Merit Aid

<p>Ok, I just read through "Debt sentence" and was sufficiently frightened. Are there schools that are known for their mo generous aid packages? I remember BOCO as decidedly not giving a lot of aid, but I am not up on schools that do. Any help would be appreciated! I have 9 kids to get through college! </p>

<p>Some definitely are more than others. Which schools is your MT kid looking at? It may be easier to narrow it down that way…I hope for your sake all 9 don’t decide to go the MT audition route LOL</p>

<p>With nine kids, you have more reasons that most for no college debt. I would look at in-state options. There is merit money out there at private schools, usually based on academics, but full-rides are rare. My kids (one MT and one VP) both got 1/2 tuition merit scholarships at private schools, but it was still expensive. We only had one year when they were both in school at the same time and each had to take out small loans ($5000). But there is no way that we could have funded nine kids! My best wishes to you that your kids can find affordable options. </p>

<p>Btw: I grew up with a family that had 18 kids. All of them got college educations. The boys all had basketball scholarships and as one graduated and got a job, he/she turned around and started helping the younger ones pay for their educations. But of course, that was the 80’s and tuition at a state school was under $5000 a year. But, it can be done!!</p>

<p>I’m a big advocate of National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist standing. I know this only affects a SMALL percentage of kids, but even with semifinalist - and possibly commended - status there are state schools that give full rides and near full rides. If you’re a good enough student to be looking for other kinds of merit aid, then perhaps National Merit is an option for you/your student. We got private tutoring over summer after sophomore year and my S will be attending Wright State for FREE - in-state tuition, room/board, books, fees - b/c of this. I know many kids - and their parents - look down their noses at state schools, but my S will be able to graduate totally debt free and hopefully be able to save money and/or get low-paying/high experience jobs while a student. Wright State has a very good BFA MT program and I know there are schools in other states that have BFAs, but then what’s wrong with a BA if you can “afford” to add additional experience? Not all state schools are on the National Merit bandwagon. UMich offers nothing and IU only offers $1000 per year. What good is an expensive “top-tier” education, if you can’t afford to live your dream when you graduate? Or if your parents leverage their house/retirement to make your dream come true. The reality is that this is a VERY tough career path. Now might be the time to start making some tough decisions, and searching for “life-lines” beyond singing, dancing and acting to help you snare your/your child’s star.</p>

<p>University of Cincinnati (CCM) also has terrific merit scholarships.</p>

<p>@mom4bwayboy I’m with you all the way on this one. Our D was accepted by Oklahoma City U, and they generously offered her $2,000 off of their reasonable costs of $49,000 a year. Thanks, but no thanks. She did receive a couple of better offers from other schools, but affordability was still going to be an issue.</p>

<p>By far her best BFA MT offer came from Nebraska Wesleyan U. It also happens to have been her favorite audition and her favorite program. Between plays, musicals, and cabarets they do close to 40 performances a year, and students hit the ground running during their freshman year. The directors and faculty are incredibly open and welcoming, and they are very well connected in the industry. They have graduates actively working in film, TV, and theatre. </p>

<p>Our D should be able to graduate with zero debt and money left over as a nest egg as she starts her career. In my humble opinion that beats a degree from a top twenty program that comes with a huge student loan debt.</p>

<p>Maybe we should start a thread to introduce “affordable” schools with lesser-known but excellent programs…</p>

<p>Hmmm @cheeseheadmike. I knew your “like-minded head” was lurking out there somewhere. I’m game if you are. . .</p>

<p>Anyone know anything about the MT BFA at University of Oklahoma? They bill themselves as a “top MT program in a publicly funded string”. That’s another school that is VERY aggressive in regards to National Merit scholars. </p>

<p>Oklahoma has a very well respected program and is very competitive for admission. The level of training is regarded as excellent by the pros that I know. They are one of the few MT programs nationwide that have their own school within the university, the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre. Oklahoma has solid fine arts in many areas.</p>

<p>Actually, OCU gives quite a bit of merit aid, and it is stated on their website. These are automatic and not competitive. <a href=“http://www.okcu.edu/admissions/freshmen/scholarships/”>http://www.okcu.edu/admissions/freshmen/scholarships/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Maybe @cheeseheadmike should have called and inquired about this. In addition, almost every student has talent scholarships stacked on top of the merit scholarships.</p>

<p>I also don’t see where the $49,000 figure is coming from. OCU tuition for the upcoming year is just over $26,000, the girls freshman dorm is under $4000 for the entire year, and the most expensive meal plan they offer is around $4500/year. Without books, fees and personal expenses (and personal expenses are totally under each student’s control), that comes to $34,500. OCU also offers an option to lock in the tuition rate for the entire 4 years, so there is no worry about tuition increases.</p>

<p>I think that figure came from @cheeseheadmike‌ 'a daughter’s FA letter?<br>
Our D is at OCU and receives talent, academic and " other" awards which are all stackable and all for 4 years - making it extremely reasonable… And tuition is locked in for 4 years which is also nice. I have heard more $ is available earlier in the process since they have rolling admissions but I’m not sure if that is true. Our D didn’t audition until February and still received a nice FA package. But for each circumstance I’m sure it will vary. OCU can be very affordable.
For any school, once you’ve received that FA letter, make sure you explore all options and ask if more $ is available. Often they were able to come up with some additional $ when we asked. So don’t be afraid to ask. The worst they could say is no. :)</p>

<p>OCU has a net calculator for musical theatre. It calculates the total cost for 2014-15 at $46,560 and this includes all fees for the university as well as fees for music. It also factors in $2000 for computer, $1700 for travel, $1200 for books, $1000 for misc, and $600 more than the cost of living in the freshman dorm with the most expensive meal plan (which is basically 3 meals a day, 7 days a week). That is a lot more than most schools factor in when giving there estimated costs, and even with all of that factored in, it is a few thousand less than the $49,000 they quoted him. </p>

<p>More aid is available early, but not with the guaranteed merit scholarships. If you have the GPA and ACT, you get the scholarship. If I had been quoted those numbers, I would have questioned that since it is clearly not what it says on their says on their website. I also would have questioned the small scholarship since the website clearly shows much larger merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Yes @weski2‌ - I was referring to talent money when I said more may be available early in the process at OCU. The academic merit $ you qualify for is clearly stated on their website.
And I agree that they overestimate mos</p>

<p>Otterbein (which has a reasonable base cost) does allow students to “stack” their aid; they have a generous and transparent academic merit aid system as well as talent awards. Not every school allows you to combine academic and talent awards, so be sure to read the fine print!</p>

<p>Couldn’t agree with Times more, combining awards was key for us to be able to afford it and not all school allow that.</p>

<p>Let me back up a bit…D’s FA letter from OCU listed total costs of $49,000 a year, and they offered a $2,000 award off of that. Her offer was for a BFA in Acting, not MT, so maybe that’s where the difference lies.</p>

<p>Merit scholarships at OCU do not distinguish between majors, even business, nursing, etc., qualify for them. She should have gotten one of those. National Merit Scholars get very large scholarships at OCU.</p>

<p>According to both websites, tuition, room and board are virtually the same at both OCU and Nebraska Wesleyan so the cost of attendance will probably be almost the same for parents to use for comparison since they really won’t know about scholarships until after auditioning. The total costs provided by the schools may be different, but parents should look at those to see what the schools are including in those before comparing.</p>

<p>I recently compared total cost of Steinhardt to OCU and found that OCU included $3700 just for computer and travel. Steinhardt included nothing for these. How can this be a fair comparison? Also, why would I want to include $2000 in my budget each year for a computer for my child? My kid already has a MacBook (that did NOT cost $2000 and it hopefully will last a few more years).</p>

<p>@cheeseheadmike‌, I’m very glad your daughter found her perfect fit and the great scholarships to go with it. But for others that might read this in the future, OCU is not as expensive as it may seem from reading some of these posts. There are guaranteed scholarships for academics posted very clearly on their website, and they also stack on talent scholarships. And the tuition, room and board is very much in line with many other private schools like Baldwin Wallace and even Nebraska Wesleyan.</p>

<p>Oops - the rest of my reply went missing. I was agreeing with you that their estimates for expenses are very generous at OCU.<br>
Another thought: There may be a difference in talent awards for different majors. For example, some at OCU double major in MT and vocal performance? Does that entitle them to talent awards for each? And the MT program is in the School of Music while the BFA Acting program is in the School of Theatre? Are the levels of talent $ different between those two? I don’t know. I do know while the amount of academic $ you qualify for is very clear, the size of the talent award varies from student to student .<br>
And this is not just for OCU. Just one example since it had been singled out.
And to that point, although OCU was not the right choice for your daughter @cheeseheadmike‌ , I think OCU is worth every penny. It is consistently ranked by US News and World Report as a top tier regional university; it’s average gpa for incoming freshman is 3.5 and avg ACT is 25; it consistently produces performers working regionally, nationally and internationally; it’s opera program is a national award winner; it’s sports teams have won many NAIA national championships ; not only can you participate in MT, VP and acting but you can also get a degree in theatre for young people; the dance school consistently is ranked in the top 10 in the nation and that is where MTs get their dance training also: I could go on and on. Just feel like it’s been getting a bad rap on these posts so wanted to hove a different perspective.</p>

<p>I posted in a different thread you may want to check on state schools. We were very interested in schools with very strong reputations, that also had academic awards and talent awards. We also wanted bigger schools (often state schools) for the “total college” experience, so we narrowed the list further. Our final list of contenders for aggressive packages, great programs and the big college experience was Florida State, Texas State, Oklahoma U and Penn State. </p>

<p>I too have become a big fan of state schools, now that I see what a bargain they are. IMHO, going into ANY debt for this degree is crazy. In MANY instances (maybe all, but I haven’t seen every school) the difference between a program in a state school and one in a private school is that in the state schools, the tax-payers help pay the tuition!! Of course if your child is an academic star or truly the most talented person on the planet, and there s a private school that catches your fancy, go for it. They may just cough up enough FA!! But if there is a good program in your state, absolutely consider it. </p>

<p>In MY humble opinion, every family has the right to decide the best fit for themselves and their child- without being called crazy for their choice. “We” (it was D’s offer, but the decision was made as a family) turned down a full ride to a BA program- and D will be attending one of the most expensive schools in the country (albeit with aide, but still pricey). I don’t feel crazy. I feel greatful that D was accepted to one of her dream programs and that husband and I are commited to giving her the opportunity to pursue her dream.</p>