Does anyone know or has it been addressed already somewhere on the MT forum about any schools that are known for being generous in financial aid/scholarships? Or is that the dumbest question ever? LOL It seems like some schools might have more to offer.
Not a stupid question, but you’ll need to be a little more specific. Are you talking needs-based? That will depend on your specific financial situation - income, number of kids in college, etc. - and is generally based on your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) that gets tabulated when you fill out FAFSA (there are online calculators that can help with that). With that information you can go to individual school website calculators and get a general idea of possible financial aid packages.
Or are you talking merit-based scholarships? That will depend on your D’s GPA, class rank, test scores, community service, extra curriculars, etc. Also what state you live in. Website calculators can help somewhat with this too.
Or talent-based scholarships? Those are all over the map and are generally not as transparent as other types of financial aid. Varying year-to-year and person-to-person.
EmsDad has compiled some great lists on MT schools and possible scholarships. Those lists do not include many of the small/newer/lesser known programs, but it would be terrific if others could add to that knowledge base.
Talent based aid can also vary a ton based on your child’s “type”. It’s just a fact, for instance that fewer boys than girls do MT or any of the performng arts. Hence equally talented boys and girls might get very different offers. Also, for instance in classical sopranos are much more numerous than basses or mezzos. Again, talent awards take note of this. Or if you just happen to be the best of a rare type neded to fill out a class.It can be very mystifying how different schools factor all this in, and can depend on specific situations which are really out of your knowlege or control. Obviously it makes the whole process so " fun" for students and parents both!
Illinois Wesleyan and University of the Arts offered huge talent and merit scholarships to my D. So large, there were tears shed, lol… Others offered great scholarships, but not as large as those two, and they were predictable because of website calculators. Those two went farther beyond the calculators than the rest.
Yes I was really referring to talent based scholarships. My daughter may get some merit award for GPA or service but I’m not depending on it because she does well in school but is not that prodigy kid lol. I don’t have other kids and we’re just good ole middle class so nothing great in financial need I am betting. I just wondered if anyone has ever gotten great talent based awards like “wow your kid rocks it and we need them so here’s some money” lol
Yup. IWU and UArts for D… I know of another girl who experienced the same at UArts.
Otterbein outlines the requirements to be eligible for merit aid and all anecdotal info I have heard is that students received the merit award expected or better (son received the next one up) and a more generous talent award than the possible award amount stated on the website.
D got $11K a year from NYU–Steinhardt, MT that was strictly talent based (no need). She graduated in 2012, but those awards are still listed this year.
@theaterwork my D was a good student but as you say not a prodigy, and we are middle class. We received generous scholarships from Ball State, Dean, Nebraska Wesleyan, Pace and Webster.
You might want to keep a list of schools that interest you and look up the cost of attendance for each (tuition, room, board and fees). A school that costs $70,000/year with a $30,000/year scholarship is still more than a school that costs $35,000/year and only gives a $5,000/year scholarship.
My kid was offered almost double what @uskoolfish receives, and was told that was we could negotiate. Even with over $20,000/year, the cost of attendance at NYU would still be more than sticker price at most other schools. And since it wasn’t my kid’s top choice we didn’t negotiate any further.
In our experience, OCU was one of the most generous. Also, the university has their qualifications for merit scholarships spelled out very clearly on their website. The merit scholarships are guaranteed and not competitive, just based on GPA and ACT/SAT scores. And talent and merit are stackable. BW is very generous also and has similar merit scholarships. Neither of these schools are terribly expensive, relatively speaking 
Texas State is another great deal. They award everyone a $1000 talent scholarship, which by Texas law entitles the student to instate tuition. This is a great bargain because tuition at Texas State is quite inexpensive.
I think Montclair State just began offering instate tuition to all MT majors. I’m not sure what their tuition is, but this could also be a bargain.
university of Northern Colorado is fairly inexpensive, and offers the guaranteed merit scholarships and the Required GPA and test scores are not terribly high. Also, if you live in a western state you can qualify for the WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) and not have to pay the full non-resident tuition fee.
@dusing2 Did you qualify for any need based aid? At NYU if you have any need at all, the school will combine financial need with merit aid (talent and/or academic) and can be more generous.
Without any need at all (EFC above the cost of attendance), most students will get a max of $10k to $12k. And currently these scholarships are only in music and art through Steinhardt as far as I can tell.
Not sure what the deal is with Tisch these days. In the past they gave talent scholarships to those without any need. Recently, they have stated in info sessions that they do not give merit aid any more to those without need. And it is not listed on the NYU financial aid website, whereas the Steinhardt talent awards are.
Has anyone rec’d scholarship offers from NYU this year without need?
thanks for all the info. We are not wanting D to take on huge loans and we can pay for college but we need to go toward the lesser expensive options, so that is why I was wondering which schools are more generous. We are east coast and not looking at west or mid west schools really. Mainly PA, OH, NC, SC, VA, maybe Indiana , Kentucky and Tenn, NY and NJ. I know people will not like me saying this but $70,000 as a sticker cost for NYU is ridiculous…just sayin’. Guess that is why Dylan and Cole Sprouse just graduated from there! LOL I just feel like, really they can give you a huge financial package and it is still not doable for tons of folks. My D would LOVE to go there, She loves NYC & we go there frequently but good grief. Guess it sure pays to be wealthy!
Most of my D’s classmates at NYU (including D herself) are not wealthy. I am sure there are people for whom NYU tuition is “chump change” - but there are a lot of others working hard and making sacrifices to make it happen. The great thing is- every family gets to make their own choices. My family chooses to see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity for a world class education. That does NOT make it the right decision for everyone, nor am I trying to say that that there is ANYTHING wrong with cost being a primary factor in choosing a school - but we don’t see NYU’s tuition as “ridiculous”. After all, CMU and BOCO are both well over $60k- NYU isn’t alone. And on the upside- she did run into Sprouses (though as I understand it they were in Gallatin, not Tisch) and she saw Chris Pratt and Dakota Fanning on the way to class too.
NYU is definitely an expensive school, but not everyone who attends is wealthy. After all, some qualify for need based aid. My D did. Her scholarship was $20,000/year. In her senior year, the school also gave her three smaller scholarships in addition to that. And I have loans to pay off. It is not for everyone. I feel the cost was well worth it. She loved her school and had great experiences there. I understand that it is not affordable for many people, truly I do. But not all who attend are rich. The scholarship my D received was the highest she got from any of her schools. With that aid, the cost was not necessarily more than her other college options. Just agreeing with toowonderful that not everyone who attends NYU is rich and that some find that the cost has been worth it. With scholarships and loans, and it being a great fit for our daughter, we are very happy with our choice.
@uskoolfish, we do not qualify for any need-based aid. It was entirely talent based at NYU.
@toowonderful, CMU is several thousand less than NYU to start with and I know some that got non-need based talent scholarships at CMU that are larger than those at Steinhardt and definitely a lot larger than Tisch. For them, CMU probably ended up less expensive than BoCo, Michigan, CCM, Elon, Ithaca, Penn State, and many others.
@Dusing2 - you are entirely correct, CMU is less. I would make the argument that the difference between $63k (full cost CMU) and $70k (full cost NYU) is not substantial enough to put them in different “categories” - but it is less.
Again, every family must make their own decision. The schools/progams that interested D (and we had very specific criteria- we wanted an academically challenging school as well as having strong theater) were generally pricey. My husband joked that she only liked schools where tuition was over $50k. When acceptances and financials were in - the schools that D felt truly interested in were still expensive. (she got amazing scholarships to non audition safeties- and qualified for full tuition at her parent’s alma mater- but that wasn’t what she really wanted) If I recall correctly - there was about a $15k gap from highest to lowest. NYU was not the most expensive for D (Boston was- perhaps b/c she came off waitlist there- almost no $$, though a classmate admitted at the regular time also got very little $$) but it wasn’t the cheapest either (that was Syracuse). We looked at the $15k spread and decided that it was not going to be the primary factor- the decision was made based on “fit”.
Please let me stress again- I am NOT saying there is anything wrong with making finances a determining factor- it is undoubtedly wise. It just wasn’t the path we took, not b/c we have $$ to burn (though D is an only child- and that is a factor- we don’t have to do this multiple times!) but b/c we decided that what D could get from NYU (as an overall educational setting, as well as BFA training) is “worth” what we will pay to send her there.
@toowonderful, you don’t need to defend your daughter’s choice to me or anyone else. I was merely responding about finances in regards to schools that you mentioned that I happened to have info on in the event it may be helpful to @theaterwork. Theaterwork asked about scholarships, so I thought it was worth mentioning that CMU does give some nice scholarships and therefore does put them in a different financial category from Tisch that offers none.
In my D’s case, her scholarship offer from Tisch was higher than her scholarship offer from CMU.
@dusing2 - again, you are entirely correct although I know 2 people who paid "full sticker"at CMU
@soozievt, you already said your daughter’s was need based and theaterworks specifically said he/she is interested in talent based aid that is not need based.
@uskoolfish, you are correct, some do pay full sticker at CMU. Some also pay $70,000 at Steinhardt. But theaterworks asked “if anyone has ever gotten great talent based awards”, so I told what I knew to be helpful. I know of scholarships at both CMU and Steinhardt, but I do not know of any non-need based scholarships at Tisch. Maybe someone has heard of some and will speak up.