This is a thread for people accepted to OCU’s MT program, class of 2022.
d was accepted but still waiting to audition for MT.
Any insight?
Was accepted but still waiting to audition for
The MT program.
Would anyone who auditioned at OCU for VP and/or MT programs post your experiences here? Also, has anyone received talent scholarship to OCU? If so, was the amount significant? My daughter has an outstanding academic record and is getting quite a bit of merit scholarships at other schools, but OCU doesn’t give students who are pursuing performance based degrees much in the way of academic scholarship. We are really hoping they will be generous in their talent scholarships, but I have heard from some that only male students receive the big bucks. Any insight from people with experience would be great!
I am wondering the same thing @MusTeachMom. My D received a BFA Acting admission but do not know any details yet about the talent scholarship.
OCU gives up to $8000/year in academic money based on your grades and test scores. It is the same for all OCU students whether they are pursuing a performance degree or not. The amount you should receive can be found here:
https://www.okcu.edu/financialaid/types-of-assistance/scholarships/freshmen
They also allow you to stack scholarships so you should be able to add your talent money to your academic money. Additionally, if you qualify for other scholarships in addition to academic and talent monies you can stack them as well. Some schools did not allow us to stack scholarships only letting us take the higher of two scholarships for which we qualified. So it is nice you can stack $ at OCU.
I would also ask them about things like OCULeads, Clara Luper and other scholarships to see if there is anything else for which your D might be considered.
If you are a National Merit Scholar you qualify for a full tuition scholarship. There is also another national scholastic distinction that also receives a full tuition scholarship although it was not with which I was familiar so I don’t recall the name. and of course there are many other partial scholarships that you could qualify for. So definitely explore what options there are with the admissions/financial aid people.
One other thing I think they are doing - although please double check my facts - is that they guarantee your tuition for 4 years. So whatever your tuition is freshman year should be tuition your senior year. That is nice not to have to worry about tuition increases.
I can also say our D moved off campus her senior year to a house nearby and it was a significant savings on room and board. That is probably true at most of the schools so something to think about when budgeting.
Talent scholarships can vary in amount from student to student so don’t assume if you hear what one person has been offered that your scholarship will be the same. .
@vvnstar Thank you for chiming in. I know about the academic merit chart. My daughter has already received academic merit scholarship, but it doesn’t come close to covering the tuition. She is not a national merit finalist. I was just disappointed that she would not also receive the guaranteed additional $10,000 that all other majors are awarded from their departments. My daughter has also applied for OCULeads, but we have not heard about that yet. I was just wondering if students, especially female students, could share their experiences regarding talent scholarships they have received. I understand that it can vary widely. Did your daughter receive a talent scholarship, for example, and if she did, would you mind sharing what amount they awarded?
I think the guaranteed departmental awards you mention are only for certain schools within the university and they range from $4000 - $11,000 I believe based on grades and test scores. For the performance majors, they receive a talent award instead of the departmental award based on their audition rather than on their grades and test scores. You can combine it with your academic award however that is based on your grades and test scores. The talent awards do have a range also although I have no idea what the minimum and maximum awards are. Although I don’t want to discuss our numbers specifically, we were pleased with the total scholarship dollars awarded to our D which made OCU affordable for us and yes, she did receive a talent scholarship as part of her total scholarship dollars. I do not think boys necessarily get more talent money than girls. But like with all schools, I would wait until you receive the complete financial award information before making any determinations. If you aren’t satisfied with what is awarded, I would call the school to discuss if there are any other options available. It’s always worth an ask.
@vvnstar Thank you for your feedback. I am glad that it all worked out for you and that your daughter is happy at OCU. We will cross our fingers and hope for the best!
Actually she was class of 2017 so she is no longer there. But it was a great place for her to go to school. If you have any questions, I will do my best to try to answer them. Wishing you all the best!
My daughter is a freshman BFA Acting major at OCU and LOVES it! She got both talent and academic scholarships. Plus, she is on the competition dance team so she gets an additional scholarship for that. Her combined scholarships makes her costs be about the same as it would be if she went to our state university - so we are very happy with how it all turned out financially AND she is extremely happy there.
Hi we are waiting on OCU update. We get an email, post card, or letter almost everyday about acceptance to the university, see your financial scholarship offer and so much more that I’m so stressed that they will still send a rejection any day now. Any advise? Accepted to university end of Jan audition was 2/2.
Their last on campus audition date is March 3. I would imagine at the earliest it would be one week after that date.
@M2twins We should hear about admission and scholarship no later than March 1st. That is what they told us when we were there for the February 3rd audition. Unfortunately, as you noted, the materials you are receiving are strictly from the university itself, not the music/theatre department, so none of that is relevant to whether or not you are accepted to the program you have applied for. I know it is a tough waiting game for all of us, but the answers we are looking for are almost here! 
Anyone know someone auditioning tomorrow or Saturday that will be traveling through or from the Dallas area? My daughter left her coat at an earlier audition in February. I tried to pick it up last weekend but they didn’t have someone or a place to leave it over the weekend. I can pm the details if anyone can pick it up.
Would everyone please post when they receive acceptance notification for the VP and/or MT Program at OCU from the February 2nd and 3rd auditions? Dr. Herendeen assured us we would receive word of acceptance and scholarship package within four weeks of our audition so I was expecting/hoping to hear something today or tomorrow at the latest. Hoping for some good news for everyone! <:-P
We auditioned that weekend too and have heard nothing. My guess is tomorrow. It does come via email, or so I have been told.
@loribelle The website confirms that they will notify via email so we will hope for tomorrow! Good luck to you!
anyone hear yet?
@txmtmom2022 No! I am so frustrated because they clearly stated to all of us at the audition that we would hear within four weeks of the audition date, and the website confirms that information. If anyone finds out when they will notify, please let us know!