I had another post on this issue, but I didn’t receive many replies for that so I thought I might rephrase my question.
I’m a HS senior and I play French horn in my school band and orchestra. I plan to continue playing in college, and I heard that you can get money for playing in college music ensembles. My instrument is relatively in demand, so I think that the music department at colleges would try to recruit me for their music ensembles (maybe offer me merit aid to attract me) if they knew that I would play horn in their band and orchestra.
How should I approach this situation to increase my chances of getting merit aid money for playing in their ensembles? Should I make an appointment with the Music Ensembles Director to introduce myself and see if he would try to recruit me by convincing the financial aid department to offer more aid? I don’t know if this would come off as greedy or desperate; I sincerely want to join their ensembles, but based on my financial situation, I wouldn’t be able to unless I get more merit aid (It’s an expensive college and my parents make too much to get any need-based aid).
I think this is similar to where coaches try to recruit athletes by offering more merit money, or professors recruiting prospective students they really like, or in this case, a music director who really wants a musician in his ensemble. I just don’t know how to go about this; should I just hope that they notice my horn playing on my resume and hope that they give me money, or should I meet with the music director so that I’ll be known? If I do meet with him, what would I do/say?
My DD was an oboe/English horn player. She was in the exact same boat as you. She did not want to major in music, but she wanted to continue with lessons, and play in a college orchestra.
Let me start by saying...you won't be recruited to play an instrument. Even music majors don't have that happening on the undergrad level. So...let go of the idea that this might be the way this happens. It just won't happen.
In addition, if the school has a music major, music merit money is going to be going to music majors. These departments don’t get THAT much money.
My daughter found that this was the HARDEST criteria to fill in her college search..and she didn't even care about getting merit money. She just wanted to play.
My kid made her college list...and then contacted each music department chairperson, each orchestra director, and the intructors on her instrument. She politely asked about their policies about having non-majors in their music ensembles. They were very helpful, and gave her the information she needed. So...do that!
Some colleges have ensembles that are open to all students. Check places like Lawrence, for example. You might not get a music scholarship, but you certainly will be able to play.
Some colleges have ensembles for students who are not music majors. BOston Iniversity, for example, has Boston University Music Organizations which are open to all majors. However, the ensembles for music majors...are open to music majors only.
Some colleges have multiple music opportunities for everyone...places like Yale, MIT, and the like have great music ensembles...open to all. But they don't give merit aid...at all.
If the school has a strong music program or conservatory (BU, Oberlin, Rochester) you will find that their music merit money is for auditioned music majors.
In all cases, you would still be required to audition for a seat in the ensemble. My kid crossed College of Charleston OFF her application list because they only had one oboe spot...period...and a music major program. It was pretty clear that that spot was going to go to a music major, not someone else. Merit aid would not have been a consideration.
There are some colleges where you might get some merit aid. How much do you need...because as a non-major, it's not going to pay your bills at most colleges.
There are a couple of colleges that have auditioned competitive music scholarships. The ones I know about are Skidmore, and Davidson. Both require a taped pre audition submission, and then if selected...you go for an in person audition. Both are generous awards...but both are highly competitive.
My kid graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in engineering. She played in their college orchestra all four years. By doing so, she received a free weekly oboe private lesson which saved us some money! In addition, she got $250 per quarter...or $750 a year as a performance merit award as long as she continued to play in that orchestra.
My kid only applied to four colleges. She DID have a private lesson with the applied faculty at all four schools prior to applying. Some schools will offer this...and some just won't for non-majors.
Yes, your instrument is one in demand. But so is oboe...and English horn. This didn't help in admissions one bit.we know this because the music folks candidly told DD that they would love to have her...but had no leverage with admissions at all.
I'll just add...my kid was a state ranked number one oboe player in a pretty competitive state by 10th grade. In addition, she played in a pre college orchestra and wind ensemble at the Hartt School for four years. She also took private piano lessons. Her oboe teacher was a Hartford Symphony member. Just saying this so you understand...she was very accomplished on the instrument.
And lastly...my other kid is a professional musician with both bachelors and masters degrees in music performance. He DID get decent music merit awards...and I'm quite sure these merit awards are used to attract students to these music programs as majors. He went to Boston University undergrad primarily because of the fabulous teacher on his instrument...and they have a very strong music program within the university. BUT no non-majors were permitted to play in ensembles for the majors. As noted above...BU has a great breadth of ensembles for non-majors.
Talk to your private french horn instructor. Does he or she have any suggestions?
@Thumper1 offers excellent advice here. My D found it all to be true as well, with one exception to #13 above. When she met with college conductors, some of them told her they could help with admissions (not merit, though). It’s impossible to know how much sway they really have, but they offered the comment without prompting after they heard her play. My D had great stats, so she was in the running for these schools on her academics alone, but maybe if Admissions was comparing her to a similar student, the conductor’s recommendation may have pushed her application into the accepted pile over someone else’s. Who knows.
My D did end up with a great merit scholarship to Smith which was likely a result of her whole application package:
her stats, other ECs, recommendations, interview, essay, and perhaps the conductor putting in a good word with admissions. Impossible to know for sure.
But do look carefully at each school you are interested in and investigate whether you would even be able to play at each college as a non-major. It can be challenging to find these opportunities.
This isn’t necessarily true. My college gives merit money to non-majors for music. It is not the only exception. In fact, this is what I was looking for back when I was applying for colleges, and I found several (didn’t apply to a lot of them because of other things I was looking for).
I’m an oboe/english horn player as well (was also first in my state in high school and had lots of awards/ensemble participation). I chased merit money because it was either that or go instate (similar to yours, my family doesn’t qualify for significant financial aid, but can’t afford private/OOS tuition).
I agree that you’re not going to get recruited on the undergrad level. It’s not like athletic recruiting at all. Scholarships will be independent of your admissions and the music departments generally aren’t going to have any pull in getting you admitted (there are some exceptions). You should submit a music supplement with your application, though, for the schools that accept one. Feel free to contact the music departments about their opportunities and scholarships available. Most will have that information on their websites, so check there first.
You need to look for schools that have established scholarships. Many will have requirements to major, others have more relaxed requirements. I ended up getting competitive full-tuition music scholarships to Case Western, which required me to major in music, and University of Richmond, which only required a minor. I ended up at Richmond (I’ll be a senior this fall majoring in Math and CS). UR also has smaller music scholarships as well, but I think those also require you to minor. Scholarships for just participating in ensembles are pretty rare, and also do not have much monetary value attached to them.
I can tell you a little more details about my process, since it might be helpful to you. Going into my college search, I knew I wanted to major in Math and CS, be really active in music (most likely minor), and hopefully continue with dance in some way (take a technique class every semester, if possible).
My parents and I spent fall of junior year researching opportunities, and I visited both UR and Case as a junior. At that time, I had a lesson with the oboe professor at Case, played in a rehearsal with their band, and at UR, I met with the band director. Senior year, I applied regular decision to Case, and submitted the pre-screening requirements (recordings, etc) to their music school and set an audition time (I believe it was in January) for the music school once I passed. I applied to UR by the Dec 1st scholars deadline. I made semi-finals in january and submitted my music materials then (recording, resume, etc). I was notified I was a finalist in february and invited to visit campus (3 days) for a live audition/interview in March. During that visit, I also played in a rehearsal with the orchestra and interacted with a lot of the arts faculty. I was supposed to have a lesson with the oboe professor then, but something came up, so I came back after I got the scholarship (April) to take a lesson with him, and talk to the department chair about the opportunities more in depth (i only live 2 hours away, so it wasn’t that hard to make another trip). I then spent the rest of April debating which offer I should accept; part of the reason I accepted UR’s is because at Case, I would have had to choose between Math and CS, because a triple major in four years wasn’t feasible there (I also would have had to drop dance completely). I also applied to George Mason (in state) as a safety, where I received no merit (I had some connections to the faculty, so they waived my audition to the music school, which didn’t give me the opportunity to play for them) and William & Mary, which I submitted a music supplement for, but was waitlisted at.
At UR I’m a double major (math and CS), and double minor (music and dance), and I’ll be able to graduate in four years without issue. Most students at UR double major and/or minor in various subjects anyways, because our degree requirements are rather flexible. So the requirement to minor is really not an issue here. It can be at other places, though, depending on your major(s).
How much can your parents pay and how much do you need to pay for this school? Looking for ~$5k/year is different than needing ~$20k. If the gap is a large one, it may be difficult to bridge it.
The quote in post 9 is confusing. How much extra do,you think need to be in a music ensemble …other than needing an instrument and performance wardrobe!
One nephew began college with a music department scholarship, and needed to maintain at least a music minor in order to keep it. Check that kind of possibility too.
Look into st Olaf. They have scholarships for accomplished non majors.
Seconding Skidmore, Davidson, URichmond.
Colleges with conservatories typically don’t have scholarships for non majors.
Look at the music department’s and orchestra pages as well as “merit scholarships”.
As an FYI…we knew our daughter would get the free private lessons…which was a wonderful savings. But we did NOT know she was going to get that $750 a year music performance award. That was a nice surprise…and while not a huge amount…every penny counts!
I think there are some opportunities for instruments used in marching band. UofSC gives in-state tuition to OOS students who march. I know a number of students who march that are not majors. And a friend going to Furman got some to also march (clarinet). Neither were majors. So it depends on instrument. Probably not much help for English horn!
The schools I’m familiar with only provide scholarships to majors. The way students handle this is a double major: music ed, or a music BA (instead of a BFA) with their other major. They do music ed or the music BA because it’s less credit intensive than a BFA in music, so they have a better chance of fitting in their second major.
Thanks everyone for all the fantastic advice, I really appreciate it! I looked into my #1 school and found that they offered a scholarship money for non-music majors, so I’m really glad I have that opportunity. Thanks again guys, you really are the best!
As others have said, for colleges that give merit aid based on holistic applicant criteria, your musical talents and activities can play a big role in getting a merit award. So it’s not technically a music scholarship but its a scholarship you can get because of your music.
To maximize your chance of getting aid: look for merit aid awarding colleges where your gpa and test scores put you solidly in the top 25% or higher of accepted students, and exclude from your list colleges that have music conservatories.
Also, many (most?) of these schools allow you to upload recordings of your performances as application supplements. They all have different criteria for details of the recordings so check on the school websites for those and be sure to provide them when the opportunity is offered.
@lifegarding My first choice school is Loyola University in Chicago, which is attractive to me because of their pre med program. I did some research into their music department and discovered that I could play horn in their wind ensemble, orchestra, and pep band, all as a non music major! (The downside is that they only had one of each ensemble, so I would only be auditioning for chairs, not ensemble placement). But I also found out that they offer scholarships by audition for non-music majors for playing in their ensembles.
For vocal, Loyola has 4 choral ensembles: Chamber Choir, Schola Cantorum (Liturgical Choir) , University Chorale, Women’s Chorus, and I believe that joining these groups can also offer scholarships as a non major.
I googled “Loyola music scholarship” and it showed me the scholarships they offered for joining their ensembles. I think you and your D can do the same for finding scholarships at whatever universities you guys are considering
