In New York (and I suspect Boston, but you would know better than I) there are many opportunities for string players to earn money. Juilliard has a number of outreach fellowships, as well. The fellowships are competitive (you have to apply for them), but there are quite a few, and there are also non-fellowship opportunities for earning money at Juilliard… There is also a lot of non-school-related gig work for string players in New York.
I believe Yale and Rice are tuition free
Yale is defintely 100% tuition free for graduate music students, thanks to an “anonymous” donation of $100 million in 2005. They also provide a living stipend of around $4K per year, and it’s regardless of financial background. I don’t know that to be the case at Rice, though have heard they give generous offers to accepted students. As my S has auditioned at both, we are anxiously awaiting word. The two he has heard from are public universities.
Regarding Julliard, my S opted not to audition for reasons I won’t go in to - but I was told they offer scholarships and if you are also accepted at Yale, they will match the no tuition offer. I can’t verify that to be the case, just sharing what I’ve heard. To Spiritmanagers point, if one offers way more than another, you have nothing to lose by letting the other school know.
So Rice, Yale and CIM left?
If your son is not 24 (or not turning 24 this year, I am a little confused on this since my still 23 year old is an independent student according to FAFSA) parental income is still counted, at least on the FAFSA.
A $4k stipend is relatively small…maybe someone knows about teaching opportunities at Yale…
@compmom, yes those are the 3 we are still waiting on.
Not sure I follow your comment…Yale is tuition free, the $4K stipend is on top of the free tuition. I agree this does not cover full living expenses, but given the free tuition it certainly adds to the overall financial package. Those two things have nothing to do with the FAFSA when it comes to Yale’s financial package, but you can still submit for a student loan or PLUS loan for additional expenses where the FAFSA would come in to play. As others have said, there are opportunities being so close to NYC, and I don’t know if Yale might offer some students even more.
As for Rice and CIM, I’ve never heard either is tuition free - and I’m almost positive CIM is not. It doesn’t mean they won’t offer a great financial incentive to get the best students, and I admittedly don’t know as much about Rice. My son’s friend attends CIM, and I know that despite a partial scholarship, he/his family is paying something for him to attend.
I will add that most schools asked directly on the application and in person where else he was auditioning.
You can google the FAFSA rules. It is correct that if you are 24, you are independent. However if you have a birthday as below AND are working towards a Masters, you can also be considered independent as well (meaning parents income does not need to be counted). I went to a govt website, read it over and didn’t include my income when I did my D’s FAFSA (for her) as she was entering grad school last year. DON’T take my advice without researching on your own but here is some info.
FAFSA INFO
Your answers to questions on the FAFSA determine whether you are considered a dependent or independent student. The questions change a little from one year’s FAFSA to the next year’s; for instance, the 2015–16 FAFSA asks whether you were born before Jan. 1, 1992, while the 2016–17 FAFSA asks whether you were born before Jan. 1, 1993. Here are the questions that determine your dependency status, first in a graphic format and then (for 2016–17 specifically) in a table: …will not attach so you need to check.
Here is the website: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/filling-out/dependency
My D is old in her class so we did FAFSA without parent income. Fortunately the fellowship allowed for her not to take loans. And, no one called to say the FAFSA looked strange. The computer didn’t blow up when I submitted just her income. So I think I did it right. I will not do FAFSA this year as none of her money seems tied to it (I did this in undergrad as well with no issues).
And just fyi, with her very low income, there was one school in NYC (but not schools mentioned here) that thought she could still afford a good chunk of change - one that had nothing to do with her income. So … just fyi, being a poor student didn’t seem to open up the coffers…merit and needs of the dept seemed to pay off more IMHO.
Yale grad music students can teach if they want. 95% of Yale College students’ private music lessons are with grad students. And secondary lessons for graduate students are also often taught by grad students. (My son took percussion lessons from a grad.) There is also the option to teach in their New Haven public school program. And then there are TA jobs in Yale College which can pay well, if you get one. (My son missed out, alas.) And gigs. And Music School jobs.
Yep - my son was hired to work with the local HS brass section during marching band season, worked for the school of music part time, played in churches during holidays, taught some privates for HS kids, and was first sub for the regional symphony where he did several paid performances - all while a full time music performance student in the top wind ensemble and orchestra over his four years.
Not only did he reap the financial rewards, he also gained professional experience and matured beyond his years. I would also add that his experiences certainly didn’t hurt on the resume submission for grad programs.
I forgot this was master’s level, not doctoral, in terms of relative funding 
Just heard back from Yale - wait listed, not sure how many are offered from there…thoughts/insights?
Masters of Music…
FWIW I’ve heard of folks getting off the waitlist in viola, and not in composition…
This would be trombone
I know! Just saying, it obviously varies both by instrument, and by year. He should definitely accept a place on the list if he would go if accepted!
According to the letter, you only tell them if you do NOT want to remain on the list. Although they are “unable to provide specific information regarding the possibility of your admission prior to the April 15 deadline for admitted students, the waiting list is short and a fair number of alternates will be admitted.”
Do have him contact the trombone prof directly with a brief email that he would very much like to attend - if this is the case and he would enroll if offered the possibility. Good luck.
I like the way you think Momo…my son said that vey thing to me!
PMing you.
Thank you @glassharmonica
Since the title on this thread is Graduate Music Programs, wanted to post another question here. Hope I’m in the right place.
My D has been accepted to Rice and CCM for MM in VP. I"m not sure how to go about going back and asking for more money/stipend after getting initial offers. Anyone with experience please share, we are going to have to make a decision soon, and just want to be sure we are not doing the “wrong” thing when it comes to asking for more money. We don’t have details yet for CCMs offer, but do for Rice, full tuition, no offer of stipend. Is that common for Rice?
Thank you in advance for any information you can share!