<p>Within the last couple days my daughter has received e-mails from two of the violin teachers for whom she auditioned. The congratulated on her excellent audition and wanted to know if she was still interested in attending their music school. One asked if she had solidified her decision. The other said he needed to see what he can do to get her some scholarship money but he needs to know how likely she will be to attend his school. He was hoping she would attend and would do all he could to make it happen. </p>
<p>So, does she say she's still interested even though the schools aren't at the top of her list? She's been accepted to all the schools she auditioned for and has her favorites. Of course these schools haven't told her about music scholarships yet, although she's received academic scholarships. </p>
<p>Is there a strategy for getting scholarships?</p>
<p>Son has received a couple of those emails so far. We felt he should reply truthfully but politely. (We joke about the “afterglow” everytime we leave a school since he is certain that is the one.). However, he replied with a list of the things he liked about the school, and if it was at or near the top of the list he included that as well. We also attached an updated resume.</p>
<p>One was stated very clearly that she was the professor’s top choice and he strongly hopes she will choose his school. To this she answered that she was thrilled to hear she was so welcome there, but that she could not yet give a final answer because the financial component of the process weighs heavily. She did tell him that his school is one of her top choices and that they have everything she is looking for.</p>
<p>Another email she received seemed more directed at trying to figure out if she was still interested as the prof has other talented students who have been wait-listed. I sympathize with his situation in that he probably has emails coming daily from hopeful students, but it was obvious he thought she should have already decided on his school, before ever getting her awards notification. She also reassured this professor that she was still highly interested but needed to see the financial picture first, before committing.</p>
<p>The latest email came from a professor sharing his excitement at the scholarship package she is going to be sent at the end of this week. He couldn’t tell her any numbers, only that he was pleased for her. This school is probably her top choice, so she is delighted and very excited to see what will come in the mail. If its a really nice package, I think she may be inclined to jump at the opportunity, rather than waiting it out to receive all of the other financial packages from the other schools she auditioned at.</p>
<p>Have any of you had this similar situation? Did you council your child to wait it out for remaining “offers”? (which is what I’m leaning toward, hard as it may be) Or did you go with the enthusiasm of the nice offer and send that deposit in straightaway?</p>
<p>If the school was in the running our answer was, “thank you I’m very flattered and very interested but my families financial situation is such that we have to evaluate offers from everyone before we decide”. Truth is they really can’t expect much more.</p>
<p>Grizzy…my daughter is in the same boat and she still has two more auditions to go. She was told her package which makes it even more of a winner. Very hard in one way, but a very nice position to be in. My daughter has decided to finish her auditions first, see the schools and take lessons with the planned teachers just because it’s the right thing to do for her peace of mind before making her final decision. Congrats and best wishes for a fabulous package which would make it a clear decision :)</p>
<p>Suzukimomto2
The way we are looking at it is this. Even though school A may be the top choice, if school B were to offer a “full ride” or a really spectacular package, could that make her decide to go there? If it would at least make your daughter consider the school over top choices thay may offer less, I’d say it’s still in the running and she could honestly tell the professor that yes, she is still considering the school but that the financial picture may influence the decision.</p>
<p>ABlestMom,
Thank you for the wishes. Yes, clarity is what I’ve been praying for because in many ways her top three choices all parallel one another. I do think it best to wait until everything is on the table, for the most informed choice, but with mail coming from all the schools suggesting she send in housing contracts right away, she’s getting a little antsy. This waiting is just the worst! Best of luck to your daughter in her final auditions. It was such a relief for my Daughter to finish her last one on Saturday.</p>
<p>Grizzy, my son has been getting emails every two or three days from his last choice school, who is also the only school which has so far offered him a scholarship. He did reply back to the email that outlined his scholarship package just saying “thank you so much, it’s more than what I expected.” They actually provided several different scholarships plus stipends for playing in 4 different ensembles.</p>
<p>Another college sent him an email telling him that he was “recommended” for a scholarship and that he should soon be getting a letter with the details then they sent a handwritten note thanking him for auditioning with them. This particular college also told him that if he is pressured by any other schools to make a committment to them that he should ask for an extention on his decision until May 1st (they said that the May 1st extention is one of the rules of the music school association).</p>
<p>The other two have both sent acceptance letters but with no mention of scholarship (yet).</p>
<p>At least he feels really “wanted” by two of the colleges.</p>
<p>Housing deposits are worth researching. In some schools, the housing deposit can be made independently of the acceptance and is refundable before a given date. If your child has been accepted by a school with that policy in a location where housing is tight, it might be a good idea to start hedging your bets by sending them a deposit check even if you are not yet sure they will go there.</p>