<p>Some school websites are better than others when advertising what type of talent scholarships are available (audition/interview-based scholarships). </p>
<p>Is there a more effective way of confirming if a school makes any considerable offers based on talent? For example, I know NYU provides very little, but it's not instinctively obvious on most websites what offers are. </p>
<p>However, many of my D's classmates graduating in prior years, seem to have received considerable offers from many of the BFA programs that are discussed here. Yet..not a lot of hard data available on those kinds of things. </p>
<p>Any tips on how you have tracked this down? My main goal is to provide a comprehensive list of schools ranked by tuition and from there prioritized based on endowments/scholarships/etc. that sometimes/tend to/might/could accompany an offer from that school. </p>
<p>I am also meaning offers almost exclusively based on talent as identified in the interview/audition process with little weight given to academic performance or GPA. </p>
<p>Great question! My own answer is: I have no idea. Some schools have an official talent scholarship that they list on their website. But it does seem that many schools have unofficial talent scholarships, and the results vary. I do know a person who got $40,000/year talent this year from a top BFA acting program, and this program doesn’t specifically refer to any scholarships. </p>
<p>The other question I have for you is whether you mean talent based on need as well. The above talent scholarship was given to a high-need student, but before the official FAFSA was submitted. </p>
<p>I think the general rule is that many schools have the money there if they really really want you and if they feel this will persuade you to come. But those are two big ‘ifs.’ State schools are more inexpensive but usually don’t have money to bestow at their discretion (state schools are transparent).</p>
<p>Complicating matters is that the recipients themselves who mention awards and their amounts often do not know to what extent need and/or academics were a factor in the award vs. talent. There is a tendency to believe whatever one wants to believe and unless the criteria is laid out somewhere on the school’s website, it is often very hard to tell what the award was really for. I agree that is a great question but one that will be hard to answer definitively. </p>
<p>I just wish it were easier to know how financially feasible a school is before applying to so many schools. Some schools are just out of reach financially (such as NYU since very little aid is offered), whereas other schools with just as expensive tuition can stay on the list because of their historic aid offers based (presumably) talent. Applying to so many programs is so expensive (and time consuming and expensive). Knowing that your child can only attend ONE but has to apply to 10+, 20+ schools to find the right match (financially, academically, artistically, geographically) is a super rough game. </p>
<p>My oldest S got a near full ride from NYU Tisch based on need. We had been told point blank during a tour that they had very little money and could not afford to give much in financial aid, yet he got enough to cover tuition plus half room/board. I am using this as an example of how you can’t go by the generals; you never know if you will be the one who is a match for them. And by the way, my older S also got no money at all from other schools–not saying this is easy sailing! It’s more chance and luck and fit.</p>
<p>If you are struggling with admissions fees, remember that you can ask for a waiver. I myself don’t have much money, but I view it as a sort of business investment. You have to apply in order to be considered. That said, I wouldn’t apply to 20+ schools! Yikes. My girls applied to 13, my son applied to 8. </p>
<p>connections - you have such talented children! how proud you must be and how hard you must have worked to help them get where they are. I so hope it all works out for your S financially and that he gets to go to the school of his choice. </p>
<p>My son also received an excellent financial aid offer from NYU. He ended up attending a different school, but NYU’s grant money would have cut his tuition in half.</p>
<p>I’m jealous - my older daughter was so thrilled to get into Tisch acting 2 years ago, but we had to tell her we couldn’t afford it when she only got $2,500 from them! </p>
<p>bardsmom, thank you so much! Such a kind affirmation! Mostly I feel like I lurch from moment to moment and do nothing right, my work, my little rental home (often a mess), parenting, life, you name it! But that’s another topic…</p>
<p>bromquest, I totally didn’t mean it to be braggy; I was worried it would come out that way. I’ve said this before–my D got into RISD, her top choice at the time, but they didn’t give her anything at all (except a chance to borrow over $200,000 total). So, like your older daughter, she had to turn the school down. However, I personally also knew of two other students that year who had near full rides from RISD. </p>
<p>We were jealous too, and sad. But that’s how these things go. I told my D at the time that it was a sign RISD wasn’t a match for her. The brutal truth is that she wasn’t as wanted as the two other students. We did appeal, and they didn’t budge. As my mother used to say, you can’t be liked by everyone!</p>
<p>What I mean to say is you can’t tell beforehand whether the school will feel you’re a match. Unless it’s tied to scores and stats, need based merit aid is subjective; so you can’t know if you’ll be the one they want or not. If you really want the school and feel you would thrive there, apply. But be clear about money beforehand–that does cushion the blow if it turns out you can’t go. </p>
<p>You are so right connections - and I agree that they usually really do end up at the school where they belong! My daughter is at Syracuse - a school she applied to as an after thought and never visited or really looked at until after she received decisions and we were weighing options. It’s an amazing Acting program and such a great school. She loves it, is doing great, and we couldn’t be happier. And even doing this a second time around with my son he ended up applying to NYU and many of the same schools - because it IS such a complex, individual and subjective equation that determines what merit, talent, and FA they get. </p>