Unsure of where to commit! (Music Education Major)

College Search & Selection
1

I’ve gotten accepted into every school I’ve auditioned for so far (I have an audition at Valparaiso University on the 15th).
My options are:

  • Western Illinois University (full scholarship unknown)
  • Millikin University (14k scholarship plus 2k talent scholarship)
  • University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (scholarship unknown)
  • Valparaiso University (scholarship unknown)

Western is in the process of giving me a scholarship, UIUC doesn’t notify anyone until mid-March, Valpo is obviously unknown.
I estimate that I’ll get between 5-10,000 from FAFSA.

Solely based on cost, what would you guys suggest? Thanks!

2

all those schools will get you where you want to go…so think of your personal fit and also the number one make or break for most people $$$$$!

3

Not sure what you mean by this - FAFSA doesn’t give you money. If you qualify for Pell, the maximum award is $5,815 for the 2016-2017 award year.

Solely based on cost, there is no way to make a suggestion because three of the four schools have not provided scholarship $ information.

4

It told me I qualified for a grant that was about 5k (I believe)? There was also some information on a loan-- don’t remember.

5

Re-post after you know all of your options and all of your scholarship information.

6

You may also get more informed advice on the Music Major Forum.

7

Two really important factors for Music Ed majors are the net cost for your degree, and the strength of the placement for jobs after graduation. So you need a more detailed analysis of probable expenses, and scholarship and grant money. If you qualify for some Pell Grant money based on your FAFSA, all of the places on your list will award you at least some Pell money unless you qualify for a merit-based scholarship that is so big that it reduces your cost enough to eliminate the need for a Pell. Based on your FAFSA results, some might offer you a Perkins Loan as well, and you will be able to borrow the standard federal student loan ($5,500 freshman year). But if you are headed into education as a profession, you don’t want a whole lot of debt. This means that if you can attend A without any loans at all then that is a better choice than B with a bunch of loans.

You also need to find out the details of each of the scholarships. Do you have to maintain a certain GPA in order to keep that scholarship? Do you have to remain a music ed major? Do you have to perform in a specific group?

As for job placement, the music teachers in your own school district should be able to give you some notion about which places are likely to lead to jobs. It also is perfectly OK for you to ask the music ed departments at each place on your list about the number of majors who found jobs right after college, and where those jobs were. It also would be a good idea to ask what other certifications the music ed majors picked up on the way through college. For example, do you need to be certified for both instrumental and voice in order to be able to get a job in the state where you’d like to work?

For 2015-2016 Millikin U’s tuition, fees, room, and board came to $41,528. That does not include any estimate for the cost of books, materials, travel to and from campus, personal expense, etc. Those could easily be a couple thousand dollars more. The cost estimate for 2016-2017 is not on their website, but it surely will be over $42,000. Your scholarships there come to $16,000, which leaves at least $26,000. If you borrow the maximum federal student loan of $5,500, you will still be some $21,000 short. How much can your family pay? You need to speak with them about that. I like Millikin. Happykid visited when she was choosing a place to transfer to after finishing her AA degree. But even back then, it was well out of our budget. She went to an in-state public U instead.