When you look at the titles of Courtney’s posts, you get the impression that there are boatloads of money out there waiting to be awarded. She has been very successful at earning these scholarships. However you need look at her resume and understand how impressive of a person she is. Most high achiever are not in her league.
As I asked before, do you have a reasonable plan for paying for all four years?
Hey! So they will pay but it’s hard to explain! They need more money simply that. Yes they will pay no matter what but it is a struggle for my whole family to do that and I would feel awful doing so. Thus, I’m trying to get as much money as possible
Ok, your school costs $45k and your parents are willing to pay for ALL of those costs except for maybe a $5500 loan by you?
If so, that’s a relief. Your earlier posts sounds like they would only pay for some of those costs and you needed to find merit for the rest.
that’s good that your parents will pay all costs because it’s very doubtful that you’ll find any money in outside awards…at least not likely more than $1,000
There is a strong probability that you won’t find scholarships to cover ~$40k/year to major in theater (or anything else), so you may want to come up with an alternate plan. Asking your whole family to struggle so you can attend your dream school is not a great way to start college. Have you thought about attending a less expensive school and asking your parents to help you move to NY afterward?
This isn’t easy to hear, but unfortunately there isn’t money out there. Rather, there might be a few hundred dollars here and there from local groups, but nothing of the amount that you need.
Earlier posters said that the main source of scholarship funds is from the college or university itself. That is the truth. The vast majority of need-based aid and merit aid (scholarships) comes from the college. If your school doesn’t give you grants or scholarships, you are unlikely to find them somewhere else.
You can take out some small loans yourself. Your parents can take out larger loans, but this is a major financial decision and is generally regarded as a bad idea, because payments on a loan for $100,000-$200,000 is like another mortgage, without the ability to default on the loan.
Did you apply to any more affordable schools?
Once you start school, I think your best bets are in your department or area of interest. One of my daughter’s is currently applying for scholarships for women engineers, the other applied for one from her sorority. Most locals are for high school seniors, but it is always worth checking for others from local civic groups, from an employer (Wendy’s, McD, Starbucks). My friends’ son got one from his department in accounting every year from soph to senior, but he had to apply for it every year. Look in your area of study, your clubs, your department, your local civic groups, your parents’ employers, your employers.
Go to your school’s FA office or placement office. See what there is, and if they are ‘out there’ as you say, then those are the people who would know about them. Maybe take a semester off to do a co-op or internship and earn some money (one of mine is doing that this semester, doing what she loves while earning some money).
I’m sure your parents appreciate your looking for money to help them. I am so proud of my daughter for applying for the engineering scholarships. It’s hard, one prof already turned her down for a recommendation because he only had her for one class (uh, she’s not had any prof for two classes yet, she’s only a sophomore), she has to create a resume, gather transcripts, etc., but it helps out even if she only gets a small amount.
(I’ve been summoned)
I can’t really contribute much to this thread other than to tell the OP that if he/she was planning on funding her education with outside scholarships, not only does a lot have to go perfectly for that to happen, but it’s honestly too late in the scholarship season to even think about that. Most scholarships are now closed, especially the top-dollar & renewable ones.
Musical theater has risky employment prospects so please don’t allow your parents to take enormous 100k-200k debt.
You have a perfectly excellent in-state option that you are passing up. I have no idea what to say to you.
Presumably this student is an auditioned musical theater BFA wannabe. That being the case…any scholarships would be based on the strength of her audition as an incoming freshman. These programs do not typically offer increased merit awards to upperclassmen.
What is so special about this school?
Really?
Where is that money? The best scholarships come from the attending university. Otherwise, I would like to know because I can save some money on my son.
My son has high stats, so does my middle daughter and so did my eldest dd. Money is given to:
***Athletes/b
*National Merit, (schools with full rides were also in the midwest)
*URM, (Mexican-American and Nationally Recognized Hispanic Scholar-income too high for most scholarships)
and
NOT in a need-based family, so most scholarship options were closed to them.
If anyone would know how to get more money, it would be my kids.
DS received a little under ½ tuition at his school that costs $62K. We pay the rest through 529 accounts and savings.
DD2 received $300 total, from her UC, we’re instate and we paid the rest through 529 accounts and savings.
DD1 received a full ride in 2008, at that time, because she was one of four females entering EE/CS with high stats and Honors college. The scholarships were sponsored by large engineering firms. They no longer sponsor individual university scholarships-too many qualified students and too much demand.
The only other way to pay for your schooling is for your parents to take out a boatload of loans; this would be a huge mistake and is a REALLY, REALLY bad idea. They would never get out of debt. You don’t qualify for that amount in loans.
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Long Island majoring in Musical Theatre next year that is about 45,000 a year. On top of that I have a few for the Conservatory I will be attending in the city. I come from the upper middle class but I am in the same situation as a lot of young people where I just cannot afford it. I need as much as I can get and my parents are willing to pay a lot but I still need a ton since Fafsa has estimated a small amount and the school gives away barely any scholarship
Yes they will pay no matter what but it is a struggle for my whole family to do that and I would feel awful doing so.
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Your posts are confusing. On one hand, you say that your parents will pay some, and you still “need a ton.”
On the other hand, you say that they’ll pay no matter what.
Neither way is a sound plan. The first suggests that you’re going to have a lot of uncovered costs. The second suggests that, in the end, your parents will struggle to cover the costs. The problem is that both ways likely mean a bunch of loans. An MT degree is NOT worth a bunch of loans. You won’t be able to pay the loans back, and your parents will likely struggle to pay them back and be annoyed that the burden of the loans wasn’t mitigated by at least having a child in a well-paid position.
Did you get a merit award based on your audition?
What is so special abou this Molloy College program?
Being cynical, it’s not close to home.
Did you apply to SUNY Purchase?
My guess is that it’s close to NYC, and OP is another starry-eyed theater-type w dreams of making it big in NYC.
There are tons of colleges that are “close to NYC”. To the OP (who seems to have disappeared), that is no guarantee one will be a Broadway star.
Lots of successful Broadway performers did NOT go to college in NYC.
OP, okay, so lets look forward to the future:
You graduate from your school and your parents have taken out a boatload of loans, to fund your education (because you can’t find scholarships), and now owe ~$200K because of interest and other fees.
Now, you go on auditions, but don’t get the jobs, given the large number of other competitive graduates of NYU and other NY schools (and Northeastern MT schools) and MT people who DIDN’T go to a university program.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/entertainment-and-sports/actors.htm
You have to pay rent to stay in the NY area; how will that happen- waitressing? People work for years, in other industries, just to stay in NY.
Worse: how do you pay back those loans?
Are you assuming that you will automatically become employed just because you’ve graduated?
See, students studying other occupations, like Engineering, Nursing, Business, Computer Science, have internships in JR and Sr years. They go on “auditions”/interviews and ultimately get hired and start making money. They don’t have to keep going on weekly “auditions” to make a living unless they decide to change jobs.
Your parents will owe another mortgage if they have to pay for your college fees and expenses. That payment won’t go away for 20-30 years. School loan debt is not forgiven in bankruptcy.
@GMTplus7 has nothing to do with the city itself. It’s a great program that fits my needs and what will make me better as a performer. And even so there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a dreamer. You should try it.
There is nothing wrong with being a dreamer…but not with other people’s money. If you have to borrow, it means your parents will have to borrow: OP$.
Your original question was about finding other money, scholarships and such. Courtney has told you what is out there, and what/who you have to be to have a chance. And that the deadlines for the bigger amounts have passed. Sooooo…
If you can afford without big $ aid, or feel you may qualify for one mentioned, great. Problem solved!
If not, this would be why folks are asking all the questions about a plan B, bc in their vast experience, unless you can pay currently, you will not find scholarships more than for books and such. And you may have no way to pay come fall and nowhere else to go. If you are willing to hear alternatives…if you don’t want help developing a plan B, I’d suggest you just ask a mod to close the thread, bc that is all this group can help you with now. Otherwise things will just go round and round, potentially upsetting people.