My son wants a totally different environment than the midwest so as long as a college isnt a total commuter school he will be fine.
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Are you planning to have S do work-study or carry loans?
The frozen tuition is a benefit (although even then, your total cost is likely to increase when housing costs, etc. go up). I remember doing calculations of 3% average tuition increases per year so I would be prepared for the shock. 
Might there yet be other academic merit awards added?
Luckily for my D, she did earn some additional scholarship money at her school, the best of which were endowed first-chair scholarships. These helped offset (somewhat) the orchestra residency in Vienna this (her senior) year.
And music instrument costs can be a little like car repairs when they happen! (Good to keep in mind!)
Good luck! 
This was something we considered when my kids were applying to schools generally. I thought the disparity would negatively affect the experience at the school. We looked at schools where more students received aid so that it wouldnāt feel like being in āalien countryā with peers who mostly could afford more things than my kids could.
(There are several web sites that provide % of students receiving aid, etc., to get a better sense of that. Princeton Review, College Results, College Navigator, etc.)
My D self-selected a school where there was a better balance in this respect for other reasons but that could have been a subconscious factor. My S was very happy at his school and it was a good mix there.
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Here is a note from another poster in older thread: Asking for additional merit money - #4 by grahamcracker6. Even going back several years, the advice is typically similar.
I also looked at web sites with college financial tips. Here is an example of such a site: How to Appeal Financial Aid Award Packages - Finaid.
Hope this helps!
Appealing need based aid awards is usually a little more straight forward than merit.
Your student is a musician. His music performance merit award is based on the strength of his audition (on his instrument) compared to other students at each college to which he applies.
I know there are at least several, if not more, colleges that do not increase music merit awards when asked. BUT you could see additional music merit award offered by the school as they progress through their auditions, and see the strength your student has.
In 2003, my musician was offered additional music performance money but only at his two safety schools (both had accepted him by the second week in Decemberā¦with music merit). He received no additional merit offers from the other 4 programs he was accepted to.
At the school where he matriculated, someone asked what happened to music scholarships if students decided to enroll elsewhere. At this schoolā¦these scholarships went back to the collegeā¦not awarded to other students.
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Thank you for telling me about your sonās experience with this. Itās really helpful. My kid also has scholarships at his likelies but we have not tried to appeal.
This is all predicated on the fact that heās waiting to hear from some other schools and Iām just planning ahead in case. 
It may make a difference that the school in question is less like a conservatory and more like a music major. They combine any scholarships from merit or music into one offer. They are funding his offer all from merit, perhaps because of his GPA or because they draw from the same pool of funds.
I know the audition is definitely the determining factor for almost all the schools where my kid has applied.
The reason Iām going for it is in part because Iāve read on these threads about two students who got a specific additional amount by appealing at this school, so my sample size is ridiculously small, but since the amounts are the same for our offer, my hope is this is a somewhat common response.
I finally understood just yesterday that you appeal to different offices for scholarships and FA. Do you know if itās OK to appeal to both simultaneously?
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As for work study, weāre open to all the options. Iām thinking my kid could make more money gigging and use that for spending money and non billable things like books, but I may be making a wrong assumption. He has a well paid summer job and a certification that means he can rack up some money in summer.
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I think you have to if you are asking for reconsideration of both merit and need based aid.
Need based is done through financial aid.
Merit based is done through admissionsā¦although as a musician, this merit aid is likely done by the music department faculty recommendations.
My kid did not ask for any reconsideration in undergrad. But in grad school, he did. He contacted his applied teacher regarding thisā¦this was after admission and finaid awards were received. This applied teacher gave him the info to wait and be patient as there were secondary awards given out. And the kid did receive one. He also got an additional grant his second term there, and an assistantship his second yearā¦but these were all department based awards. This was an arts conservatory.
Which USC are you talking about! CA or SC?
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Somehow I implied a USC but this is not eitherā¦itās a smaller school, less selective than Southern California (I guess almost every school is).
Here:
Iām feeling a sense of impending closure and excitement, and I need to remember itās not really time yet. Thereās still a lot to do. Weāre still waiting for financial information that weāll probably need to appeal, and three more decisions, from stretch schools either admissions wise or $ wise. Right now, my kid is learning more about his two great options, while we wait and see what may come from the remaining schools: U Miami, Berklee, and USC.
Ah yes! I see! That is confusing. USC is one of his remaining schools he hasnāt heard from. It is a āreachy-reachā as someone else said here. Iām thinking about asking for reconsideration at a school he has already heard from and has a merit scholarship offer.
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My recommendation is to wait for all offers. Then he can identify his top choice and tell them they are his top choice and he will commit if the financial aid/merit package makes it affordable. But until he gets all offers he may not know which is his first choice .
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I just discovered the following site (Formswift, via Lynn OāShoughnessyās The College Solution newsletter) which shows sample financial aid appeals in the case that finances were affected after the data submitted on the FAFSA (so if any illness/hardship affected family income or expenses, for instance).
Hope this is helpful:Special Circumstances Appeal Letter: Create & Download | FormSwift.
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Thank you!!
Has anyone ever gotten financial aid from Berklee? Their site says they do provide āsomeā. Our EFC is pretty low, but not low enough for high-need grants like Pell.
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Let me know if you find out. My son was offered a performance scholarship in January, but we only had the FAFSA in at that point, not realizing the CSS was required. We got that in weeks ago, but his student account just says processing (or something like that), do we have no idea about institutional aid. Weāre hoping heāll be considered.
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Iām relieved and excited to say that I have some more information, and so far two schools have gotten us down to 27K, with a third school down to 31K, net cost (billable, not including books, travel and personal costs). Our shockingly accurate EFC is still a lot lower than that, so none of these will be easy, but we are in the realm of reality and it feels good to have more than one school on the table. Still 
for a couple others that are out there.
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Mid March Madness Update
Accepted: Merit and PARENTAL Net COA both per year. Net COA will include him paying $5500 minimum (either by working or in loan).
Jacksonville U (FL). 45k Fine Arts Merit. COA 11k
U of Louisiana Lafayette. 27,696 Live Oak Scholarship. 3k
Loyola New Orleans. 32k Esports Scholarship. COA 23k (Awaiting to see if get FACHEX which could lower cost)
Stetson- Set rate-41k scholarship via TE. COA 25k.
Baldwin Wallace- Full tuition scholarship via TE. COA 9k
DePaul (awaiting financials)
U North Florida (awaiting financials)
Xavier (OH). 25k merit. COA 28k
Gustavus Adolphus. 41k award. COA 19k
Ball State. MSEP tuition. COA 20k
U of Dayton. 24k academic merit. 4500 Music merit. COA 30k
Western Michigan. 2k merit. COA 24k
Waiting for admission decision:
Syracuse- email from music department said at least 10k fine arts scholarship but no formal admissions yet.
Indiana U
U of Minn-Twin Cities
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So glad you have a couple more schoolsā financials that are in the realm of possibility! Fingers crossed for good news.
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What wonderful opportunities! And several at a great price. Good luck with the decision-making!
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