Which schools have reps for giving significant talent-based aid? Particularly interested in BFA programs - standout programs anywhere, and including lesser known schools with proximity to NY.
And conversely, which schools (like NYU, from what I hear) have reps for being particularly unlikely to give it?
@arkham The Theatre School at DePaul - everyone who gets accepted (for Acting the entering class is about 30 kids) is offered $15K-$30K per year for all 4 years talent scholarship. They truly do care about their artists. Largely because of that D will graduate debt-free. Chicago has an amazing, deep theatre/comedy arts/cinema community. Good luck!
Hartt gives talent scholarships.
Off the top of my head(and I am sure there are many more):
MMC
Texas State: All receive in State Tuition- huge savings
Otterbein
University of Arizona
While it’s only a small talk to of the tuition, NYU did provide my daughter a ~$15K talent scholarship
How do you apply for these talent scholarships? I don’t see anything about it on the University of Arizona website…do you need to apply to the school first, then contact the Theater/Drama department?
Mine also. She received what is called a “Tisch Scholarship.” It’s a drop in the bucket, but she’s going there and has thrived.
@CaliMom, at Hartt you don’t apply for it - they just offer it to you based on your audition, and it comes with your acceptance letter.
@CaliMom222 As Actorparent1 stated, talent scholarships are usually offered based on the student’s audition after they are accepted to a program.
@CaliMom222 For DePaul you don’t apply separately, you’re notified of the amount as part of the admission notification.
Ok…my son has not applied to any Theater programs at all, but his Drama teacher is telling him he could possibly audition at the University of Arizona. He hasn’t even applied to that school…what is the process? Apply to the university first, then contact the Theater department about auditioning? Are these scholarships super competitive? He has not been in any rigorous Drama/Theater classes throughout high school since he has been at a small private school, just basic, fun Drama classes. And he has zero experience auditioning…He does have some natural talent (like most Drama kids!) but I’m guessing this is a real long shot, and I’m not sure why she is telling him to do this. (But don’t worry, he’s already been accepted to another state school that we can afford, so he does have an excellent backup plan!)
Am I right to think that this is not a very realistic scenario? Or should he apply to the U of A and audition? (He could really only afford to go there if they gave him some scholarship money.)
I know that U of A does give merit scholarships. And they have a list of the theatre scholarships that they give. Look under scholarships in the College of Fine Arts.
@CaliMom222 ALL BFA auditioned programs are extremely competitive. For U of A he would first need to apply to the school, then set up the audition. All the information on how to do both is under the BFA Acting /Musical Theatre section on their website.
Ok thanks everyone!
@CaliMom222 If my memory serves me correct with U of AZ. You apply to both the school and the school of …“Acting, film, and television” … I can remember the exact name. There is a different application on that site and that gets filled out and you can schedule your audition from there as well. U of AZ also is at LA Unifieds and does walk-ins. It is a very small, selective BFA program. They know what they are looking for. S’s friend did a walk-in. He was accepted into the program and recieved in state tuition in his offer. They went as far as helping the student get through the application process as they wanted him that bad. Great program!
Thanks! We are actually residents of Arizona (though you wouldn’t know it from my username!). It sounds like my son could apply to the BFA program at the U of A and audition. He already has been accepted at another state school that we can afford (NAU), so he’s ok either way.
Otterbein gives an artistic award. It made the program very affordable and with their tuition transparency - we know it will only go up by $600 each year
For those parents who want to be realistic about money- one of the biggest regrets we had was not paying attention to costs and allowing our DS to audition everywhere he passed pre screens. The reality is harsh and allowing a child to take on enormous debt ( or taking it on yourself) is daunting. Had we looked at finances FIRST - we never would have allowed certain schools to be “ in consideration”. In the end, for us, the five most cost effective programs were Otterbein, Coastal Carolina, Missouri State, Xavier (BA) , and University of Alabama Birmingham. We have friends who also chose Western Carolina and Florida Southern because the finances were right Had he been artistically accepted - Webster was also a great deal based on the financial aid package they sent him for his academic acceptance