@Ifpparent It won’t let me PM you either. Darn.
@NYsaxmom S just got in to Vandy today. Did you find scholarship info? We can’t find it.
@samz95 I sent you a PM. Are you able to get it?
This brings back memories (from last year).
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I enjoyed adding up the four year total cost of each college. This got rid of silly stuff, such as thinking about scholarships that have parts of them that last only for the first two years and such. Then you can say, “This place will cost us $87,000, and this place will cost us $138,000.” Also, if you have $X to give to the student, you can think of it as the less you spend on college itself, the more you can give them for their first year’s apartment rent while they find work, or something like that. So, we can give you $150K, how do you want to break that up across college and career-launching expenses?
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If a gap year is kept in mind as a valid option, you can narrow the field to places that you want most.
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We did sort of ask for more from one of our choices, but it went nowhere fast. Maybe it works sometimes, maybe not. But we tried it with the mindset that if they come up to a certain number, they can be the one.
Read @jazzpianodad’s post 3 times…and then 3 times more. There Is NO right choice only the best choice in your circumstances. My kid was talented before, during and after undergrad. The school didn’t make that talent…only enhanced it; and many schools could have done that…truth be told. Thank goodness we didn’t spend a boat load of cash on what my D already had! She went to a public U with a lot of scrappy kids who showed her what dediction to art really meant.
@bridgenail - my son would have thrived anywhere - but where he is now in his career did have a lot of to do with where he was for undergrad - in terms of connections he made through the school - professors, students, and in the nearby big city. Probably grad school for most would be the significant element for careers - but depending on one’s student it can start as soon as the connections made freshman year, let alone in high school. I’m not sure we thought about that aspect in a measured way - it was more a gut feeling at the time.
@SpiritManager your comment is very true and good. My comment is meant as a cautionary note about thinking a school could make or break your kid…and thus taking on big debt. Thanks for making me clarify. A school is important but if it will cause big debt and you have other options at reputable music schools…be sure to understand ONE school will not make or break your future…unless you have a lot of debt…then it could break it.
It is a while away, but then there will be August - Parents-On-The-College-Facebook-Group-Complain-About-Missing-Gift-Packages-From-Gift-Bundle-Sending-Companies month.
I like the @bridgenail note about scrappiness. The UNT eagle happens to be named “Scrappy”.
@diglass would you mind sharing the CC thread that helped you compose a list of schools? Im the mom of a commercial VP junior D and I think we have a good list – but I feel like there are some I haven’t heard about. Thank you!
And congrats to all your kids!!
@GagasMom - here’s a list of schools with Popular Voice options that I found. Might not be comprehensive but it is a place to start. My daughter only looked at Berklee (wanted urban setting and the option to minor in Music Theatre at Boston Conservatory).
POPULAR VOICE
Berklee
Belmont
Univ of the arts (Philly)
CalArts
USC Thornton
Univ of Miami / Frost
Shenandoah
Univ of Colorado-Denver Lamont
@GagasMom Of course, it was this thread.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1666721-contemporary-vocal-performance-and-music-business-programs-p1.html
The OP has been super generous and helpful when I have reached out to him. I’d be happy to share what I have learned along the way. Note when tracking my comments, my daughter has zero jazz experience so that ruled out some schools for her. Feel free to message me anytime.
@ceerob we found the money info under the financial aid tab in the admissions dropdown. There was a link to a PDF letter
S18 SOOO wants to be done! It’s all we can do to keep him focused to make an informed decision, rather than a quick one. His voice teacher is stressing that S18 needs to find the best voice professor fit, as mentioned by many in this thread. S18 was going to go a lesson by Skype with one professor to avoid another trip out of town, but at his teacher’s urging has grudgingly reached out to schedule an in person lesson in April. Tomorrow we drive to FSU for a lesson with a potential teacher. We may also kidnap a FA supervisor to get some of our questions answered about S18’s scholarship package. We will also have some fun though by spending the Easter weekend at the beach. Best of luck to all as you navigate hard financial decisions and find the right place for your kiddo to shine!
We are having a terrible day today. This roller coaster ride isn’t one I’m enjoying at all. The joy of the acceptances followed by the gut punch of low awards and discovering that top choices are completely unaffordable along with the unlikelihood of successful appeals making them affordable has us sitting here in a complete fog. Add to that an email from the accountant this morning with an unexpected astronomical tax bill. I want to hide under my blankets and have a good cry. D is depressed and upset and confused. I envy those of you who have either full rides at your kids top choice or at least affordable options at your kids top choices.
I am trying to take a deep breath and know this will all work out but D isn’t being very cooperative at the moment. I think she has to try to come to terms with the distinct possibility that she won’t be going where she may have hoped to go and that reality isn’t really setting in. Ughhhh. Here’s hoping for better days ahead. April angst doesn’t quite sum it up for us. 
Managing expectations is the name of the game here!
As someone above mentioned for USC/Thornton, their awards are very small compared to their tuition- and compared to other schools with great music programs. FYI for percussionists, we learned at our visit/audition that there are currently no undergraduates in the percussion program at Thornton ( different for jazz). They make offers but no yield. The lack of meaningful aid means that may not change. Something to consider for those looking in the future.
Yea the trick at Thornton is to combine academic merit awards or FA awards with some music merit. S18’s non-loan awards at Thornton would leave about $30,000 a year to pay. A significant reduction, to be sure, and not a bad price for such a great school. But with other great choices coming in at $15,000 a year to completely free, it makes USC difficult to justify if money is a factor at all.
@vistajay that is really helpful info. You can ignore this question if you want, but are you considered full pay? 30K is approximately what we will pay be at for full pay at our state flagship(s - we have reciprocity with some neighboring states so we have 2 targeted). I hope people go back to the merit aid thread at some point and update after they get all their info and make their decisions. So we realistically want to target schools that could produce merit down to around that level or lower. My kid should have 33-35 on the ACT. My kid REALLY wants to apply to Thornton (and NYU Steinhardt) but I’m just not sure it’s even worth the time.
It’s exciting watching this thread as a spectator, but I’m sorry for the agony and stress. I’m not looking forward to this part next year. I’m really starting to talk up those flagship schools to the junior here. LOL.
@SpartanDrew, I’m so sorry to hear this. Had you run the schools’ cost calculators when applying? Were they that far off from the final numbers?
Big merits at top tier schools for popular voice are rare; not indicative of talent but reflect the tough competition. So, tell your daughter to keep in mind that she got accepted against all that competition. It means a lot. My son was gutted when he didn’t get into his first choice, even if it was the only school he didn’t get into, and it took most of April and a revisit for him to come around to being excited about the choices he did have, but it happened. Our kids are resilient – a great skill if you’re going to be a musician!
@MusakParent - USC is much more generous with academic merit awards than music ones. The $10,000 offered is actually quite a large award from Thornton. With a really good ACT score, or if a National Merit Finalist, your kid could get up to full tuition (the Trustee award) or the half tuition Presidential. If you have financial need, they meet that as well, although loans may be included in the package. NYU is less predictable…