Does anyone know how to find scholarships/grants for music composition major?
The best scholarships come from the colleges to which your student is accepted.
I’m tagging @compmom who might be able to give you some advice on how to best go about getting those scholarships.
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My daughter has not applied yet, will be applying this year and I am trying to help her sis’s out the most viable financial path. We are NY state residents and she was homeschooled
Do you qualify for the Excelsior or TAP? Those are for your instate public universities. I’m not sure what the composition program is like at SUNY Potsdam, but that is your strong SUNY music program.
Do you have a budget for college annually?
Ithaca has a very good composition program, but I have no idea how they award scholarships, or whether the amount would be sufficient to meet your needs.
I would also suggest you post your question on the music majors section of this site.
Yes post this to the music major forum. And make sure to read the Double Degree Dilemma essay under the Read Me threat on that forum, which is really about different ways to study music.
Choosing what degree program to pursue is especially relevant for composers because it is possible to do composition and get into grad school from a BM program, a BA program, or even a different major entirely. And summer programs/festivals are very important.
If you are in NY, SUNY Purchase probably has the best composition program. SUMY Buffalo has a well-known festival called “June in Buffalo” so maybe that too but I know more about Purchase. And the SUNY’s are affordable.
Freestanding conservatories tend to give merit to composers in the $15-20k range I would say so if you have financial need, I would look at college and university programs, whether BA or BM.
I will PM you.