<p>I think you have to decide what’s more important, BFA or full ride. Chances of getting both are very, very low. Nearly zero.</p>
<p>I have 2 kids in performing arts majors - one (senior) in Musical Theater and one (freshman) in Voice Performance. My suggestion: SAFETY - preferably instate, with no or minimal transportation costs. Living in California, you have many options - UCI, UCSB, Fullerton. Not exactly safeties, but relatively affordable with instate tuition. </p>
<p>Also, run the EFC calculator on the FAFSA site, and the individual calculators for each school to get a rough idea of how much aid you might receive. We went into the process each time with a rough idea of our EFC (how much the federal government thinks we can afford to pay) and most of the colleges they were accepted to gave us packages that left us with the EFC. (For example, the EFC calculator said we could afford $10,000 per child this year and, low and behold, that is almost exactly what each college is making us pay after scholarships, loans and grants)</p>
<p>Have your run the EFC estimator? Have you run NPCs for Yale, and some other schools that guarantee to meet full need? Colgate is a good one, IMO as they have no merit, but meet full need and give a good idea what you are expected to pay at a private college that uses PROFILE, in one of the best case scenarios with the exception of schools like HPY with their own formulas. </p>
<p>Here is what your problem will likely be if you get EFC?NPC of say $35K. If your son should get any scholarships, those awards do not reduce that $35K . Oh no, no, no. You still are expected to pay $35K if the school costs more, and the awards he gets cuts down what the school financial aid department will pay… So for many of us it’s a net zero game when we are looking for merit awards from a school and have some financial need too, and want that merit to reduce the cost AFTER financial aid. Doesn’t work that way. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, your EFC is likely to be the very least you will be expected to pay anywhere, and many schools’ NPC will be even higher than that as PROFILE looks at a lot more things. And most schools will not even meet need-on your list, I think only Yale and USC do guarantee to do so, and Yale does not give a penny of merit awards. IT all goes by pure financial need. As I just suggested, run your numbers through their NPC, and it’ll give you a good indication (if you don’t have unusual finances) of what Yale will give you. No scholarships there,. I don’t think they give BFAs either, do they? I don’t think Yale’s undergrad program is audition based.</p>
<p>NYU does not tend to meet full need, though they will provide nice packages for those who they want the most, but again, when there is need/merit, it is integrated. Unlikely to get them to bump it up. </p>
<p>As Megpmom, says, you are likely to come up with exactly the same amount at all but low sticker priced schools in terms of what they expect you to pay. </p>
<p>How much are you able to pay out of pocket vs how much do the calculators expect you to pay? That is the big quesiton. That is where a big gap is going to be even with the most generous of awards unless your son gets a huge merit award that covers it all which is highly unlikely especially from those schools on your list. </p>
<p>And you are right. Loans can be a drag when your kid is going into a field where employment is scarce and pay is low. The loan still have to be paid. It’s been a relief that my son at least has no school loans. It’s been tough enough without them.</p>
<p>CaliforniaM’s son has well above average applicant stats for Ithaca, so I do think he has a shot for good money there.</p>
<p>Fendrock, here is the thing with Ithaca: it’s expensive. If the OP come up with an EFC/NPC of about $40K for Ithaca, the school may well give him a scholarship and it gets integrated into the need, so the OP still needs to come up with $40K for the school, the way fin aid works. To get any extra money, the young man needs an award that exceeds what the need is and that excess will reduce what the family is expected to pay. My son got some money from Ithaca, but it still left a huge amount to pay. He got less from our state school, but the sticker price was lower, so the net amount came out the best deal. It’s not what you get but what you have to pay that counts with each school. And loans are just future forms of payment. You can take out unsubsidized loans at any school so when they are tucked into the package, that’s just an option that has been eliminated to use to pay for your part of the cost. The same with work study. My cousin’s DD did not appreciate the $3K work study award as she was already counting on working and earning that amount to pay the EFC. The work study money just made it even more she had to work to pay her nut…</p>
<p>Integration of fin aid and merit money can be extremely frustrating, as the merit will generally reduce the finanicial aid to come out with the same net cost.</p>
<p>Re Ithaca - not full ride, but two possible scholarships are the President’s (merit for $18K a year), and the MLK (separate application and requires community service experience) for $25K.</p>
<p>It is true that with a COA this year of $52,300, Ithaca is expensive, but it is still $10,000 less than NYU ($63,537) (for example).</p>
<p>Just worth investigating, IMO.</p>
<p>Yes, but the mom is unemployed and looking for a full ride for a drama student. Her list is problematic to say the least.</p>
<p>Full ride is Plan A, but it is perhaps also worthwhile considering a Plan B.</p>
<p>My plan B for her would be to use those grades to get money at an affordable school. Right now, he is applying for BFA acting at the most in-demand, artistically selective, and unaffordably expensive schools in the country. Jeez, at least have something doable the list, then make choices.</p>