List of BFA/BA MT Schools Which Offer Full Ride Scholarships (Tuition,Room, Board)

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>To assist you in finding schools which offer a BFA or a BA in musical theatre and a full ride scholarship, I have compiled a list of such schools. </p>

<p>The schools I have listed must fit the following criteria:</p>

<ol>
<li>The school must offer a BFA or a BA degree in musical theatre. </li>
</ol>

<p>In some cases it may be a minor or a certificate in musical theatre within a BFA/BA degree program. The programs may, or may not, require an audition prior to entrance.</p>

<ol>
<li>The school must offer a full ride scholarship.</li>
</ol>

<p>The scholarship must be for tuition, room, and board. </p>

<ol>
<li> The scholarship must be open to both in-state and out-of-state students.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>There are schools which have musical theatre degrees that offer full ride scholarships which are only available to in-state students. I do not list those schools.</p>

<ol>
<li>The amount awarded for tuition must cover out-of-state tuition. </li>
</ol>

<p>Some schools offer their full rides to both out-of-state and in-state students but, they only cover in-state tuition. I do not list those schools. </p>

<ol>
<li>The scholarship cannot be restricted to National Merit Finalists/Semifinalists or any other designated scholar group. </li>
</ol>

<p>The scholarship must be open to all students who meet the academic criteria specified. </p>

<ol>
<li>The scholarship must be published and disseminated openly to the public. </li>
</ol>

<p>The scholarship cannot be privately offered to students by the admissions/financial aid office after students have applied and have been deemed eligible to either compete for, or receive, a full ride scholarship. With such scholarships you cannot know until after you apply if you are eligible for such full ride scholarships. I want you to know before you apply that a full ride scholarship is a definite possibility. </p>

<ol>
<li>The scholarship must be for merit. </li>
</ol>

<p>Financial need, race, ethnicity, biological sex (unless the college is a same sex college), etc. cannot be a determining factor in the decision. </p>

<ol>
<li>The scholarship must be renewable. </li>
</ol>

<p>The scholarship must be available for eight semesters. </p>

<p>Colleges that offer both a BFA/BA in Musical Theatre and a Full Ride Scholarship (Tuition, Room, and Board) </p>

<p>ALABAMA:</p>

<ul>
<li>University of Montevallo-BFA (AL) -
Montevallo Ambassador Program Scholarship (Competitive)</li>
</ul>

<p>-Troy University-BFA (AL) –
The Millennium Scholar’s Award (Guaranteed if Criteria are met)</p>

<p>-University of Alabama-BA (AL) -
Academic Elite Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>CALIFORNIA: </p>

<p>-Santa Clara University-BA* (CA) -
*Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Minor in Musical Theatre
Johnson Scholars Award (Competitive)</p>

<p>DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:</p>

<p>-Howard University-BFA (DC) –
Presidential Scholarship (Guaranteed if Criteria are Met /First Come, First Served)</p>

<p>FLORIDA:</p>

<p>-University of Miami-BFA (FL) –
Stamps Leadership Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>ILLINOIS:</p>

<p>-Western Illinois University - BFA (IL) –
President’s Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>INDIANA:</p>

<p>-Ball State University - BFA (IN) –
Whitinger Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>-Indiana University-BFA (IN) –
Wells Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>IOWA:</p>

<p>-Drake University-BFA (IA) –
National Alumni Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>KENTUCKY:</p>

<p>-Northern Kentucky University-BFA (KY) –
Distinguished Scholarship (Guaranteed if Criteria are Met)</p>

<p>-University of Kentucky-BA* (KY)-
*BA in Theatre with a musical theatre certificate
Otis A. Singletary Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>MICHIGAN:</p>

<p>-Central Michigan University-BFA (MI) –
Centralis Honors Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>MISSOURI:</p>

<p>-Southeast Missouri Sate University-BFA (MO) -
Governor’s Scholarship (Guaranteed if Criteria are Met)</p>

<p>-William Woods University-BA (MO) -
Amy Shelton McNutt Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>NEBRASKA:</p>

<p>-Nebraska Wesleyan University-BFA (NE) –
Huge–NWU Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>NEW YORK</p>

<p>-University at Buffalo-BFA (NY)–
Presidential Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>NORTH CAROLINA: </p>

<p>-Meredith College-BA (Women’s College) (NC) -
Meredith Legacy Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>OKLAHOMA:</p>

<p>-University of Tulsa-BA (OK)-
Presidential Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>OHIO:</p>

<p>-University of Cincinnati-BFA (OH) –
Cincinnatus Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>-Youngstown State University-BFA (OH) –
Leslie H. Cochran University Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>SOUTH CAROLINA:</p>

<p>-Anderson University-BFA (SC) –
In-State Anderson University Fellows Presidential Scholarship (Competitive)
Out-of-State Presidential Fellows Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>-Limestone College-BFA (SC) -
Presidential Scholarship (Competitive) </p>

<p>TENNESSEE:</p>

<ul>
<li>Belmont University- BFA (TN) –
Presidential Scholarship (Competitive)</li>
</ul>

<p>TEXAS:</p>

<p>-University of Texas at Austin- BA (TX) –
40 Acres Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>WISCONSIN: </p>

<p>-University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee-BFA (WI) –
Academic Achievement Leadership Award (Competitive)</p>

<p>-Carthage College-BA (WI) –
Lincoln Scholarship (Competitive)</p>

<p>If you know of any other colleges that offer both a musical theatre degree and a full ride scholarship (tuition, room, and board) that are not listed on this page, please feel free to post them. </p>

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<p>Just a FYI about Indiana University’s Wells Scholarship … it’s for Indiana high schools and select high schools in other states. I don’t believe it’s open to absolutely everyone. Just something to keep in mind. </p>

1 Like
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<p>You are correct, good point, the Wells Scholarship is not open to everyone, but none of these scholarships are open to absolutely everyone. All of these scholarships have criteria that have to be met, and the Wells Scholarship is about as prestigious as they come. Space restrictions kept me from including all the criteria for each school. </p>

<p>Here is the Wells Scholarship Office of Admissions Nomination Process for students with an outstanding record of accomplishment who are home schooled or who attend a high school that is not eligible to nominate candidates for the Wells Scholarship.</p>

<p>Guidelines</p>

<p>Students with an outstanding record of accomplishment who are home schooled or who attend a high school that is not eligible to nominate candidates for the Wells Scholarship may be considered for nomination by the IU Bloomington Office of Admissions. (The Office of Admissions is not able to nominate students who attend, or have graduated from, high schools that are eligible to nominate candidates.)</p>

<p>High school seniors seeking freshman admission to IU Bloomington for Fall 2015 who are academically outstanding (eligible for admission to the Hutton Honors College) and who wish to be considered for nomination for the Wells Scholarship by the Office of Admissions should submit the following materials directly to the Office of Admissions. (These materials should not be sent to the Wells Scholars Program. Doing so could delay or prevent, if the deadline is missed, consideration of a student’s candidacy.) All items must be received by the Office of Admissions on or before Saturday, September 20, 2014.</p>

<p>Completed application for Admission to IU Bloomington (either online or paper application) with required supporting academic documents (official high school transcript to be sent by high school in sealed envelope or electronically; SAT or ACT scores to be sent directly to IU from the testing agencies) and application fee
A packet of the following additional items sent to:</p>

<p>Cindy Wise
Office of Admissions
Indiana University
300 North Jordan Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405</p>

<p>Wells Scholarship Nomination Cover Sheet (PDF)
Cover letter requesting consideration for nomination for the Wells Scholarship and describing the student’s academic interest(s) (300-500 words)
One letter of recommendation from a teacher who has taught the student in an academic class, enclosed by the recommender in a sealed envelope, signed across the seal
A resume listing significant honors, extracurricular activities, and/or community involvement</p>

4

<p>USC has their Presidential Scholarship (or something like that) which is a free ride, at least it did about seven years ago.</p>

5

<p>If the University of Southern California (USC) did offer a publicized free ride Presidential Scholarship seven years ago, it does not appear that they do so now. Their current pdf brochure for Scholarships for the 2015-2016 academicl year lists the Presidential Scholarship as a half-tuiton award. </p>

<p>USC does offer three very competitive full tuition scholarships, </p>

<p>The Mork Family Scholarship,
The Stamps Leadership Scholarships, and the
Trustee Scholarship, </p>

<p>but they do not offer a full ride as I described above. </p>

6

<p>Wow - that’s too bad. Thanks for the update.</p>

7

<p>In the New York Times (2010) Mary Anna Dennard, the author of “I Got In!: The Ultimate College Audition Guide for Acting and Musical Theater,” states that </p>

<p>“Many of these programs (Carnegie Mellon, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, Texas State, Pace University, Boston Conservatory) offer substantial scholarships, and even full rides to those who qualify.” </p>

<p>This is undoubtedly true, but you won’t know the exact amount of the scholarship until after you have applied, filled out your FAFSA, and gone through their entire audition process - unlike the full ride scholarships (which I list above) that tell you up front exactly what you will receive if you are awarded the scholarship.</p>

<p>By the way, to illustrate my point, out of all the the MT programs she lists above, only one of them advertises a full ride scholarship based on merit, and that school is Cincinnati* (which is mentioned in my list). So if the other schools she lists do award full rides, you can’t just apply for them because they aren’t advertised through the normal channels (Financial Aid and Scholarships). Therefore, they are opaque. There is no transparency regarding their criteria or the combination of aid that is used to build them. </p>

<ul>
<li>Texas State also offers a full ride, but it is only open to Texas residents and it considers financial need.<br></li>
</ul>

<p>And if these “behind closed doors” full ride scholarships include state and federal aid, what happens when a sibling graduates from college and the calculations for determining need change? What if a Pell Grant is reduced or is no longer awarded? Does the school pick up the difference, or do you? With an up front full ride scholarship you don’t have to worry about things like that. </p>

<p>Ms. Dennard is undoubtedly speaking truth when she says that these top MT programs offer substantial scholarships, but have you seen most of their prices (Texas State aside)? Even a substantial scholarship can be drop in the bucket compared to what a family really needs in order for their child to graduate with minimal debt from college. Of the top ten MT schools* (Michigan, Carnegie-Mellon, New York, Cincinnati, Elon, Oklahoma City University, Boston Conservatory, Penn State, Syracuse, and Ithaca) only one (Cincinnati) offers an advertised full ride scholarship. </p>

<ul>
<li>Source: <a href=“Discover the 10 Best Colleges for Musical Theatre - Music School Central”>http://musicschoolcentral.com/discover-the-10-best-colleges-for-musical-theater/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
</ul>

<p>College loan debt is a big deal for any college student, but it is an even bigger deal for students who want to pursue a performance career in musical theatre. The sad truth is that very few people who prepare for a career in MT actually make a full time living out of MT performance. And if they are going to take a real shot at a performance career in MT, at least at the start, many will have to find so-called “survival jobs” to make ends meet in between acting jobs. </p>

<p>But if a MT student graduates from college with significant debt they must take on a steady, well paying job which pays enough to service their debt, not a survival job. This significantly impacts their career in negative ways. If they can’t take on survival job that can be easily quit (and picked up again) and which has flexible hours, they can’t audition freely and accept a role at a moment’s notice. And if they can’t accept a role, there are plenty of actors for casting agents to choose from who can. </p>

<p>I compiled the list found above because I wanted to give students who are interested in musical theatre as a major, and who have done exceptionally well in high school (both in GPA and ACT/SAT), a way to see where their hard work could potentially be rewarded. I also wanted them to know about full ride scholarships that are offered in transparent ways. </p>

<p>I see posts on CC about students who apply to an MT college, fill out a FAFSA, and receive “almost a full ride”. But what does that phrase, “almost a full ride” mean exactly? What is an “almost a full ride”? Before I put my hopes in that “almost a full ride”, I would like to know a little more about how large the gap is between what the aid package gives (not including loans) and what the family must pay. After all, one person’s “almost a full ride” may be another person’s significant debt. </p>

<p>The nice thing about applying to MT schools which offer full ride scholarships, like the ones I have listed above, is that there is no guessing game with respect to the dollar amount. These scholarships really do pay tuition, room, and board over four years. There is no “almost” or “close to”. These scholarships are the real deal and although you may not get one, at least you know going in that it is possible. You don’t have to wait until the back end and negotiate to see if you can get an “almost full ride”. </p>

<p>Now, of course, all of these scholarships are very competitive, and most people who apply won’t get one. Consider carefully how impressive your academic/service profile is, and be realistic about your chances. But even the students who don’t get the full ride usually receive a generous scholarship package. And if they don’t get the full ride they can still negotiate to get as much scholarship money as they can, perhaps “almost a full ride”. In that sense students who apply at MT colleges which offer full rides are no worse off than they would have been had they applied at all those other MT colleges where people get “almost full” rides. But at least they know going in that they had a real opportunity to compete for a bona fide full ride scholarship, not a full ride scholarship which may, or may not, </p>

<p>1) be renewable over four years
2) adjust its dollar values to keep up with price hikes
3) even be a true full ride</p>

<p>To that last point, many people confuse a full tuition scholarship with a full ride scholarship. A full tuition scholarship is also a wonderful thing, but room and board over four years adds up to a lot. Full tuition scholarships don’t cover that cost.</p>

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<p>I know you are focusing on a Full Ride (including room and board) but it might also be helpful to know of Full Tuition scholarships available. Oakland University in Rochester MI offers an automatic Presidential Scholarship which is full tuition to those who exceed published GPA/ACT thresholds. They have an auditioned based BFA program. Of the schools my D had on her list - this was the only school with an automatic full tuition scholarship, most others were partial scholarships based on similar thresholds. (and full disclosure, D cancelled her audition at OU and is attending BW where the maximum automatic scholarship was only partial tuition). </p>

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<p>In our experience, much of the scholarship money offered was offered outside of the MT department. In fact, I don’t think anywhere we applied offered a full ride to anyone solely for talent. If money was offered by the MT department, it sometimes put us in an either/or situation if also offered an academic scholarship through other channels at the school. Sometimes you could only accept one or the other and you had to compare how much each offer was worth, was it renewable, etc…<br>
The other thing we had to consider was whether scholarships were stackable. Some places allow you to stack academic, talent or other scholarships. Other schools will not. Make sure you understand what is allowed. Sometimes these offers come in different letters or emails from different departments within the same school. You cannot necessarily just add them up and assume you can keep them all. Read all the fine print and ask lots of questions.
If you do some hard work, there is lots of scholarship money available, especially if you have strong grades and test scores. But be aware there may be separate applications for many of these scholarships and separate deadlines. In fact some are probably coming up soon (I seem to remember November for some reason). Don’t miss out on potential money by being unaware there was a a separate application. Talk to the Financial Aid office at the schools you are considering and find out which,if any, scholarships your child could be considered for and find out what the steps are to make sure they are considered. They are happy to let you know. And they may be aware of scholarships your student may qualify for that the MT department has not thought about. So ask as many questions as possible and leave no stone unturned.
Good luck! It is daunting to search for just the right school and even more so to figure out how to pay for it! But you will figure it all out :)</p>

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<p>I was offered this explanation by a DI head coach that I know (not a football coach, but a coach at a major university), “I am given a pool of money each year to hand out in the form of student subsidies. I can give one student a full-ride or I can give 10 students a 1/10 ride. The university does not stipulate how I dole it out. I try to strategically spread it around so that I can put together the best team that I can. I may give a kid from way out of state who is a likely All-American almost a full ride to attract them, while in-state kids who are likely to end up backups may get a subsidy for books. Or, in other years, I may spread it around evenly. Each team and each department at the school operates the same way, you get a budget to award scholarships to students, and you dole it out as you see fit. The budgets vary from team to team (obviously the football and basketball teams get the most) and department to department.”</p>

<p>You won’t find transparency in a process like this, but full-rides occur under this sort of scheme. I have no idea how wide-spread it is. I do know a couple kids from D’s HS who have full-rides for theatre, and I am pretty sure that they received their scholarships (talent-based awards) under this sort of scheme.</p>

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<p>One more thought, although most of the MT schools listed above would not be considered elite MT schools, some are, Cincinnati for example, and some are certainly more than respectable (Indiana, Ball State, Belmont, Central Michigan, Texas, Alabama). And all of the schools listed are good MT schools. If you meet their criteria to receive a full ride scholarship and can receive a free MT education from one of them; they are certainly worthy of your consideration. </p>

<p>MT students should apply to a range of schools. They should apply to a few schools which are a dream (so-called reach schools), schools that are in their range (so-called fit schools), and schools that are below their profile (so-called safety schools). If students only apply to top tier schools, even if they are fortunate enough to get in, they may still find themselves on the outside looking in due to financial concerns. MT students should not put all their eggs in the top tier MT basket. If they do, they may find themselves disappointed by both their acceptances and their aid packages.</p>

<p>Some of the schools on the list above would be considered by some as safety schools. But as long as you are going to apply to some safety schools, why not apply to some that you could potentially go to for free? For example, Troy University (AL), Northern Kentucky University, Southeast Missouri State University, Youngstown State University (OH), and Western Illinois University all have fine MT programs and all have full ride scholarships*. None of these schools would be considered first, or even second tier MT schools, but they are all good MT schools, and in my humble opinion, to not even consider them is rash. </p>

<p>*In the strictest sense, some of these schools are not safety schools, as they are not non-audition schools. To some extent, the definition of a safety school is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s “safety school” can be another person’s “reach school”. I don’t mean to denigrate the fine audition schools I list above by referring them as safety schools. Acceptance is never a “sure thing” if one has to audition for entry. All I am saying is that there are some schools where a very talented student can be relatively assured of acceptance, at least in comparison to their “reach” and “fit” schools. </p>

<p>Two thoughts to keep in mind:</p>

<p>1) No financial deal at a safety school is worth it, if the MT education you receive is sub par. </p>

<p>However, I would suggest that none of these “safety schools” offer a sub par MT education. And although they may not have the industry contacts of some of the elite MT schools, they don’t have the debt either. And many of their graduates do go on to solid performance careers. So much depends on talent, drive, and luck, not the school. </p>

<p>2) No education at an elite MT school is worth it, if you graduate with crushing debt. </p>

<p>It is unfair to suggest that all students who graduate from elite MT colleges graduate with crushing debt, some do and some don’t. So much depends on the finances of the family and the financial largesse of the school. However, we tend to focus on the success stories of those who make it big from these programs, but we should also keep in mind those who did not achieve success and were left holding the financial bag, so to speak. </p>

<p>In the end, it is a balancing act between what you can reasonably pay for your MT education and what the MT school can do for your career. “Vote” with your head and with your heart, and good luck.</p>

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<p>To kategrizz, great suggestion, I intend to do a similar listing of full tuition scholarship MT schools at a later date. I agree with you that it would be quite helpful, and frankly, there are far many more full tuition scholarships out there than full rides and they are far more accessible than the full ride scholarships at MT schools. I ran across plenty of them as I was compiling my full ride list. </p>

13

<p>To both vvnstar and EmsDad, what wonderful insights!! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and experience so that we can all benefit from it. It is sincerely appreciated. </p>

<p>I know my list will only be useful to a select few, but if you are one of those select few who have the credentials for these full ride scholarships and want to avoid the complex financial aid world that you both refer to, these schools are definitely worth a look. </p>

<p>I have had kids go to college and navigating their financial aid was like going down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. If I could avoid all of that by receiving one of these full ride scholarships I would do it in a second. </p>

<p>Others may differ and that’s fine. I am debt averse and fairly practical. </p>

14

<p>Why are you restricting National Merit Scholars from your list? There are some smart actors out there! :slight_smile: OCU is on that offers four years full tuition for National Merit Finalists. </p>

15

<p>I believe it is OU, not OCU, that offers a full tuition to National Merit Scholars</p>

16

<p>As an add on question…I have heard of students losing their scholarships in subsequent years, what is the likelihood of getting additional merit scholarship after freshmen year? I know at my ds school three students have dropped from the program. Do they “redistribute” the wealth or is it rolled into the upcoming class? </p>

17

<p>To kkmom5</p>

<p>I am not restricting National Merit Scholars from the list above. All of the scholarships I list above are open to National Merit Scholars and they make excellent candidates for them. I am restricting scholarships which are only open to National Merit Scholars. </p>

<p>I agree with you that lots of actors are smart, and I don’t doubt that some are National Merit Scholars, I didn’t put National Merit full ride scholarships on my list because I didn’t want to have any full rides that restricted other high achieving students from applying to them. </p>

<p>There are full rides out there that are just for National Merit Scholars. For example, Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN has an audition BFA in musical theatre and each academic year up to ten students who were selected as National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation can receive a Lipscomb University scholarship covering tuition, room, board, and the general student fee only (no books). Confirmation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is required.</p>

<p>That’s great news, but if you are a student who has academic credentials similar to a National Merit Scholar, but isn’t a National Merit Scholar, you can’t get that scholarship. I wanted to list full rides that were open to any student who meets the school’s gpa and national testing criteria, not those scholarships that added the burden of recognition by another organization.</p>

<p>To Sguit40,</p>

<p>Although, it is certainly possible that a student could lose a full ride scholarship in future years, it is not very probable. The gpa that schools set for renewal for such full ride scholarships is imminently achievable by the students that win these awards. Furthermore, at many schools students can even appeal and give justification for why their gpa fell below the criteria for one semester and are often given the next semester to bring it back up. </p>

<p>Remember, I am only referring to full ride scholarships, there are all kinds of merit scholarships that a student could lose if they don’t meet the renewal criteria. </p>

<p>I do not know what schools do with the merit money when students “drop” the program. But remember, I am listing “advertised” full ride scholarships for academic merit. Few students who are given a full ride scholarship “drop” the college they are attending because most likely they will not receive such significant merit aid as a transfer student at another school. The best time to get merit money is upfront at the start of your academic career. That is where you are most valuable to the college because they have you for four years. Students sometimes find that they even lose money as they progress through their academic career. (Although colleges do try to honor any commitments they made at the start of the freshman year.) </p>

<p>When you say “drop” the program, you make me think you are referring to students in BFA programs who have dropped the BFA program and who were given some merit scholarship money. I don’t know what the colleges do with that money, but I assume that it does go back in the pot for redistribution. And I would guess that most of the money goes to the incoming class to recruit more students. Also keep in mind that there is a difference between talent scholarships and merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Others may have different opinions on these matters. </p>

<p>By the way, The University of Oklahoma offers a $120,00 scholarship (4 years) for non-resident National Merit Scholars. They state “This scholarship does not cover the full cost of attendance.” but it sure comes close. I would consider it very close to a full ride scholarship, although it is not as “set in stone” as full rides found at other institutions. </p>

<p>Oklahoma City University offers a full tuition scholarship to National Merit Finalists, not a full ride. </p>

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<p>My apologies i meant talent…Our kids have worked so hard in their respective disciplines I guess I think it’s merited. I’m actually referring to bm programs. One of the stude ts that dropped was a full ride talent scholarship. She was from China and became very homesick and was not ready for international study. The other two dropped in the first week and I don’t know their award.<br>
I know when I attended college I gained additional scholarships for deans list and other activities at my college in my sophomore year, but none were talented based. My d has a very nice talent scholarship but she could always use more. Plus her roommate who is an mt bfa student could use more as well. At their school Hartt, they will not get additional merit (academic) $ because the university does not stack academic and talent awards. It somewhat makes sense, the music school is so separate from the University (d will take approximately 8 university classes.)</p>

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<p>@sunsetweekend‌ - I realize this is your list and you can give it any criteria you wish, but I think it’s unfortunate you left off schools that do not cover out-of-state tuition. You are correct that for some, like IU, the OOS differential is horrendous, but for others the OOS difference is manageable (Wright State differential is approx $8000). Some schools (Eastern Mich? Others?) give IS tuition to students from a varying contingency of other states. And for some students, achieving National Merit is “easier” than meeting other merit based rubrics, or competing in competive scholarship - especially when our “Arts” kids are competing with those " Math/Science" kids who often have higher class standings due to weighted nature of AP classes they tend to take (more so than some kids in PerfArts, where “honors” vocal ensemble may not get weighted grade). For schools like WSU that are trying to recruit a “higher” calibre of student, the full scholarship opportunities for being a “mere” Commended National Merit or an “underrepresented” student with high achievement - as well as those “regular” high achievers - are terrific.</p>

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<p>To mom4bwayboy,</p>

<p>Thanks for your input. I totally understand your point. There are great full rides that don’t cover out of state tuition. I just didn’t want to confuse the issue, so to speak. I wanted people to know that, if they were fortunate enough to receive one of the scholarships found on the list, they wouldn’t have to worry about anything except for books and sundry living expenses. </p>

<p>You, and others, are welcome to provide input on schools like Wright State that give a great full ride but don’t cover out of state tuition. For example, Western Kentucky University is another school provides a great full ride but does not cover out of state tuition, except for some counties from neighboring states, I believe.</p>

<p>Your comments about National Merit and weighted AP courses are also good points. </p>