@DrummerDad18 —@SpartanDrew has my contact info. I am not sure if I used up my privilege to PM anyone. 
I have been off the grid since Tuesday as I was away chaperoning my daughter’s high school wind ensemble in Manhattan. They perfromed at Carnegie Hall yesterday, which was fabulous, but chaperoning way over scheduled teenagers, walking ar Und Manhattan and averaging 3 hours of sleep a night, my feet are swollen, every muscle and joint in my legs are screaming and I am beyond exhausted. But I am enjoying catching up on April anxiety.
What we thought before we left was a slam dunk has now become less distinct. Well did I ever think it would be that easy???
Having said that I think my daughter has been very lucky and is in a better position than many.
@flutesupporter and @violamama my daughter also received her Peabody information while we were gone. She knew she was in as the prof had been emailing her, telling her she was going to be “very pleased”. He awarded her the “premier music award” and that was $35,000. So I’m guessing that is the max merit aid. We had a smidgen of need based aid too. But compared to her other offers, its way behind. However I remember when we were there they said they would do their best for those who REALLY want to go there. So if your child really wants to go there, it’s worth asking. I would, but despite the fact that she loves the prof, and the reputation is awesome, she was not impressed with the facilities and absolutely does not want to live and go to classes only with music kids, so for me, it’s not worth going through the process of negotiating if she doesn’t want to go there.
We are now in the dilemma of do you go to the place you really want to with some loans or the place you are less thrilled with but being debt free. And both are fabulous schools
Place “A” is a hugely respected private school, which I’ve heard took 7% of the applicants, and many on this thread are possible going to and are thrilled for that opportunity. But, the studio that my daughter would be going into has not impressed her as much as she had hoped. But if she goes there, her total out of pocket will be $1500 per year
Place “B” is her dream school, which took 4% of applicants, and I know from being on their acceptance thread page has declined many with ACTs in the 30s (I’ve seen as high as 35 declined) and SATs well into 1500s (my D has decent scores but nowhere near that!!!). So she is in a great place to find a rich husband which will take the pressure off having to support herself in a music career :
She loves the prof and could really see herself there. And she was ready to commit because her aid for freshman year is awesome and not that far behind school “A”. But because it is such a highly academic school, their awards are need based not merit. In 2016 I had some pretty bad health issues which meant our AGI was pretty low. For 2017 our income was up somewhat but also our retirement savings did well, so our theoretical AGI was much higher, even though it doesn’t translate to money in the bank. Plus we are not that far from retirement!!! That means our need base will likely change by $24k for sophomore year (I did their net cost calculator). And of course the next 2 years will be uncertain. If she goes there I will stop doing the small amount of work I have been doing as it won’t be worth it.
So how do we decide??? I am leaning towards her dream school but that is heart over head.
I have emailed the school with all the facts (she also has a school in our state where they have offered so much plus with our amazing state programs she will actually make money going to college!) and will wait and see whether there are any other options, plus my daughter has emailed the professor and is talking to friends who are at school “A” to get the truth on that studio (we don’t know anyone at school “B”) and music teachers to get insight and advice.
Why is this still so hard? Need a crystal ball
@tripletmama I’m female and a drummer but I joined this community a few years back for my kids, not myself!
Speaking of Female Drummers. Check out, Kimberly Thomson. She is a Manhattan School of Music graduate 2003. Her recent album is a contemporary album with pop, hip hop etc. Jazz is a nice gateway to expanding knowledge of theory and language which can help create new ideas in contemporary music.
@musicdm I love Kim Thompson! I first saw her in this joyful, mesmerizing film “Luanda-Kinshasa”.
Hey guys, can anyone confirm how many liberal arts credits are required at Miami/Frost? It looks like 27 but I want to be sure I’m seeing that accurately.
@SpartanDrew I’m asking my son
It’s usually 1/3-1/4 of 30 credits total for a BM.
Does anyone on this thread have any stories of Conservatories offering more scholarship $$$ after the first year? MSM, NEC,New School etc?
1/3 to 1/4 of 30 credits? I know that’s not right… I looked at curriculum for Frost and counted out 27 credits that look to be LA credits. Can anyone confirm?
Can anyone speak generally as to whether conservatories are generally more generous than a school of music? We are agonizing with a couple choices for percussion S. Part of our struggle is the award from a school of music that is so off from the other offers - but is an institution S is very keen on. We are trying to decide how much to try and make it work for him vs.taking if off the table and going with terrific choice number 2. I don’t know whether it is worth going back to the school of music to ask for a review of the package.
@musicdm, I would be really interested in the same information about whether Conservatories might increase scholarships after the first year. I had not heard of that possibility.
@lfpparent are you comparing stand-alone conservatories (such as NEC and Berklee) to conservatories set within a university (such as Eastman/Rochester and Frost/UMiami)?
No; I’m comparing a school of music within a university (such as USC or Ithaca ) with an LAC that has a conservatory (such as an Oberlin or Lawrence).
@drummergirl, do I recall that you are a parent who is a percussionist or are do you have a percussionist student? If you have particular percussion insights, I’d appreciate PM’ing with you.
My daughter’s safety was Humboldt State. It is a Cal State University, with in-state tuition, and is non-audition. They have classical voice and an active arts & music departments. She sent in her prescreen videos for scholarship consideration and found out today they offered her a $4000.00/year scholarship. Given that tuition and fees are about $7400 a year, I think they are being generous. This won’t move the needle off UC Irvine but it is good to know that some of these in-state options are generous to musicians.
@Ifpparent Is this for Classical or Jazz? They may be different.
@NYsaxmom - I sympathize with the agony of making the best decision. My S is making a similar decision now, but for MM as BM is nearly finished. Same instrument as your D. For many instrumentalists, the studio teacher is of #1 importance. My S was given this same advice by nearly every professional musician he met during HS - “follow the teacher, forget the school.” While I’m not sure I agree with that 100%, there is much to be said for the general idea. Wish I could PM with a couple of specifics for you, but I can’t access PM, ugh!
@flutesupporter what did you decide to do regarding Peabody? I can’t PM anybody.
@violamama I called the financial aid office to discuss the award and they suggested an appeal. The studio teacher said the earlier the call the more likely they were to grant additional money. I did submit the appeal yesterday so now we wait. In the mean time, she received an email from the studio teacher at MSM siting specifics about her audition, current teacher, etc and how he would like to work with her in the fall but yet MSM offered nothing. Seems to be a disconnect. Maybe I need to be in touch with the financial aid office at MSM and file an appeal with other offers received. The teacher at Peabody has been in contact numerous times and has been very welcoming and supportive which has been good for my daughter.
@flutesupporter I am finding the same thing. Teachers very kind and supportive saying they really want student, but FA offer does not reflect that in all cases (some offers have been great, others not so much). I hope things work out for you and your daughter.
When talking to Lawrence earlier this year I asked if there were opportunities for more $$ as my D progressed. The conservatory admin told me that many times $$ will increase by the increase in tuition. Therefore keeping the COA very similar each year. I was super happy to hear this. Since Lawrence will be a 5 year program for us, and with an average tuition increase of about $1500, it adds up quickly.