEEP IT COMING.</p>
<p>if you are interested in one of their majors, look at Illinois Institute of Technology, it is in Chicago and offers good financial aid in general but there are also the full tuition named scholarships for outstanding students. These are the Camras and Duchossois scholarships and they routinely attract students with the kind of test scores you have.</p>
<p>One reason for adding Alabama to your list, aside from that fact that you would get a full ride as a NMF, is that it is the only school other than Michigan that has been mentioned so far on this thread that offers a musical theater major.</p>
<p>I agree. And, Bama’s MT program is very good.</p>
<p>Also, at Bama, in addition to free tuition, you’d get free honors housing (that alone is worth about $9k per year). You’d also get study abroad money, $1k per year, and an iPad. </p>
<p>Do you know how much your family will pay each year? They might appreciate free housing in addition to free tuition. If you don’t know how much your family can pay, ask them. </p>
<p>[The</a> University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences “This is How College is Meant to Be” - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>*Speech Team Captain
*</p>
<p>Are you interested in Debate/Forensics in college? If so, Bama has won 17 national championships in Forensics/debate. Bama consistentely has ranking debate teams.</p>