I heard that Florida State also gives in state tuition to arts majors…does anyone know if that’s true? And my D got $19,000/year from Pace back in 2013 which definitely was a little on the low side compared to others I heard about. My D17 got her letter from Pace about a month ago and got $20,500 plus another $1000 because I’m an alum.
What a long, strange trip this has (ALREADY) been!! Last night D and I were watching TV when she checked her email on her phone and saw that she had an email from Elon to check her portal: We both got so excited thinking it was the (promised date 1/18) prescreen result. Yeah, yeah-stupid us. It was “only” her academic acceptance, with scholarship. We both sat there feeling deflated, and then laughed that we were upset about a college acceptance!!! D is learning a lot about economics along this journey as well: A 6K scholarship at a public/less expensive school may be enough. A 20K scholarship at some schools may not get us there. And of course-all that may matter in the end will be who chooses her (please, somebody) artistically! We are both trying not to wish for her Senior year to fly by-but the thought of not having clarity 'til May?!? UGH. I am so grateful for all of you who post-from experience, to share, celebrate, and sometimes commiserate. NOBODY we know (well, almost nobody) understands!
I don’t think it is automatic for FSU, but I think it can be awarded - either for talent or academic merit. My D has been given a 50% waiver of out of state tuition for academic merit, but hasn’t auditioned yet. We were told her test scores were close to qualifying for 100%, so she may want to re-test. I dread telling her she would have to do another round of SAT’s…
Texas State and Montclair are the only two I know about where MT majors automatically get the out of state waiver.
I am still relatively new at chiming in on CC, but I can’t thank you all enough for all the advice and commiseration and solid information you share. The $ piece of this really is another mystery on top of all the other unknowns, with so many schools in the overall mix, plus the unique blend of academic and (hoped for) artistic acceptances. Nothing like looking at small liberal arts colleges with our son two years ago. Nice academic acceptances and some merit aid and passed prescreens are encouraging, but one fears getting excited about anything in December. I look out at the cold blowing air (we’re in the Midwest) and try to imagine spring and just the right MT program for each one of our kids. Somewhere under all that snow are flowers, right?
@KelviVan any idea what score they are looking for to get 100%waiver at FSU? My D got zero!
@BeBop1 and owensfolks, We certainly can’t afford the room, board and tuition at half of D’s schools without very generous merit or talent scholarships either. We really struggled with this while helping D finalize her list in January and February. We discussed it with her, we explained it is possible you could be accepted at one of these expensive schools, and you would need to decline because of lack of money. I have said it more than once…and the truth is, if we had to decline one of these schools on her list due to lack of money, it would be crushing, for all of us. So what you say in your post is so true and yes, it stresses me out…thanks to all of you for sharing your journeys, advice and experiences both past and present, it is very helpful.
@marg928 - two years ago my d got $16,800 per year in merit aid from Florida State, which I believe equates to an in-state tuition rate, for the following stats:
30 ACT
3.71/4.23 GPA (uw/w)
top 15% class rank from a US News top 100 high school
Somewhat to my chagrin, she passed the prescreen but opted out of the audition after she received some acceptances early in the process (and she thought the school was going to be too big).
@EmsDad My D has the exact same GPA but definitely not that ACT score…actually she got a 33 on the English and 29 on the Reading but her Math and Science were low so composite ended up only a 25. The more I think about it the more the whole thing irks me. Kids who are naturally good at Math and Science are born that way I believe! Kids who have talent are also born that way, although if those natural talents are nurtured of course they grow. So why then do they base merit money solely on SAT/ACT scores? Some kids work hard of course, but many are just naturally smart…something they are born with! Why is it that natural born smarts outweighs natural born talent for an arts student? Ugh I’m just venting now!
@owensfolks Did your daughter apply early action to Elon? I didn’t know they sent seperate academic acceptances. Anyone else hear from Elon?
marg928, I understand your frustration. My DD attends a conservatory style university and you would not believe how much academic work there is. She routinely writes 10-page plus papers, power points, etc. I think the schools give extra merit aid to kids with all-around smarts because they are essentially recruiting them. They want kids who can handle the academic load AND the training. My DD is in class over 30 hours per week. That is very different from a normal college schedule. They really have to be able to juggle.
I get that @BeBop1 but my D is a good student, she’s taking three AP classes this year plus a social studies elective that turned out to have more work than all her AP’s and she has straight A’s. Why should it matter what she got on a standardized test? Schools are claiming they are moving away from SAT/ACT and in a few years many won’t even require it but I find that to be a load of crap…they base merit money on standardized tests…period!
Academic merit awards from schools like FSU are based on recruiting kids to add to their stat line for the purpose of raising their academic profile and hence their ranking by US News and its ilk. If you look at the bond rating reports for colleges, you will see that what we call “scholarships,” the ratings agencies refer to as “tuition discounts.” Schools with high levels of tuition discounts tend to get lower bond ratings, just like companies that have to do a lot of discounting to move product through their channel.
@nodaybut2daymom My D applied early action and auditioned at Elon in November. She received artistic decision on 12/15 and academic decision last night.
By the way, if you want to delve deeper into how the “business of college” really works, I recommend reading Crazy U: One Dad’s Crash Course in Getting His Kid into College by Andrew Ferguson. The book is much less about getting his kid into college and much more about the evolution of American colleges and universities from places of higher learning into multi-multi-million and even billion dollar business enterprises.
@nodaybut2daymom my D applied early (October?) She didn’t aim necessarily for the Early Decision deadline-her goal was to get EVERYTHING into them, as she had several friends last year who waited too long, and couldn’t get an audition.
D heard from Elon (re: academic acceptance) day before yesterday. She was deferred til regular acceptance. Grrrrr
@MTMHopeful - we were told that Elon most often defers MT candidates to regular decision unless they’ve applied EA. My understanding is this is because, in their experience, most MT applicants will not choose to attend if they don’t get in the MT program. If your student would like to go there no matter the audition results, let someone in admissions know that. It may make a difference on whether or not they are accepted.
@followurheart I completely understand how you feel when you say that it would be crushing for all of you if your child got into a dream school and had to turn it down for finances. That exact thing happened to my son last year. He had been dreaming of a top school (mentioned often on this board) since he was in middle school when we toured with his sister. He got into their BFA and got a chunk of scholarship money, but it wasn’t enough. He even wrote to the director of the program and they gave a little more, but this school is pricey and isn’t known for very many high scholarships (even with a stellar academic record including National Merit recognition, 9 APs, etc…) so it just didn’t make sense financially to extend himself/ourselves that far. My heart was broken but there was no way he could go there. He’s very practical, so in his head he understood, but he was so sad.
He just finished his first semester at a much more affordable school (also BFA) and at the beginning of the semester, he started posting ‘reasons why’ he’s in the right college on social media. He recently told me that at first, he was doing this to try to convince himself, but as he started to feel more comfortable and at home, it was more about why he’s genuinely happy (he’s up to reason 54 in just 15 weeks, whew!). And he really is. I’ve never seen him this happy in his entire life! He was in a mainstage show earlier this month, and joined an acapella group that he loves. His BFA group is a tight ensemble and he has already learned a lot from his training.
I’m not one who buys the ‘they end up where they’re supposed to be’ line (to me that’s just rationalizing, like when people tell you it’s good luck if it’s raining on your wedding day, or if a bird poops on you), but I definitely think they can ‘bloom where they’re planted!’
Couldn’t agree more @lovetoact; the kids will get out of the program what they put in and will most definitely bloom where they are planted. With our third likely heading the BFA-MT route (making three kids in arts programs), there is no way we would be in a position to pay for some of the top schools. We’re debating the audition strategy now. So glad your S is thriving!
Thank you @lovetoact for that post. I’m going to remember this as we continue to move through this process. I could personally feel the loss as I read through your post. I am so grateful to learn your S is thriving, and really paving a path of success for himself, this is so valuable to share. What I also appreciate is that finances were discussed throughout your journey, it wasn’t a surprise to him… We too visited a school early fall, a big reach, BA program. I really wanted her to have a BA program on her list. It’s a huge reach school financially and academically. I have heard so many great things about the program and thought it would be the right fit for her. She knew two people from Youngarts who were attending and she really really enjoyed working with them. This was an indicator to me that we should make the trip and sample some classes and take a tour etc. When we got off the elevator two students hugged her and said, “welcome home!”…I lost it my s@#t…tears streamed down my face…it was freshman check in week and they thought I was dropping her off! We got back to the hotel later and I told my D, “we have got to keep it together here, this is a business, we can’t get sucked in emotionally, we have to keep our heads!” Her response was, “Mom, I know…it was tricky for me today, it’s an amazing program and school…but the best school for me is the one we can afford.” We say these affirmations going in, but, it does not make it any easier to let a school go if that becomes necessary OR not get offered a spot in the program after imagining yourself there for months, or years. I take comfort in your story and I love the “bloom where you’re planted”, that’s a universal piece of wisdom to carry.