Montclair does give qualified students merit money in addition to offering instate tuition to all BFA students. My son was given several thousand in a merit scholarship, though he does have to maintain a 3.2 GPA to continue getting that scholarship for subsequent years.
In addition, I believe that upperclassmen have additional scholarships that they can apply for as well.
@16bars did the merit come with the admission notice from the school or did it come separately ?
I Think it came separately…but I’m not positive. We knew he would get the instate tuition. Then a separate financial breakdown came in the mail…and it was in that. At first we thought it was a mistake since he was already getting the reduced tuition…but then we saw that the extra scholarship would only be renewed for following years if he kept a GPA of 3.2 or higher. That’s when we knew, for sure, that it was an academic scholarship. And yes, it was in addition to the instate tuition. It did not come with the usual “congratulations, we are awarding you” letter that most colleges send.
I just looked this up because I couldn’t remember, either. Of course this was 3 years ago and things can change, but my daughter first got notice of admission to the college, then about a week later got notice of merit money, then about 2 weeks later got notice of admission to the MT program.
thanks for the info… Daughter was accepted into musical theater program and we are planning on a visit .We auditioned at unifieds. It seems to be a great program . Do all the MT kids dorm at the Freeman Hall? The newer dorms look great but not sure about the pros and cons of having all the kids being together . Are the newer dorms far away from where she would be taking most of her classes. Also I haven’t looked into the cost differences of staying at one or the other. That might make the decision easier …
@sondheim, which unified did your daughter audition at? And when did she hear? We were at the Chicago Unifieds and haven’t gotten a decision yet. Thanks!
@Fotokat Chicago… she received her letter last Thursday by mail …separate from the regular admissions which came on the same day
@sondheim, congrats to your daughter! Trickling out the decisions seems like cruel and unusual punishment. but I’m thrilled for the kids who’ve received good news. I wish we could wave a magic wand and make all the decisions appear. 
Same here! Our daughter and her friend auditioned on campus Jan 30 and neither have received a thing, and her portal still says “see email invitation” at the audition received slot… :-/ She’s admitted academically with a scholarship.
My daughter never lived in Freeman. She’s been in The Heights ever since freshman year. She also chose to have a non-theater roommate freshman year. She figured she would be with the MT people all the time so a little separation was good, and she wanted to meet other people too and have a broader college experience. In actuality it was good and bad, though she says she has no regrets. She LOVED her art-major roommate and they remain good friends to this day. The Heights are beautiful with air conditioning (REALLY nice the first month), only 2 to a bathroom, a kitchen … and though it is further than Freeman from most of the MT classes, it is not really that far at all and right next to the rec center and one of the big dining halls and several of the smaller food outlets, so I wouldn’t let distance from classes be a deciding factor. On the negative side, the MT kids that lived in Freeman freshman year (and I’d say that more than half of them did) seemed to bond faster. And half of the rooms in Freeman have unbelievable million dollar views of the Manhattan skyline. And there is a dining hall right in Freeman! And yes, Freeman is less expensive. And it really is not a bad dorm at all. Kind of ugly from the outside, but they are 2 to a room with a bathroom between the rooms (so 4 to a bathroom). I really would not hesitate to put a kid in Freeman but it can be very hot in September, and they will be with the MT kids 24/7 pretty much. Congrats, Sondheim!!! It is a fabulous program.
Thank you soooo much for your input . It is so nice to have someone participating on the forum with actual experience with the school . I may be messaging you in the near future
Sondheim, I also auditioned at Chicago Unifieds and still have heard nothing. I take it as a good sign but it’s scary. I’m worried I didn’t get in because they didn’t seem that interested in me while I sang and monologue. They didn’t ask any questions either even though they were running ahead. Anyway, they still have on campus auditions to do so who knows. It’s been a month since Chicago Unifieds. With the reputation and curriculum of any other top school but affordable tuition the school is a perfect package so it makes me more nervous.
My son dormed in Blanton Hall this year. Blanton Hall also has air conditioning, and is near the rec building, but it’s an older building. Next year my son plans to dorm in The Heights. About half of his freshman class were in The Heights and half in Freeman. The biggest disadvantage of The Heights is that there are no rehearsal/piano/practice rooms, In Freeman Hall there are, as well as in the Cali Music Center but they are on the other end of campus. To compensate, my son brought an electronic Keyboard (after thanksgiving break) and that helped a lot. Next year he’s gonna bring the keyboard stand as well. Freeman is adjacent to Life Hall (where MT students spend a majority of their time) which is convenient…but as @Calliene said, the Recreation Center is adjacent to The Heights…which is a big plus if your gonna be going to the gym frequently. BTW - The Recreation Center is GORGEOUS.
@16bars, @Calliene Thank you. I cant wait to visit and check it out. What are your thoughts on the faculty fro MT. Especially concerning the voice and acting aspects . It looks great on the website but someone on CC suggested to make sure, when looking at colleges, that the “faculty” that they are promoting isn’t just a’" once in a while" visiting teacher.
Absolutely not. The MT/Acting/Dance faculty are regular and very tight with the kids. Clay, Mark Hardy, Joe Joyce are all beloved. The music department (Lori McCann is the MT program head) is first rate, and my daughter (and as far as I know all her peers) have had the same voice instructors since they started (my daughter’s voice teacher was an MTCA coach, and those of you who know Ellen know how particular she is about vocal instruction). All musical productions have full orchestral accompaniment from the music program; they work very closely together (I just took a music teacher friend of mine to see the Producers and she was stunned at how professional the orchestra sounded). Even the accompanists that are assigned to their voice lessons are professionals. Sarah Brett England is my daughter’s accompanist; look up her bio. Greg Dlugos, who music directs many of the shows, has worked extensively on Broadway, now retired and working at MSU. Look up the MT/Dance/Music faculty on their web site. Faculty who trained at Juilliard, CCM…several of the regular MT dance instructors have worked on Broadway and extensively in regional theater, also teach in NYC including Steps on Broadway. Though there are occasional guest directors for shows, my daughter has never had a “visiting” instructor that I know of. Nor has she had a grad student.
Thank you! Are they on spring break right now? i sent an email to Clay James to try and set up a visit… i am still waiting on a few more decisions to come in but Montclair is definitely on our radar. You have been so helpful. I probably will be messaging you in the near future.
Yes, they are on break this week. And yes feel free to PM me. And above I meant to say MT/Acting/Dance/Music faculty. It is all very integrated!
And @sondheim, I recommend calling Clay James rather than emailing. He can be slow at responding to email. Of course he is likely not there this week. If I recall correctly, his phone number was right on my daughter’s acceptance letter.
Yup… I have it …Thanks again!
Yes, they are on spring break this week. My son heads back on Sunday.
My son is very impressed with Clay James as well as all the other faculty. Very professional…yet very supportive too. My son is a Freshman and for voice they split the kids up into groups for the first semester to work with (in groups and individually) to really get to know each students voice type and range, assess training, etc…they were then assigned private voice teachers for the spring semester according to their voice type and assessment. I know this semester my son’s voice teacher has him working on several musical theater songs, two classical art (classical) songs, and a pop song. His voice teacher trained at Penn State and has quite a few professional performance credits under her belt, both on musical theater and opera. I’ve seen some of her videos on Youtube…and she has a beautiful classical legit soprano voice. My son said that there is always an accompanist during his voice lessons too. Hope that helps.