We have notified all schools and are finally making the deposit tonight, taking a pic with the College of Music t-shirt, and flying the flag out front of the house! And the choice is…Florida State University College of Music, BM vocal performance!
It came down to a choice between Miami-Frost and FSU, though he also had music admits and great scholarships to USCal, Furman and Loyola-NO. Frost had been his personal favorite since the beginning, especially after a great scholarship weekend which resulted in his getting the full tuition Singer Scholarship. Additional scholarships even brought the Frost cost of attendance very close to FSU. But in the end, what swung the decision was S18’s receiving the Presidential Scholarship to FSU, which is only given to 25 incoming freshmen students across the whole university and provides wonderful leadership and research opportunities in addition to a $12,000 summer abroad stipend. Also, he gained entry to the voice teacher studio of his choice and FSU has a number of other voice teachers who would fit him well should he ever have to switch studios for an unforeseen reason.
As parents, we are excited because he will be only a 5.5 hour drive away so we can attend his performances more often. We are also excited that his top choice also ends up being the top financial option; as he ends up with a full ride through the Benacquisto National Merit scholarship that will pay tuition, room and board, fees, books and even give him money for transportation and a laptop and he has the summer abroad stipend. Sorry for the bragging but we are still agog that his education will be free! Plus I do think it helps others to see that there are some amazing scholarship opportunities available when a school wants you as much for your academic profile as your music talent.
Our only concern about FSU was the reputation of having a lot of voice grad students who compete for performance opportunities, but those concerns melted away after speaking to the voice teacher and current students. S18 has potential but has only been studying classical voice for less than 2 years. He does not need, or probably should not, be competing for lead opera roles right away. In the meantime, his teacher supports him finding performance opportunities in, for example, the musical theatre and opera student run clubs, while he puts in the hard work to improve in studio and practice, and while he learns from those talented grad students in his studio. It might not be the choice for others, but we think S18 will thrive and improve in a competitive environment.
We have learned so much on this thread and in the music forum in general. Thanks and huge shout out to @SpartanDrew for starting this fun thread! I am constantly amazed by the incredible talent of the students who post, and whose parents post, on this forum. As a non-musical parent with his first child applying to music school, your advice and sharing of information has been invaluable. Thanks to you all!
