Speaking to those interested in IU financial aid. My son’s audition is on Friday for percussion performance. He loves IU. I will not tell him that today his financial aid from the school is the $5,500 Stafford Loan. That’s it. I do know Jacobs will give the merit based on his audition. Does anyone know a typical merit award for a strong percussionist? Even if it’s $15,000 per year, it’ll be approximately $45,000 per year to attend! We are OOS. I am having a bit of sticker shock and I will tell you why. Almost 2 weeks ago he had a wonderful audition at UNT. He was really comfortable there and full of respect and admiration for the staff. UNT already awarded him $4,000 per year, but at this school, any merit award automatically triggers a tuition waiver for OOS to get in state tuition! So that equates to another $12,150!! And he could get a bit more in a small award from their school of music. I guess I didn’t realize what a great situation this is until I saw the cost of IU at this point in time for him. Likewise, Belmont University awarded him $19,000 initially, then $11,000 more from his audition, making it approx. $27,000. Yes, Belmont is a private school. But UNT is a public school like IU, and we are out of state at both. The price difference may be so great that this decision will make itself.
I’ll DM you.
This was certainly true for us. And the merit allocations can seem quite random and unpredictable.
Remember that programs, teachers, studios have their own set of priorities by which they allocate money which may have nothing to do with your student. Once I embraced the vagueness, this whole process was so much less stressful. Still stressful, I won’t lie!
Congratulations on the great offers you have thus far!
Wow this student is likely cooked. People talk beyond school. I won’t be surprised if the current students in the offended studio talk to their friends in other schools.
There always seems to be yet another hurdle in this process. Here are a few comments:
1.). Hopefully you have had a conversation with him already about costs. It doesn’t mean that he won’t be hurt by a school (not uncommon) but it’s best to be prepared as a family to hold the line on money.
2.). If affordable to travel, he should audition…despite your concerns. You don’t know what he’ll be offered (IU is always late btw). The offer may not be enough…but you may be able to negotiate…or not. It is part of the process. STILL, he can audition and be accepted…and pass on it until grad school (teachers understand that and there’s often more money for grad studies). Teachers do remember students so it will be worthwhile to do his best at any audition.
So, my recommendation is to continue what you started…with the knowledge that there will most likely be a school or two that is not affordable…and it sucks…but kids will get over it.
And, for any school where he is accepted, consider spending some time talking about those schools and their positive attributes. Some time should be spent on each potential school. Celebrate the accomplishments! So he’s not waiting on “one” school.
Edit: my D got one of her first gigs (a traveling one) after grad school from a teacher who remembered her from her UG audition! She passed on the school but ran into the teacher at a summer festival. The teacher ended up inviting her to the college and city to sing…so you never know! Music is a small world!
My husband is a professional musician so my son was lucky enough to grow up with mentorship as to how to be a good musician, but more importantly someone that others will hire. His advice:
- Be early
- Always come prepared
- Never back out of a gig because a better one comes up. Word travels fast.
- Be a professional at all times. Even if those around you are not. You never know if a contractor or manager is watching.
- Know your place. It is good to be confident, just portray it with your playing. Not your demeanor.
- Be a good person to work with.
I am proud to say that my kid is starting to get some good gigs. And more importantly, he is getting called back. Yes, he’s a talented musician. But he is genuinely someone who others want to work with which counts for more. Glad he listened to his dad and other mentors. 
No doubt! I am afraid the story already has made it around. My husband is the one to whom it was told and he’s the director of bands at another university and not involved in any studio audition process at all. 
So, you can get financial aid info before being accepted or before auditioning? Did you get an email from the school or is there a portal you went into to learn about the aid? We still have 3 more auditions to go so haven’t gotten any decisions yet. My son is a jazz drummer and I’m also curious about merit awards.
@Winky1 Did my message get to you? Thought I sent it, but I show no record of it. Sorry! I can try to message you again if you like!
No I didn’t get it.
Thank you, @bridgenail for this sound advice
Oh, sorry for the confusion! I was trying to tag another user!
UNT will award academic merit with UNT acceptance which is well before auditions. Then after acceptance to the College of Music you can get music merit.
He was accepted to the universities already, not the music schools within the universities. UNT sent an email in their email system, and IU sent and email to his regular email saying to check one.iu. So these initial offers are from admissions. Same with Belmont. Then more merit can come after audition. But IU’s only merit will come from the music school.
Yes! Thank you! I just responded
My daughter has her vocal performance audition this Friday at IU. It is definitely not very affordable for those of us who are out of state, but if you’re in state, it’s pretty good. My daughter has been accepted but hasn’t heard anything about merit/institutional scholarships yet. We’re hoping for a decent music scholarship, but we’ll see.
My daughter also auditioned at UNT a couple of weeks ago and has also been awarded their $4k merit scholarship. We’re obviously still waiting to hear about a music scholarship. It’s not currently her #1 choice, probably mostly because we live in Texas, and she wants to spread her wings and fly far away. But if she ends up there, I know she will get an amazing education because UNT is a fantastic music school. I actually grew up in Denton, and as a VP major myself, everyone assumed I would go there, but much like my mini-me, I wanted to get out of my hometown. I ended up going 3 hours away to Abilene because when I told my parents I wanted to go to Juilliard (because in 1993 before the internet, that was the one I had heard of), they just laughed and laughed and told me to keep dreaming, LOL. That disappointment stuck with me, though, and my daughter is auditioning at Juilliard next month 
But being back in Denton last month was very nostalgic for me. It’s grown a lot, but it really is a great college town. It’s small enough to not be overwhelming, big enough to be interesting, and close enough to Dallas and Ft. Worth that you can always find something to do. Because of the two excellent music/arts colleges, they have great community groups, as well, because it turns out a lot of music majors stick around after graduation. I sang in the community chorus and performed in the community theater and light opera company in high school, and I babysat for the community band . There are probably some good paid gigs playing in the pit for some of those performances, and several of the area churches also pay student musicians to sing/play, either regularly or for special services.
Good luck to your son, wherever he ends up! We’re doing our whirlwind weekend this weekend: IU Friday, Oberlin Saturday, and CIM Sunday. Then we have 3 more to go over the next several weeks (Eastman and CMU in 2 weeks, and then Juilliard by itself in early March). This sure is a crazy ride!
Thank you @Clara30 ! And all the best to your daughter on her auditions!!
My son LOVES UNT. He is a jazz guitarist. There is so much opportunity to gig in the DFW area. He does gigs he never thought he would do (service calls for symphonies, church services, professors have recc him for national acts coming through TX near and as far as Austin) alongside what he loves to do jazz ensembles and singer/songwriter gigs. It’s a great place for an undergrad degree and a great place for us to visit all the way from CT. He had every intention of staying in the Boston/NY area but somehow his path led him there…he swears he will be back to NY for grad school. Love your little, growing hometown
Toi toi toi to your daughter on her upcoming IU audition! Wishing her all the best. I have a VP freshman there currently–she’s a mezzo. As I mentioned above, Jacobs dishes out the academic/institutional/merit money to their students. It doesn’t come from general IU admissions. Here is a link explaining it. And in my experience (3 kids), when they say scholarship info will be released BY April 1, April 1 (give or take a day or 2) is what to expect. Feel free to reach out by message if you have questions while on campus this weekend:).
Not necessarily with admission, but usually before auditions. My daughter was admitted to UNT in October or November, but we didn’t get notified about her merit award until mid-December. Once we were, I think every voice teacher in the music department emailed her to make sure she knew, LOL. They seem to be very strong on recruiting there