Demographics
US Citizen
LV, Nevada
Magnet High School
Female, White, Jewish/Italian
Intended Major
My intended major is Music Business or Music Management
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.909
Weighted HS GPA: 4.809 (max is 4.95)
Class Rank: 5 of 276
ACT/SAT Scores: I haven’t taken them yet, but my PSAT sophomore year without studying was a 1240, and CERT was 25
Coursework
AP Courses:
AP Human Geography- 4
AP Psychology- 5
AP Calculus AB- 3
AP World History- 4
AP Lang- 4
AP Seminar- currently taking
AP Statistics- currently taking
AP Literature- currently taking
AP Physics C Mechanics- currently taking
I’m in my third year of Business Management
My arts credits are Music Appreciation and Video Production
Two years of Spanish
Awards
DECA (all state level)
1st Place in Entrepreneurship
7th in Buying and Merchandising
6th in Entrepreneurship Testing
FBLA (state level)
6th in Introduction to Business Communication
8th in Entrepreneurship
2nd in Intro to Event Planning
1st in Intro to Marketing Concepts
8th in Marketing Case Study
6th in Hospitality and Event Management
Extracurriculars
President of local DECA chapter
State VP of Service for Nevada FBLA
Historian of local HOSA chapter
NHS member
Mock Trial member
Teen Youth Volunteer for over two years at Sahara West Library
Consistent Babysitting job
President of Taylor Swift Club (fun)
Cost Constraints / Budget
We did a mock FASFA and we were able to pay around $39K. We would like a school that provides financial aid. Aiming for a scholarship
Schools
Safety *
UNLV
UNR
Likely *
NYU
Match *
Belmont
University of Indiana ?
Reach *
Wharton
USC
UCLA
Let me know if I missed anything. I am pretty clueless, and just looking for a direction I can take for further research. Please give me any Music Business colleges that could fit well with me!! Thank you!!
What does this mean? The FAFSA doesn’t tell you what you are able to pay. It gives an SAI (formerly known as EFC) which is what the FAFSA computes to be your family contribution.
BUT…most colleges do not meet full need based on the FAFSA. The FAFSA SAI should be viewed as the minimum you will be expected to pay for college for the year.
The real question…what can your parents afford to pay each year for your college costs?
As a resident of Nevada, you won’t receive any need based aid from any CA public university and their merit aid is a pittance compared to the cost…if you even receive any. So I would suggest taking UCLA off your list.
And I believe you mean Indiana University…right? Not University of Indiana.
The EFC isn’t what you can pay. Colleges determine what you can pay.
If it’s truly music bus you want, add MTSU.
MTSU and Belmont are both safeties. You need to run the NPC. MTSU should be sub $40k with merit.
NYU is a reach.
IU or Indiana University - not U of Indiana is a safety but not at $39k. Unlikely.
UCLA will be in the 70s. Cal State Northridge will be less.
Only two schools in the country meet need OOS - UNC and UVA.
Run some NPCs and take the test. Look at U Miami, USC, and Loyola New Orleans too.
The NPCs will give you a better idea on affordability. Miami and SC will be reaches - especially SC. I just saw you have it so run the NPC to see if you should even apply. Rather your parents should run it.
Good luck.
Ps - you run a risk in a niche program. You could do a regular business major and seek internships. You don’t have to buy something every niche major should at least give thought to.
Correction. These are the only two PUBLIC universities that guarantee to meet need for all accepted students…but both use the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. (And yes I did see that OOS was mentioned, but some folks don’t pick up on that).
However, there are students at a lot of public universities who do get full need met…it’s just not a guarantee that this will happen for everyone.
USC, NYU and U of Miami are privates suggested that promise to meet need so the Net Price Calculator will help OPs family determine need from the view of private schools.
With OPs stats, there are definitely sub $40k schools, not just UNLV and UNR. Whether or not those schools have a music business track would have to be researched. But OP can earn lots of merit.
Also there’s WUE for Nevada residents and Idaho, Fort Lewis and E Washington appear. They’ll be lower cost.
To clarify. Some colleges will match your state of residence tuition if you attend their OOS school. This does NOT mean that the schools will meet your financial need, however.
Below is your list, rearranged by my guesses as to your chances for acceptance. Belmont & Indiana University (name fixed) were moved into the safety category while NYU was moved into the reach category. This classification is based off of admission only, not on the likelihood of getting to $39k, or whatever your family’s budget is.
You’ve described yourself as part Jewish. Belmont is a Christian school that leans conservative and is more into its faith than some other religiously-affiliated schools. Are you okay with this?
If you’re looking for some other schools to research, then these are some you may want to consider:
Butler (IN): About 4400 undergrads
DePaul (IL): About 14k undergrads
Drexel (PA ): About 14k undergrads at this co-op focused school
CU Denver is a WUE school, so it would be quite affordable, and it’s known for strong programs in Music Business, Recording Arts, etc. And Denver is a pretty good city for internship opportunities and such. Music Business I think it would be a safety, so it could be worth a comparison with your in-state safeties to see if it’s worth considering.
Northeastern could be worth a look, if the NPC indicates that you’d get enough financial aid. Music with Concentration in Music Industry, BS < Northeastern University In addition to the degree program, they also have a music living-learning community that is quite music business focused.
UMiami has two different Music Industry tracks - a BM, which requires an audition, and a new BA program that is not audition-based Bachelor of Music or Arts in Music Industry | Frost School of Music | University of Miami They meet need and also give merit, so run the NPC to see how the $ looks. They have a substantial Jewish population, if that matters to you.