D rec’d talent merit aid (no financial need) from NYU Steinhardt @ $11K per year. Basically that brought the price to a range that was close to what a state university would have cost as a non-resident (in 2008). She also won a lot of local scholarships that were non-need based.
D also received over $22K per year from American University. She auditioned for a music scholarship and received some money from that, in addition to money for academics and leadership (all non-need based.)
Muhlenberg gave her $19.5K per year in talent/ academic and leadership $. She also received $15K per year from GW from a presidential talent scholarship in voice.
@KaMaMom whom in my opinion belongs in the always entertaining yet brutally honest CC hall of fame, really hits the nail on the head about what is behind door #2 in her post #36. The smart money is to look for those doors. There is way more of it to be had there than anywhere if you are not FAFSA friendly. And some of the schools that will show you the love if you go that route will be this forum’s darlings before you know it. Don’t be afraid to trailblaze and after you do, share it with this grateful audience.
One sort of “plus” is that many really well respected MT programs are located within universities that are not what are considered “very selective” (general admissions, not the BFA program itself) and thus qualifying for academic merit aid is not as hard because if a school is an academic “safety” for you, then the chances of receiving merit aid are good if they offer it.
Bingo! in regards to @KaMaMom and @soozievt’s comments when it comes to Wright State. Easy Peasy academically and very generous to those who are “above average”. Helps to be “strong” and “good looking” for the MT aspect.
@mom4bwayboy does “helps to be strong and good looking for the MT aspect” apply to guys or girls ?? Lol
I believe the girls must be strong and the guys good looking. 
This is an interesting article concerning college choice. http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/06/new-poll-prestigious-colleges-wont-make-you-happier-in-life-or-work/
I absolutely love the wonderful dialogue and the good tips about paying for college and choosing a college that this post has sparked. This is one of the greatest strengths of the CC forum.
Several posters have pointed out (many from their personal experience) that the cost of a private college MT education can be the same as, or even less than, a public university MT education. I don’t wish to argue that point. I agree with it. Each person’s situation is different.
However, on average, most people will find that a public university education is cheaper than a private university education, but certainly, not all people.
I have had three children go to college, two of which went to BFA in MT programs. One child went to a BFA in MT program at private school, and one went to a BFA in MT program at a public school. The child who went to the public school did much better financially than the one who went to the private school. (By the way, I am very happy with the overall education and the MT education that both children received at their respective schools.)
But, I must point out that my experience is just another story. It doesn’t prove anything.
I have some background in statistics, and statisticians are fond of this saying,
“The plural of anecdote is not data.”
In other words, we can all pick and choose our stories, and stack up the ones that we like which “prove” our point, but real data cuts through all the stories and gets to quantifiable fact. And any reliable statistics will reveal that on average, people who graduate from public universities have less debt than people who graduate from private universities.
Once again, I have no issue with private schools. They are wonderful. I am a fan of them. I am a graduate of a private school. It was worth every penny. There are non-quantitative reasons why a person would choose a more expensive private school over a cheaper public school. I get it.
Albert Einstein is reported to have said,
“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”
So, with all that being said, and with apologies for any errors of placement (i.e., Texas State ) in my original list, and for the use of the word “elite”, I would encourage anyone to give suggestions for schools which you believe meet the criteria which I gave in the original post.
So far, there have been only four suggestions made to the original list that fit the criteria (see below).
University of Central Missouri (BFA)
University of Washington (BA)
University of Texas at Arlington (BFA)
University of Utah (BFA)
And for all the “newbies” out there, please don’t restrict your search for an MT school to this list, or to any other list for that matter, which you may find out there.
@sunsetweekend - however, statistically speaking, based on average non-need based merit aid, there are many private schools which are less than OOS tuition + merit aid at public schools, as noted in Post #11 and denoted in this past thread:
These numbers are not anecdotal.
Now, I suppose an argument could be made about public schools with MT programs being generally less expensive than private schools with MT programs for those who will not qualify for merit aid. However, that is putting a lot of stipulations on the argument - and I have previously posted stats showing that at a large regional audition, MT actors as a group exhibit statistically high grade levels and will therefore tend to qualify for merit aid:
From this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18116961#Comment_18116961
Since that post, I have accumulated more data, similar results.
A focus on public schools as a cheaper alternative is therefore somewhat questionable, in my mind.
Public schools tend to only be cheaper when it’s your in state school. The public schools that D applied to would require OOS tuition which made them as much or more than her private school options. There are a few schools like Utah, Montclair and Texas State that are finding creative ways for MTs to get in-state tuition. But in general, if you go out of state, the actual costs for out of state tuition will be comparable to private school tuition. I agree with @emsDad that I would encourage students to explore both options thoroughly and not presume which one is cheaper. There are all sorts of things schools can do to minimize your final costs. (Work/study, scholarships, common market, establishing in-state residency after being in school a prescribed length of time, etc…). Make sure you understand all costs for each program before scratching great programs from your list. Don’t assume anything.
@sunsetweekend- isn’t the experience with your own two kids in BFAs an anecdote? Couldn’t it have worked out differently for a different two kids?
@sunsetweekend - I hope it doesnt sound like we’re picking on you. 't think I understand where the heart of your thread is coming from. I agree with you that students should try to graduate with as little debt as is possible - but sometimes cheaper is not always better. And sometimes its hard to figure out what the actual costs for each school will actually be. I just don’t want newbies to assume that all public schools are cheaper than all private schools. We did not find that to be the case at all.
@sunsetweekend , you can forget adding U of Washington to the list. Very expensive for out of state. Very academically selective (out of state and in) and the MT program is only 1 year old and hasn’t quite figured out what it is so your last criterion doesn’t work either.
Thank you to everyone who replied. Very kind of you all to help me understand this better!!!
Great point Soozievt, speaks to KaMamoms point above, too.
I must say I’m surprised that so many people are ragging on the OP…so there might be some error in some figures…anyone who reads this forum would be dumb to not do there own research after reading things on here…anything you read online from anonymous posters requires further checking…I am sure she/he has good intentions…I agree that massive amounts of college debt is bad and stick to that and if the OP is just trying to let people know there are some other options then that is ok folks…Lordy!
@theaterwork wrote:
I think it is a discussion about the topic and not criticism of the poster herself. People are pointing out various viewpoints and in many cases, very good information and facts, to offer a balanced view. Discussing points or disagreeing with them, is not the same as attacking the poster.
@vvnstar wrote:
This point bares repeating!
Example…my kid applied to University of Michigan and to Penn State, both public state universities. She is from Vermont. These schools were no bargain!
@soozievt’s point is valid and also depends, to a very large extent, on where you live. NH, for example, hardly subsidizes higher education at all, so the “cheap” in-state option is not much cheaper than a mid-priced private.
I should add that NYU (private) offered my D TEN TIMES more in scholarships/grants than Penn State (public) did.
(My niece attended Penn State from out of state and it wasn’t a cheap option by any means)
I also recall in a meeting about Financial Aid at University of Michigan’s Music School (where the BFA in MT is located) that they said they had very little to give in terms of scholarship money to out of state students.