I got an email this morning from an admissions counselor with the offer, portal isn’t updated since FAFSA is still behind. My Oboe friend has said the professor said scholarships are all going out today.
Thank you for this (and for the reminder to check the other thread as well).
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Some schools have a form they can send to you or activate in your portal. It may already be there with the financial offer, but sometimes you have to ask for access to it (we did). You have the best chance to win an appeal if you have offers from peer institutions that effectively lower your COE. Be very specific with your numbers and absolutely submit the offer letters/paperwork to provide evidence of the offers.
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I described my son’s appealing experience last year in this post.
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Who did you contact at UMich? I don’t see any button/form/link to appeal in his portal…
Also- how do you find peer institutions?? I know some schools post these- but they seem to be general university peer schools as opposed to music school/programs that might be peers…
First, check the artistic profile in SMTD. Go to the bottom where it says 2024 Undergrad and click. Click Open application and sign in. If the appeals button is live, it will be at the top of the page. It says something like, Submit an Appeal.
If it’s not available, contact fin aid or even your studio prof at the SMTD. In terms of “peer institutions,” do you have offers from other state schools UMich would be comparable to? Think like IU. You could use MSU, but that’s more of a “big brother, little brother” relationship and not one they tend to compete with for students. If your offers are from other programs, conservatories, use what you’ve got! You are trying to show the RESULT of the offer and how it lowers your costs. You’re not trying to match the offer amount. UMich can offer the same amount as another institution but it won’t make the same dent since UMich is on the pricey side. I hope this is making sense, as I’m trying to type it on the fly! Others here may have more advice or different ways to approach an appeal as well.
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Ok- we definitely don’t have an appeal button (maybe because it’s merit, not financial aid?) so we’ll reach out to FA.
His larger offer is from a private university with a COA comparable to UMich. And would definitely help bring COA down at Michigan. Although the university itself isn’t as “prestigious” as UMich, the specific program is competitive.
Just wasn’t sure if it would compare as a whole
Thanks!!!
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S22 drafted an email to the admissions people at his top choice program saying that he would love to commit, but he had a slightly larger offer from another (less competitive, but he didn’t say that) program, and he wanted to see if they would increase their offer or perhaps match.
They replied that he should fill out a form, which they provided, and include the offer from the other school.
It worked and he stuck to his word and committed.
Best of luck, all! The worst they can say is no, and you won’t know unless you ask.
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Well this is quite hard - D24 not keen to decide …have explained that can’t continue much longer
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Same situation here. Pros and cons for each school but comparing apples and oranges!
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They’ll see each other, if your child’s appeal for more aid is successful and he enrolls. My son will be in the BS in violin performance track, but probably adding another major or at least a minor. He’s got a pretty wide circle of music friends from years of summer music programs (not to mention all the ones he met doing auditions around the country) and if your child was ever at Greenwood, Tanglewood, Interlochen, or even one of UMich’s summer music programs they may have already met.
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help with studio situations please!!! My son didn’t get his first choice teachers at any of his schools and is really agonizing about it. does anyone have advice about whether it is ever a good idea to request a different studio before accepting an offer? it seems to me that if you were not assigned to your first choice the reason was that there was not room or that teacher did not want to teach you? would you just be offending the teacher who did accept you by asking the question while not actually helping your situation?
I would highly recommend the following (and these are not your only options).
- Have your son reach out to the professor whose studio he was accepted into. See if they can do a 15 minute zoom call to get acquainted.
and/or - reach out to any music friends who may have insight into that professor. While we were on campus for auditions at one school, we asked random music majors passing by what they knew about professors and all were friendly and were willing to give their impressions, along with giving insight into working styles that seemed to fit best with each professor’s studios.
- realize that the professor themselves know quite a bit about which students are likely to be a great fit for the next 4 years. They have a vested interest in seeing their students succeed, after all!
- The professors your son preferred may not have any openings, but they all agreed they wanted him the school and found another professor that fits. Or, that professor may be about to go on a leave of absence. Or to another school!
Best wishes, that must be a tough one for him.
Is there anyone at that school your kid can talk to? Grad student or older student in the same studio? Things happen that are not public yet for certain reasons, teachers are humans - they get sick, change jobs and simply retire. I would try to get more insight before making any serious moves.
Another way - ask for an audition feedback, it is sometimes provided if requested. Ask follow up, hypothetical questions about studio assignments, how it is decided. Some professors “combine” studios for certain type of classes, so all students can benefit as a bigger group. Example - one of the professors is a specialist in baroque music or an auxiliary instrument like piccolo, that requires special/slightly different skills.
Good luck!
MSM vs CIM for BM Composition
We got comparable merit scholarships from both. Can you please share your thoughts on either/both of these colleges?
Congratulations! My son has not been to any of those camps. Where are you from? We are fro northern Virginia, outside DC. I wish there was a way for music majors to meet each other before school starts. My son doesn’t know anyone going so far.
The struggle is real over here and my son is not longer as confident about wanting to go to Michigan. Now that he has had more time (bc of not getting enough money to commit last week), he is thinking more about UGA and the things he liked there. I think that he is putting weight on things that aren’t as important. He wants to go visit Michigan again but we have very little time to do it. We would have to fly bc he can’t afford to miss any more days off school. He is already going to miss 2 days 4/18-19 for all state band. It is making me anxious now bc I felt like he was ready to make his decision a week ago if they had given him enough money. He said on Sat that he was 97-99% sure he wanted to go and now he is not.
There is no school next Wed so I am looking at the possibility of flying in Tuesday night, spending Wednesday on campus and flying home that night. It is the only school we visited only once. He didn’t go there for an audition day bc the professor was in our area and offered to audition my son here.
At UGA he would probably be a big fish in a smaller pond than at Michigan and I think he likes that a little. I think he is nervous about all of the talent at Michigan. He also prefers the marching band at UGA (by a lot) and that seems to have more pull than I wish it did.
I would appreciate any worse of advice if your student is having similar struggles.
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How many of his instrument are there at Michigan? Just curious
I think there are 17 in the tuba euphonium studio. I don’t know how many are tuba versus euphonium. I think the professor only accepted two students.
Just an aside- we have the same struggles here! Only we are looking at 4 possible contenders, one of which is also Mich, who didn’t offer my son anything (but he loves the idea of being there!). We are also in VA and my younger son is going to be 2nd chair euphonium at all-state! 
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