https://www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu/academics/undergrad/audition
So what is the budget, BEFORE including scholarships? Is it $24k (about the costs for tuition, room & board at Cal State for in-state students)? Is it less, because your family is eligible for a Cal Grant or similar that will reduce the price? Is it around $32k (about the costs for tuition/room & board at UCI)?
Additionally, the best resource for scholarships tends to be the universities themselves. Most outside scholarships are small and may only be for the first year. Theyâre generally great for covering books and perhaps a bit more. Even for the most superlative students who come on here, I would not recommend thinking they would get more than $5k/year in scholarships from outside sources (and chances are it might be more like $1k/year, or less). So what we need right now is to know what pricepoint a school would be affordable for you.
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You are totally fine academics wise for matches. Even with your stats, your reaches are iffy.
You are going to have to audition regardless. You often get acceptance decision only after your audition.
My son applied as a vocal performance major last year.
And, as mentioned above but Iâm repeating as I donât want the point to get lost, often when scholarships are reorted to the university, the university will then reduce the amount of aid they offer you by the same or nearly the same amount. For that reason, sometimes outside scholarships are actually a wash financially, unless the scholarship provider is just cutting you a check and not sending the money directly to the college. That does happen, but is less common, so you need to check that out with any scholarships you get.
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My son is at a college with around a 50% acceptance rate. We know others who had much higher stats than him that were rejected from this school. We are well aware that he only got into the colleges he did because of his music talent.
3.3 gpa, 35 ACT vocal performance major. Many schools gave him merit scholarships for both academics and talent. Many schools had private music scholarships to apply for. With MT and theater, your skill level and talent is honestly most important.
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The main source of scholarships&financial aid are the colleges themselves.
So, you need to find colleges that will want you enough to give you money - typically, it means youâre in the top 25% to top 10% of applicants or having the stats for a meet-need college whose net price matches what your parents can afford.
So, whatâs your EFC? Can your parents afford it? What budget did they give you (if they havenât, ask them - you donât want to be stuck in the Spring).
Do you qualify for Pell grants?
For instance, run the NPC on Bryn Mawr College
https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/brynmawr
or for Barnard
https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/barnard
Both are womenâs colleges that work alongside coed colleges and theyâre on the East Coast, Barnard in NYC and Bryn Mawr a hop on public transportation away from Philadelphia.
Neither offers MT per se but their students do very well in general (theyâre part of a group called âseven sistersâ, which was the Ivy league for girls and nowadays has reach in the art world) and they offer full scholarships+incredible resources to the students they admit.
Theyâre a reach for everyone but youâve got stats for it. And with a debt-free college education+ their resources&contacts, you could really start a career after college without having to worry about loans (which are an anvil around an artistâs neck).
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But even then, isnât the student supposed to report it to the college?
I am not sure. My daughter received an external scholarship that specifically advised her NOT to report it to colleges as she would risk losing her other financial aid (and the scholarship was from a very reputable national organizationâŠso I imagine they wouldnât advise her to do anything illegal/blatantly unethical).
Maybe the call it something beside a college scholarshipâŠbecause ALL outside college scholarships are supposed to be reported to the colleges.
We only had one external scholarship (my employer) but they wouldnât pay us.
They would only cut a check and send it directly to the school.
I donât know how many are like that vs. giving money directly to a student which then mayâŠor may notâŠbe used for school costs.
@SanFranchesca :
have you run the NPC on Fordham Lincoln Center (or Rose Hill), both campuses are in NYC though one is in a skyscraper and the other has its own campus? They donât meet need so they may not be affordable.
Muhlenberg has a famed theater program. Not in a city but good connections.
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Yeah, Iâm not sure. As mentioned, the outside scholarship my daughter got is given to her - but it was in the form of reimbursement (she must submit proof of education-related payments to get the reimbursement up to the scholarship amount). It does not go directly to the university and the award letter specifies that the reason is that they donât want her to lose any university-awarded financial aid. As I said, this is from a very well-known national organization (you have surely heard of them) and they give many scholarships every year - they are also quite reputable, so I would be surprised if the way they are handing it is unethical or untoward. This is the only external scholarship my D received, so obviously my direct experience with such things is quite limited.
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It seems to me and maybe Iâm wrong - but if money is paid directly to a person - itâs in theory not a scholarship amount.
As you said, itâs a reimbursement - and perhaps itâs termed as such vs. a scholarship.
So in this case, I donât see it as reportable. Iâm not here to cross an ethical line but it does seem like the organization is setting this up differently to ensure no lines are blurred.
That could well be the case.
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