Definitely, we were hoping to “win the lotto” and D to get in to CCM because we get IS tuition there. It would have been VERY affordable for us, but alas…no CCM for us.
A couple of notes:
Like @bisouu, our D was selected to be an RA which would have given her free room and board for the year, but she found her schedule would not allow time to do the job. But it is one type of school job that could potentially cover those costs. See what work/study options are available at school. Typically these jobs are more flexible and understanding of the time demands on the student than a job outside of school. They may not cover room and board but could provide spending $.
You also might want to ask the question - what sort of tuition raises are anticipated for the next 4-5 years? Your costs can go up considerably each time there is a tuition increase - especially if your aid does not increase along with it. If they don’t know, ask how tuition has increased in the last 5-10 years. This should give you an idea of what to expect.
@CMB625 thank you for that… our coaching program doesn’t know much about it so I’m glad to hear good things!
My son does work study (about $100 a week) and two shifts a week at a restaurant. I’m not sure how he’s doing it, but he’s been taking my room and board money for the last few terms and applying them to student loans and has made a really significant dent. Plus he’ll already have a survival job when he graduates (in May, unbelievably, can’t fathom how quickly this has all gone by).
Chicago has a really nice combination of survival jobs that pay $15 and up per hour and low rents (at least compared to NYC, Boston, Philly etc.)
Amazing organization and information . Thank you so much @lincoln56. Very sobering and helpful.A little scary.
P.S. Huge Congratulations to you and your exceptionally talented D. You are awesome and you are killing it!!! :-*
@lincoln56 You are AMAZING. Thank you. Do you happen to have info on University Of Alabama Birmingham? I have heard it has one of the most reasonable tuitions
@Mardeen I have UAB on my spreadsheet as it was one of my D safeties…I have tuition listed as $22K OOS. I didn’t fill in the room and board info though.
@Notmath1 UAB is approximately 36k OOS, including room and board.
I have BELMONT at 44K for room and board - not counting aid
Thank you @lincoln56 for one of the most illustrative posts! I will be inserting it into my D’s information for next year!
Everyone on here is so wonderful don’t know what I would do without CC in my life! Thanks for all the congrats! By the way Ithaca gave a nice merit scholarship too! @laylamom go luck and welcome to the ride it’s crazy!
@lincoln56 - thank you for bringing @EmsDad 's amazing post re:cost of attendance to the attention of this years’s crew. His research skills are legendary.
Very strange - my name lost the ‘alpha’ - have been away for too long 
Hi Y’all. So I have been stalking this site for a month or so and regret not following earlier. I want to say how impressed I am with all you wonderful supportive parents! My D has taken a slightly different route than what I am seeing here, but find all your stories so interesting. As an academically strong student, she has applied for theatre programs at a few ivy’s (got deferred at Yale) and BA theatre programs as well as auditioning for 7 very competitive MT programs. We have only heard from USC (got in to BA theatre-still waiting on BFA acceptance). We are going crazy here watching all the acceptance, but know we just have to be patient. We are so happy for our good friend @lincoln56 for her daughters success. Best of luck to you all!
The price tags are pretty daunting. We tried to consider cost when applying but there are always those couple that you throw “caution to the wind” for, and apply anyway. CMU is SO hard to get into; cost almost doesn’t matter because so few will have the privilege of paying. And YES… to echo what everyone is saying; this board is the reason my daughter (who can not belt & is not a great dancer) is attending college for her BFA next year. To anyone who hasn’t gotten an offer yet- do not lose hope and keep moving forward. It’s not too late to add schools. A sincere thank you to the many many who have taken the time to answer questions and offer support. Here’s to keeping our wits about us in the next few weeks and hoping we all come out the other side with happy kids!.
I haven’t logged in for a while, but I have been following all your posts and taking great heart in what I read. Thank you, all! And congrats to all your kids who have their acceptances and best wishes to all who are still waiting. My D is also still waiting for a BFA MT acceptance, with one redirect to BFA Acting in her back pocket. Problem is, she is first and foremost a dancer so she hoping for the opportunity to attend a strong triple-threat program that will allow her to continue a rigorous dance schedule while improving her vocal skills. (Virtually) alongside all of you we will get through this month! And as for cost, we found with our son’s not-MT applications two years ago that the most expensive schools were actually the most generous with $, so just as there are surprises with acceptances that come after so-so auditions, $ can come from surprising places, too. Remain hopeful and don’t hesitate to communicate with financial aid offices once your package comes in. We have found that they are great people who want to help.
Milikin, often listed in top 10 to top 15 programs gives a crazy good amount of money. Even before auditioning my son had significant tuition Merit Scholarship. Once accepted to the MT BFA, they gave him a few more thousand. The thing is, it’s in Decatur, Illinois, not exactly a booming metropolis and he is showing no interest. Can anyone help me explain how good the program is!??! or is it!?
@bandmom55 Congrats to your daughter on her acceptance to USC! Would you mind telling me when and how you heard?