new, many questions

<p>Hello, I am new to the forum and have many questions. Am somewhat intimidated and shocked by "8th grade SAT" and all the talk of "Ivys"....I'm not there! My daughter wants to attend MICA..an art school in MD where we live. Tuition is 30,000. She is taking art classes there over the summer to build her portfolio and has been in art all through high school. We just got her SAT scores back and she got a 1780 with a 630 in Reading, which I believe is all MICA looks at. Her GPA is 3.75.
I have many questions about financial aid..I am a single mom but I guess I make too much to qualify for need-based loans (although not enough to live on...go figure)..I am hoping she will get some scholarships but am really stressing over it. She really wants to go to MICA. Does anyone know if there are other art schools out there with a more affordable tuition? Any financial aid advice? Thanks.</p>

<p>Try the CC Visual Arts & Film forum: [Visual</a> Arts and Film Majors - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/]Visual”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/)</p>

<p>My dd just graduated from an arts college where tuition is similar to MICA. Have you spoken with the financial aid office of the college to ask for suggestions? Have you filed FAFSA? Some parents think that they will not qualify for any aid if they file FAFSA but then have offers of aid. Have you asked your bank if they offer student loans? We used all of these methods to piece together tuition for those four years. Our daughter had to take some loans of her own, and we took parent loans, along with grants, scholarships and school-based aid. The financial aid office of her school was invaluable in helping us with this.</p>

<p>Know your EFC.
Know the financial aid polices of schools you are interested in.
Build the college list from the bottom up - have two safeties you like; Safeties need to be safe for admissions and safe for affordability.
Consider schools where you are eligible for in-state tuition ([University</a> of Maryland Department of Art](<a href=“http://www.art.umd.edu/ugrad.html]University”>http://www.art.umd.edu/ugrad.html)) and schools where you may be eligible for merit aid.</p>

<p>I don’t know MICA or arts schools. But will reiterate what is repeated over and over here, “love thy financial safety”. Make sure your D finds a school that you can afford to send her to without breaking the bank and she will love attending. It takes a lot of work and starts with calculating your EFC. Once you have your EFC and you start looking at colleges find out if they meet need with or without loans. If your fin. aid package is filled with loans you need to know that.</p>

<p>Welcome and good luck.</p>

<p>The other forum that you want to watch is the Financial Aid and Scholarships group. Especially watch for parents who post often and know what they are talking about. Become educated about loans vs. aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. An art school grad isn’t going to walk into a job with a large salary, and an 18 year old might not understand the reality of huge loans.</p>

<p>What is her grade?</p>

<p>UMBC offers an Linehan art scholarship (dancers and musicians can also apply). A friend’s daughter won it several years ago. She had also applied to the Art Institute of Charleston.</p>

<p>Which county are you in? If MICA isn’t affordable, could she commute to the Montgomery College Design program at the Takoma Park campus?</p>

<p>Art school admission is a completely different ball game than admission to a typical liberal arts college or to a math/science/engineering program. Your best help here will be found in the Art majors sub-forum, and your best help at you daughter’s high school will be found in the Art department. It is entirely possible that she can skip the standardized testing altogether.</p>