<p>@alwaysamom we have sent that email out for clarification. That would be huge if they is taken away next year. The decision would pretty much be made then. Hoping it isnt because this is an awesome opportunity for him. Fingers crossed!!!</p>
<p>Ok just went on the website and it said that scholarships to this school are pretty much for all four years as long as he maintains a 2.0 not thinking he will have any trouble with that and of course if I win the lottery they may take it away LOL</p>
<p>NewYorkSon, but that’s the beauty of merit and talent scholarships, they aren’t in most cases if not all, based on FAFSA information.</p>
<p>Wow, if this is true, Wright State just moved into the top 5 for my D(my choices for her of top schools, not hers, yet). This whole thread has been sooo informative, thanks to everyone for contributing. I have a list of abt 30+ schools that my D will be researching this summer and refining, but we’ve been very frank abt the financial realities. I know merit/talent/financial aid is the wild card, but…</p>
<p>I think as long as you/your kids are very realistic going in to the process with a more expensive school you should go for it. Talent awards are no where near a guarantee, doesn’t matter what you hear, what you read on the website, what others have received or whats happened in the past. So if they get in they should know it is a long shot at best that you/they can afford it. I have no regrets cutting out more expensive programs, he ended up with at the best place for him and it works for us financially. </p>
<p>@mtflmomof1 I would check on each schools website regarding scholarships and what their policy is. I think it depends on the type of scholarship it is. </p>
<p>All these kids are hard workers. You can’t be in MT and a high school student without working your tail off. There are so many variables that it seems you have to manage whatever “risk” you can knowing your own child, My D has better grades than test scores and will be limited in academic merit awards because she isn’t great at standardized tests. She can’t control that outcome as much as she can control how prepared she is for these auditions and interviews and how much work she puts into her essays. I think starting her college coaching with MTCA now, which we have, will be her best path to success. Your mileage will differ…:)</p>
<p>It’s been too long to edit my previous post, but I just looked at Wright State & they have changed their scholarships for next year - in a good way. Part of the Honors scholarship info says “up to the value of in-state tuition” - sorry for wrong info! But the great news is they now have a calculator that you can put in GPA and either ACT or SAT score and it gives you a rating for scholarship $. Good news for those that have great grades/don’t test well, or so-so grades and high test scores!</p>
<p>I know merit awards are very individual at most schools, but wondering if anyone can answer this question: Montclair website state that students with GPA of 3.85 and SAT of 2000 are eligible for full ride merit aid. Does this apply to OOS MT students? just wondering if it’s worth it for my D to try to achieve these scores, of course, presupposing she even has a chance at getting admitted.</p>
<p>@evilqueen, I’m a big believer in triaging. We did that with my (non theatre) son this year for whom grades and scores would be a big part of his acceptances since there are no auditions for science. Audition requirements: Pretend you are a Bunsen burner and convince this beaker that you are hot for him.</p>
<p>My son did well on his first crack at the ACT his junior spring and that was after having prepped. There probably was a point or two more to be had and we wrestled with whether or not he should try again but decided the effort that would take would take away from the time he had to write great application essays plus do well in his rigorous course load so he could end his high school career with a strong GPA in classes that he wanted to take which would be great foundations for his college work. We decided to let the ACT stand as is and he never took it again. Prepping again for a few points wouldn’t necessarily mean he would get them. He could get the same score or less. Working at keeping his grades up and to writing strong essays, seemed to have a more predictable outcome. We triaged.</p>
<p>I think it is wise and reasonable to focus your energy on where you think the biggest gains are possible. I’m not sure how much difference there is between a 1600 SAT and a 1700 SAT in terms of merit scholarships. Probably not much. If you think that is the upside for a lot of effort, I think you’re making the right call. The merit money is often in the 2000+ world. </p>
<p>So I’m with you. I’d make the same call. I think it’s smart. </p>
<p>PS: though you could have her just try the ACT once for laughs. Sometimes students that are meh on the SAT that are otherwise good students do well on the other test. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Another affordable, regional audition pool option is Oakland University in Rochester Michigan. They do automatic academic merit scholarships, up to a full tuition ride. They have a BFA-MT, and their students are mostly from the southeastern Michigan area. I think GPA/ACT cutoffs are listed somewhere on the Oakland[dot]edu site. </p>
<p>Thank you for the vote of confidence @halflokum. I am a lawyer by training, can’t get away from risk analysis. LOL. I think we might try the ACT but I predict she will score the same, in the meh range. No amount of prep will get her high enough to make an impact for merit awards. </p>
<p>@evilqueen my D had good grades and class rank but she too struggled with test scores. She still ended up with decent merit offers because some schools look at all three and if you meet two out of three you get the merit aid. Also that’s something you can talk to the FA offices about. </p>
<p>As a small business owner I can say that if I had a lawyer named @evilqueen I would feel invincible!</p>
<p>maMTma - sorry for the delay in replying to your question about Shenandoah’s direct costs (I haven’t been on CC in a few days).</p>
<p>I agree with your total for tuition + room and board ($38,726), but it still comes out right at $41,116. Do you have all the same itemized items/costs as we have? Here it is straight from D’s FA letter:</p>
<p>“Total Estimated Charges” itemized as follows: Tuition (12-18 credits/sem) $28,998, Technology Fee $320, IM Learning Fee $570, Student Services Fee $300, Room & Board $9,728, Applied Music Lesson per course (1 hour) $600, Applied Music Lesson per course (1/2 hour or piano) $300 and Conservatory Fee $300. I double checked their math and $41,116 seems to be correct for what is itemized on our letter. </p>
<p>@ashleybashley, I see where the difference is: on our letter, the Applied Music Lesson per course fees are higher – $900 for the 1 hour, and $550 for the 1/2 hour or piano – and the Conservatory Fee is $1,700! My S was accepted for MT; is yours for a different major?</p>
<p>For some of us need based awards are essential. It’s not a lifestyle thing, it’s a dealbreaker thing. So I wouldn’t say the ‘beauty’ of merit awards is that they bypass need, because that means that people of real need but equal talent get bypassed since there is a limited amount of money to begin with. I mean, it’s great to have the merit money, don’t get me wrong, but for those of us literally losing sleep over the sticker shock (It’s 2:11 am here), awards are the difference between whether our kids can go or not, and whether they will graduate with luxury- car-sized loans or worse.</p>
<p>maMTma - WOW! That is a big difference and I can’t imagine why because D is also BFA MT. For both of our sakes, I hope YOUR letter is wrong, not ours! 
Anyone else have Shenandoah MT FA letter?</p>
<p>@maMTma and @ashleybashley - our Shenandoah also says $900/hr music; $550 per 1/2 hr piano and $1700 conservatory fee. Total $43,066</p>
<p>Connections, in our house merit aid is a great thing. I don’t need to worry that we will lose aid because of the amount of mandatory overtime my husband needed to work this year. Trust me, we are not swimming in money, and having an award that was not tied to income was a relief because it can vary, not because it is high. There were many schools that never made the initial list because of cost. No school was a sure thing until the FA came in.</p>