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</p>
<p>No, she didn’t. I was assuming that since if he is a senior, he should have already had his list compiled, his audition material selected, and auditions booked. She didn’t mention any of that and the schools she did list are all very selective programs, so my guess was that they were at the beginning of their research and that was why the list was not an appropriate one. Perhaps I’m mistaken.</p>
<p>thank you ctofthehouse for your response. I guess I was hoping that if not a scholarship, then my son would be able to access ALL those OTHER scholarships everyone is talking about to close the financial aid gap. I bought him a book the size of the Manhattan yellow pages and there are scholarships from everything to bagpipe playing to sprinkler associations. is it all a lie? im beginning to think I am actually the dumbest blond in the universe…</p>
<p>happy thanksgiving to me…right 6’4 and he’d be the next Brando…where’s a trashcan so I can throw up…wait just a minute I’ll be right back. yeah…a fair amount of money in my 401 still because that is what I’m living off of. Pretty soon you all will know my social security number. Home state is CA --get it CaliforniaM–CaliforniaMom which I actually wanted was sadly taken but you caught me. Cal State Fullerton is on his hit list. This kid was born with a silver spoon in his mouth because until a year ago his single CAM was pulling in some mean green backs. unfortunately she was spending them just as quickly. Pace has made some overtures–called him several times. He is taking the SAT again and WILL score higher because apparently the taller you are the smarter you are. so that will help out with the CR+M. Im working on my acronyms though what is an NMF?</p>
<p>Keep the feedback coming. Preety soon I won’t have any appetite for Thanksgiving dinner and I can drop a few pounds. 
Seriously, this is good for me to hear, especially the link to full ride scholarships in Alabama</p>
<p>Is he a junior or senior?
National Merit Finalist</p>
<p>You are right, he is a senior.</p>
<p>Why are his schools not appropriate? its okay…hit me hard</p>
<p>He has completed all his admissions, and booked all his auditions and begun to select his material. what am I missing?</p>
<p>His schools are very, very selective. And most are also very, very expensive. As long as he knows this and has a financial safety that he could see himself attending he should be fine. But a full-ride BFA acting to any of those places would be highly unusual. Getting in at all is worrisome for most applicants.</p>
<p>Cal State Fullerton could be a decent safety.</p>
<p>Agree that he needs to have an academic and financial safety that you and he can afford and he has the stats that 75% of those with his stats get in. Others have not seen this in the list you provided, which is the reason for concern.</p>
<p>It is getting increasingly difficult to get significant merit–even 50% tuition and much harder to get full-tuition. Full ride merit awards have ALWAYS been quite tough.</p>
<p>If he is a national merit finalist (NMF), some Us DO guarantee full tuition and expenses, though the number of Us with that guarantee is shrinking.</p>
<p>Agree with alwaysamom, post the question on the theatre and drama majors forum as well. </p>
<p>The challenge with his list of schools is that they are all highly selective, and most are very expensive. </p>
<p>He may “win the lottery” and be admitted with enough aid to attend, but if his plan is to attend college next fall, he should also add some financial and admissions matches and safeties would be good to add. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, none of the schools listed are particularly terrific with aid across the board… although some students may get enough aid to attend (particularly if need based aid is mixed in with merit)… you just never know. He could end up with unaffordable acceptances come April. </p>
<p>Yale (which is not a conservatory program for undergrad… the Yale Drama School is a graduate level program) does have strong need based aid for students whose family income is below a certain level, with typical assets, but it is not an “easy admit” by any means :), and it is a non-auditioned program. </p>
<p>Of the schools listed…</p>
<p>NYU – not known for terrific aid, but some families do get terrific aid/ merit packages.<br>
Carnegie Mellon – similar to NYU.
Pace – he would likely qualify for some academic aid with his states.
Yale – see above.
Ithaca – similar to NYU and CMU.
SUNY Purchase – less expensive (even for OOS students) than many private universities, so depending on what you can afford, could be doable if you have some small financial need.
USC – Not as familiar with West coast schools.
UCLA – Not as familiar with West coast schools.</p>
<p>There is a good chance that he may need to take at least the basic direct loans available to students… $5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a sophomore, and $7500 for each of junior and senior years. Not ideal, but doable (even for an actor to pay off :)).</p>
<p>If you are in state for CA, do look at UC-Irvine, Cal Arts, UC-Fullerton, and other in-state in CA (in addition to the ones already on his list). </p>
<p>He may also want to look at University of NC School of the Arts, Illinois Wesleyan, Muhlenberg, University of Hartford, University of Utah, Coastal Carolina, University of the Arts, Shenandoah, Webster. Depending on what is affordable to you, it may be possible to swing with student loans, some merit, and need based aid? I have heard of students receiving talent/ academic awards at some of the schools listed above that made them at least comparable to the in state option.</p>
<p>Would he maybe qualify for full tuition at University of Alabama, if he applies by December 1? I cannot remember the stats needed right now. </p>
<p>Unfortunately schools do not always have a lot of money to give to students, even if they would really like them in the program. :-(</p>
<p>USC is getting more and more selective for admission AND merit awards. I know of several NMFs denied admission there. It is important to have at least a few where your S is happy to attend and you/he can afford admission and very likely to be admitted.</p>
<p>For Alabama, he needs to apply by Dec 15th. Don’t know when/how auditions are for T…check out the website. Bama also has Musical T. </p>
<p>Is he retesting in Dec? (hope so)</p>
<p>*I bought him a book the size of the Manhattan yellow pages and there are scholarships from everything to bagpipe playing to sprinkler associations. is it all a lie? *</p>
<p>Well, maybe not a lie, but probably not worth what you paid for it. I bet most of those scholarships are for ONE year (frosh year) only. How’s that going to pay for the other years? 3rd party scholarships are rarely for all 4 years…and they’re usually for small amounts.</p>
<p>Private scholarships can be nice to pay for some things the first year…but usually kids get those by applying to ones that are in their own communites…the GC should have a list. (and those can be hard to get as well.)</p>
<p>Most of the schools you listed…Ithaca, NYU, Pace, UCLA do not meet full need for all accepted students. USC, and Yale do, and Carnegie Mellon is sometimes generous…sometimes not.</p>
<p>If your kiddo is auditioning as a drama major, it is likely that any merit awards will be based on the strength of his audition relative to the OTHERS who are auditioning for admission.</p>
<p>Unless a merit award is GUARANTEED for students with your son’s stats, there is NO WAY to predict whether he will get the award or not. As far as I know…the only guaranteed merit award from any of colleges on your list is a half tuition scholarship that USC gives to NMSF who,are accepted there. None of those other colleges have guaranteed merit awards. </p>
<p>Yale drama is one of the toughest admits in the country but it is a grad program, not undergrad. Yale gives NO merit awards. Yale does have generous need based aid if you qualify.</p>
<p>Are you instate for UCLA? If not, it will be quite costly. Folks from CA report that UCLA is a tough admit even for strong candidates. Add to that the audition requirement for acting, and it could be even tougher.</p>
<p>You say you lost a six figure job. I’m sorry to hear that. Are you currently working? Your need based aid will be determined by your income in 2013 and your assets as of the date of filing your financial aid application forms.</p>
<p>If your income is low at this point, does your son qualify for a Calgrant if you are instate for CA?</p>
<p>Also, remember that most colleges,do not allow stacking of need and merit,aid,awards. In other words, if your son gets a merit award, it will actually reduce his financial need and therefore reduce his need based financial aid.</p>
<p>USC no longer always admits, much less gives merit awards to NMFs, so not good to count on it. Even if given a 50% USC merit award, you still need to come up with the remaining $40k plus/year, minus any FAid.</p>
<p>Californiam, keep in mind that Fullerton is a cut program. I don’t know if that matters to him but cut programs can get pretty ugly.</p>
<p>He might look at UC Irvine. They have a great theatre bfa program and we know several kids who went in already working actors and have been happy with the training there. They also encourage their students to audition in L.A. and are quite supportive if they get a part while in school. UCLA is not as generous about this. </p>
<p>To get scholarships, he might need to look at some lower tier schools. Rider comes to mind. Big theatre department but his academic stats would be attractive to them and might give him more scholarship potential. There are some benefits to being the big fish in a smaller theatre pond. My knowledge is limited to musical theatre BFA’s as that is what my mom friends discuss the most. My own daughter is looking to double major but she wants a more academic theatre program (looking into directing and artistic directing… not acting and certainly not a BFA.) I can’t come up with more acting BFA’s I’m afraid.</p>
<p>If he’s a senior though, you gotta jump on this now. Sign-ups for auditions are now and many places you must apply first. We know a dozen kids doing the audition circuit and they’ve already got their dates (throughout Jan and Feb.)</p>
<p>And hey, I’m sorry to hear about your loss of job. These are hard times for so many. Hope your son finds someplace special.</p>
<p>How is UCSB’s theater program and does it allow students from an affiliate college, eg SBCC, to participate? SBCC is somewhat unique among community colleges in that it’s extremely residential and in a fun college town. It also costs FAR less than even a CSU and its students regularly interact with those at UCSB (my friend, a UCSB sophomore, will be sharing a place with three City College students next semester, something that is not at all uncommon).</p>
<p>I agree that UCI could be a great choice. Don’t discount NYU. If he can show his talent, he might get $. They have now decided to award nearly full rides to their top candidates who have need. All except $2k. Really. Good luck!
Also, Rider could be an excellent idea.</p>
<p>What about Chapman University in Orange, CA? It has a strong drama department and is supposedly pretty generous with financial aid, plus it’s less than an hour from L.A. if your son plans to go on auditions.</p>
<p>Yale offers need based fin aid only. But they are very generous – see their Net Price calculator. No one auditions for admissions b/c departments don’ t admit students – you apply as a general undergrad – with the equally scary admit rate of 7%.</p>
<p>Even if money was no issue this would be a risky list. Tall, young men do better than women on the audition circuit simply because there are less of them but the question was about the chance of a full ride. That is highly unlikely.</p>
<p>In addition to CSUs and UC’s (including UCSC), I second Muhlenberg and Ithaca - your son should look very quickly to see if they have merit scholarships that he could apply to since his stats would be competitive.
Aside public state schools, #1 source of financial aid comes from the institution, so the more the institution has, the more can give, and the more “desirable” academically your son is to them, the more likely the nice financial aid package.</p>
<p>Second, look at BA’s in theater at 100% need schools (since you’re unemployed, your need is high. Wealthy schools have lots of money - from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, to Grinnell and other “elite” LACs. That’s why you qualify for super nice financial aid packages even if you make $180,000 at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc, and would have <em>nothing</em> to pay if your income is below $60,000.)
I understand your son wants a BFA, but if the BFA is unaffordable and a BA at a “100% need” school is affordable, it might be worth looking into.
[100%</a> Meet Need Colleges | CollegeGreenlight](<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students)</p>
<p>U Cincinatti also has a terrific drama program and holds auditions. Their merit scholarship and application for the CCM are due December 1 though!!
[Cincinnatus</a> Scholarship Program, University of Cincinnati](<a href=“Student Financial Aid - About UC | University of Cincinnati”>Student Financial Aid - About UC | University of Cincinnati)
[Drama</a>, University of Cincinnati](<a href=“Acting | University of Cincinnati”>Acting | University of Cincinnati)
[CCM</a> Drama- Application Process, University of Cincinnati](<a href=“Acting | University of Cincinnati”>Acting | University of Cincinnati)
They encourage applicants to apply for the Cincinatus program, which can be complement by a talent scholarship (or a stand-alone talent scholarship that is not full-ride). Your son’s stats make him competitive for the Cincinatus and if he got into the CCM he’d be as close to a full ride as an actor can be. DEADLINE DEC 1.</p>
<p>If you currently make $60,000 and under (as I assume is the case since you’re unemployed), an option may be Berea. Certainly not where he’d like to attend, location-wise, but a good Theater program and most importantly all admitted students automatically get a full tuition scholarship and, thanks to donor and alumni, get “free room and board” in exchange for working each week on campus. In effect, it’s a full ride scholarship. The first year it may mean working at the college’s farm, but apparently theater majors who’ve passed “Sophomore review” can work for the on-campus theater.
[Home</a> - Theatre Program](<a href=“http://www.berea.edu/thr/]Home”>Theatre - Berea College)</p>
<p>Other nice cities for theater are Chicago and Minneapolis St Paul.
Lake Forest, near Chicago, would likely offer merit aid for stats and there’s a scholarship for theater.
Macalester is right in the middle of St Paul and it meets 100% need (run the Net Price Calculator, but you could get a “full” ride" if you make under $49,000 a year.)
[Theatre</a> and Dance - Macalester College](<a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/academics/theatreanddance/]Theatre”>http://www.macalester.edu/academics/theatreanddance/)</p>
<p>Check out Occidental and Chapman - he’s more likely to get a nice financial aid package from Chapman though but Occidental may be interested. Same thing at Pitzer. They meet need.</p>
<p>Whenhen’s solution (SBCC then UCSB) may be the cheapest and since community college deadlines aren’t near yet, you have more time to explore it. Check out SBCC’s website to see if there are deadlines for the Honors Program and housing.</p>
<p>Also, has he requested the fee waivers for the applications from his guidance counselor?</p>
<p>OP (Original Poster) - It sounds like this is all new to you… don’t feel bad… we all had to climb the learning curve. </p>
<p>Due to your financial circumstances, you may be able to chase need-based aid. It would decrease if your income returned, but you’d probably be ok with that. Run the NPC (Net Price Calculators).</p>