College Discussion - View Single Post - Musicians and Parents

binx · 11-03-2006, 06:31 AM

We have a high EFC (according to FAFSA!), and S receives a nice scholarship at Juilliard, so clearly it's not only need-based. (I think it was to make the Juilliard/Curtis comparison equal.) It surprised us, too. In addition, Juilliard offers Juilliard-based work studies that are not tied in with Federal and it seems just about everybody qualifies. S has a violinist friend who's Dad is a doctor, who has one.

A friend of S's got a lower scholarship amount there and appealed and was given more. Have no idea what the balance between how "rare" the instrument is and how much money. In her case, the money WAS tied to need, and she was able to show extreme circumstances. There are a number of "named" scholarships there, and I don't know how many of them are tied to music specifically. At the info session, we also were told about the "need-based" - but the session included parents of actors and dancers, too, so I wondered if that info was given out to encourage folks to not count on merit aid. As they told us, everyone at Juilliard is pretty talented, so who derserves merit is not easy to determine.

S was also offered merit aid at CCM and CIM, though Juilliard's was highest. (Of course, CCM was cheaper all around, so the total cost of attending would have been lower.) Interestingly, CIM has a reputation for not giving much aid - and they were the lowest of the three. But they offered us exactly what we said we would need on our application.

Momnipotent -- you don't sound pretentious. Statements from teachers count as objective information! I see you're in Ohio - half tuition at CIM, CCM, Oberlin -- that would be great. It is normal to ask the private teacher about other schools. In your case, the teacher will know about any other schools since he will have to write recommendations! Best to make him part of the process. If he is professional (and I assume he is), he will know that students generally apply to several schools, and would be willing to help your S make appropriate choices. I think I would have your S ask something along the lines of, "Oh, I definitely plan to apply to your school, but obviously I can't only apply to one school. What other schools or teachers do you think I should be considering?"

And ask more than just this teacher, too. Any other teachers - from camps or youth orchestra or whatever - that he can ask?

11-03-2006, 06:31 AM	#53
binx Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Atlanta suburbs Threads: 59 Posts: 1,577	We have a high EFC (according to FAFSA!), and S receives a nice scholarship at Juilliard, so clearly it's not only need-based. (I think it was to make the Juilliard/Curtis comparison equal.) It surprised us, too. In addition, Juilliard offers Juilliard-based work studies that are not tied in with Federal and it seems just about everybody qualifies. S has a violinist friend who's Dad is a doctor, who has one. A friend of S's got a lower scholarship amount there and appealed and was given more. Have no idea what the balance between how "rare" the instrument is and how much money. In her case, the money WAS tied to need, and she was able to show extreme circumstances. There are a number of "named" scholarships there, and I don't know how many of them are tied to music specifically. At the info session, we also were told about the "need-based" - but the session included parents of actors and dancers, too, so I wondered if that info was given out to encourage folks to not count on merit aid. As they told us, everyone at Juilliard is pretty talented, so who derserves merit is not easy to determine. S was also offered merit aid at CCM and CIM, though Juilliard's was highest. (Of course, CCM was cheaper all around, so the total cost of attending would have been lower.) Interestingly, CIM has a reputation for not giving much aid - and they were the lowest of the three. But they offered us exactly what we said we would need on our application. Momnipotent -- you don't sound pretentious. Statements from teachers count as objective information! I see you're in Ohio - half tuition at CIM, CCM, Oberlin -- that would be great. It is normal to ask the private teacher about other schools. In your case, the teacher will know about any other schools since he will have to write recommendations! Best to make him part of the process. If he is professional (and I assume he is), he will know that students generally apply to several schools, and would be willing to help your S make appropriate choices. I think I would have your S ask something along the lines of, "Oh, I definitely plan to apply to your school, but obviously I can't only apply to one school. What other schools or teachers do you think I should be considering?" And ask more than just this teacher, too. Any other teachers - from camps or youth orchestra or whatever - that he can ask? Last edited by binx : 11-03-2006 at 06:38 AM.