ModJuliet03

I've been haunting the MT board for a while, and now as I'm getting ready to transfer, I thought I might see if I could ask some pretty specific questions to which I've gotten ideas of answers, but not great ones.
So. I am a sophomore at a community college from an intensive honors program. My GPA is currently 3.8, and I have professional credits on my theatrical resume as well as a plethora of extracurricular activities on my academic resume.
I am paying for college out of my own pocket, with little to no assistance from my parents...an idea that keeps me up nights.
I am a double major: Communication and Musical Theatre (or Theatre Arts with an MT concentration).
I was wondering if those of you who were accepted and applied for aid to one of the schools in my thread title could give me some insight into the amount and the possibility of getting a good scholarship to the school.
Thank you!

Pneumy

Mod, Unless things have changed very recently at Elon, they do not give any scholarship money to incoming transfers. They do however give grant money based on need per your FAFSA. I highly recommend the school. It is possible to double major but very difficult because of the MT schedule. You would have to spend at least one additional year. Good luck in your search. Also give the school a call to ask specific questions. They will give you much information.

abparent

Regarding Muhlenberg, they do give strong transfer students scholarship money. Our daughter transferred in as a sophomore. I'm not sure if amounts change with the class year. The academic scholarships can go beyond 50% of all costs. Plus, the theatre department offers audition based scholarships for acting and or voice/music. Combine that with standard loans (I know they're tough to handle) and it's possible your immediate expenses would be only 25% of the total package. I agree with Pneumy that you should personally contact each theatre department and their respective admissions/financial aid departments. Because of the economy, some schools are changing their approach to aid/scholarships on a yearly basis. Obviously, the schools will delve further into your academic history as well. Kudos to you on handling the brunt of your college investment yourself! Good luck to you.

ModJuliet03

Pneumy, when you say they do not give any scholarship money, do you mean merit-based, or need-based also? I know most colleges won't give merit-based scholarships to transfers, but I know Temple for one still gives need-based scholarships.
And forgive me if this is a stupid question, but would I be paying a grant back?

NJTheatreMOM

You want the most grant money you can possibly get. Grant money doesn't need to be paid back. You need to know this sort of thing when talking to colleges.

An excellent book is Princeton Review's "Paying for College Without Going Broke." If your library doesn't have the latest edition, request that they borrow one for you via inter-library loan or whatever.

The book is oriented towards parents, but has a tons of info that you will find extremely useful as well.

You sound smart and determined. Best of luck to you.

KatMT

At James Madison I would suggest contacting the admissions and financial aid office directly to ask about scholarship grants for transfer students.

In the School of Theatre & Dance we have a number of students who work in the shops as part of federal work study. We also have students who are not eligible for federal work-study who work as student shop and administrative assistants. We have small scholarships for continuing students in the program. Students apply in the spring semester each year for scholarships for the following year. Students are eligible to apply for these scholarships in the spring of their first year at JMU.

Since you would like to double major with Communications it would be worth contacting the Communications program as well to see about department scholarships and work study.

hushinfazen

Point Park does give scholarship money as well. Usually a talent amount will be awarded with the acceptance letter, work study is also available.