<p>D gets an email - prior to official acceptance to either the school or the music department - that says how impressed they were with the audition and that they don't have a lot of scholarship money to give but they think she matches the criteria thay have for scholarship. Then they ask her tell them, candidly, where she is with regard to choosing a school. Obviously, they want to know how interested she is before talking money. All she can say is that they are still in the running and she can't make a decision until all the scholarship info is received from all the schools. I guess they want specifics as to whether they are in the top 2 or 3 and whether there are schools out there who haven't made decisions yet. Do they expect her to tell them the specifics from other schools? Since she got this as an email, I assume it is acceptable to email back rather than call - that is what she prefers to do. I would call so I could ask questions but that is my style, not hers.</p>
<p>I would think the best answer would be to say that you are seriously considering all options, and while this school is in strong consideration (if in fact it is), a decision cannot possibly be reached before all the info is in. </p>
<p>You can also say that an attractive scholarship offer may well tip the balance in this school's favor (if d feels that way).</p>
<p>I would not disclose specifics of any concrete offers you may already have.</p>
<p>I would think an email response is appropriate.</p>
<p>Oh, wow. That is strange. I wonder if this is so they can lowball her as far as aid goes without being too far from her other choices. I think just saying what you said about not being able to make a choice until all aid packages are received is the best bet but frankly I find this tactic a little sketchy and it would put me off of this particular school. If you do choose them make sure you get any merit aid offer in writing that it is renewable for up to 4 years.</p>
<p>I don't see it necessarily as unethical; a bit sneaky yes. It does appear an attempt to offer the least $ possible and still be competitive with other offers.</p>
<p>Reminds me of some job interviewing practices where applicants salary history is targeted and the the salary range for the offered position is often nebulous or "danced around" prior to a concrete offer being made.</p>
<p>My friend tells me that this is very common with athletic scholarships so I think this school may approach other areas like this too. I'm not really put off by it - it makes sense to give the kids a chance to tell them if they have already crossed them off the list. This is a public school so they do have a limited amount to give. It must be tough for them to decide what to do in a vacuum.</p>
<p>That seems so sort of unethical. Scholarship offers should be made up front, right? Play it neutral and be wary. I've been through three kids now with college app's and never received a scholarship offer in this manner. But, maybe times are changing?</p>
<p>My S was told by a teacher he played for that if he was really interested in the school, he should let her know so she would go to bat to get more merit $$ for him. She knows he's applying to state u's which are much cheaper. I didn't have a problem with it in principle. It was nice to know that he was that wanted and, if it were his first choice (it isn't) he could have maximized his ability to go there.</p>
<p>So that said if a child got an offer from a private school that was not enough and you had an inkling that this particular school was in need of your child's instrument would you email the professor and state your child's interest in the school but disinterest due to the lack of aid being offered? You all are so good at writing these things how would you address the professor when asking for possible assistance in this matter?</p>
<p>Momof3Stars- To answer your question, there is the possibility of trying to get a bit more scholarship money. It does help in comparing apples to apples and in doing so it helps to know if a school sees a competitor's offer as coming from a peer equivalent program rather than one of greater or lesser stature.</p>
<p>It never hurts to ask. The worst they can say is "that's the best we can do".</p>
<p>A link to an earlier discussion <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/448632-negotiate-better-scholarships.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/448632-negotiate-better-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Perhaps responding with the need for a sample lesson before a final decision can be made, could work in your favor.</p>
<p>We just received a letter from one of the schools where my D was accepted into the Music Ed program from the financial aid office. I was stunned. They wanted us to provide within two weeks all outside scholarship money that we anticipated, so that they would not have to modify anything later. Though my D has applied for over a dozen outside scholarships, we have no idea if any of these will provide additional funds. My response in a letter that I mailed this morning was that I could not estimate the information they requested now, but would be happy to update them in May or June. Times must be changing indeed...
JD</p>
<p>I don't think this is terribly uncommon. Something similar happened to both my music kids. In both cases, the response was, I only applied to schools I was interested in. I won't be making a decision until I have all the info. Money is an important part of the decision.</p>
<p>I guess what seemed strange is that she hasn't received an acceptance yet. I guess it's obvious now that she is accepted, but we haven't gotten that "Congratulations" letter or email or call yet. I guess if she responded to this that she had moved on, there wouldn't technically be an acceptance.</p>
<p>nor a rejection, by the applicant</p>
<p>I like binx' response: I only applied to schools I was interested in. It's positive and noncomittal, and honest.</p>
<p>Just a Dad - I think it's sad that a student works hard getting outside scholarships and it then comes into play for the school's financial aid and negates it! My D got a very large outside performing arts scholarship and they wrote the check in such a way that it was earmarked for the college but not flagged as scholarship money (they had come up with that on their own). While we didn't have a financial aid situation, she is doing work-study and that would have been effected.</p>
<p>My daughter was called numerous times by the head of the music program at one college wanting to know where they stood in her decision and that she was at the top of their selection, etc. The last time, when my daughter really knew how her colleges stacked up, she honestly told him that the school was in the lower middle of her choices and what her top choices were. She ended up getting a rejection letter to what she considered to be her biggest safety - we found this to be humorous and faintly unethical.</p>
<p>With my son currently we have experienced this at 3 schools (although no mention of scholarship money). My son auditioned at 8 schools and all schools where he auditioned asked were else he was auditioning. In all 3 cases they said that they have less openings than qualified players. In one case, they will have to fight with the school to get him because of grades/sat so I guess he didn't want to go through that and have him go elsewhere. It is an uncomfortable situation since we don't want to make anybody mad (small world this music world<g>). I like violadad's suggestion.</g></p>
<p>I wanted to bump this thread because I hard a hard time finding it. A friend of mind is starting to get this kind of communication from one of the colleges she auditioned for. I thought others might find it helpful.</p>
<p>I actually remember feeling sorry for the teachers who called my son. I had this odd sensation that admissions was using the big name teachers to try to win over students. At one school he got a phone call from a famous guy, and was petrified to tell him he had chosen not to go to that program. I also felt that it was insincere because he might not have been in their studios--? That's cynical, though. Maybe they were calling because he would have been. I don't know. I do think it's kind of sketchy how schools border on harassing students into making a decision.</p>
<p>They need to know who is coming ASAP so that they can invite other musicians for admission. They have budgets and enrollment quotas, too. If they do not fill their classes, it is hard to make their payrolls.</p>