My daughter was offered Eastman from the waitlist last night. She was excited to receive the offer from the voice studio she wanted, and the financial aid package was very nice, but it wasn’t enough to compete with others. Hopefully the next person on the list will get an exciting email in time!
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Wondering if we should appeal again??
I would – It can’t hurt. Still waiting on appeals on our end and hoping some funds may become available as student accept elsewhere and that deadline gets closer. May 1 is looming large, though
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Colleges don’t care what you ask for - they have budgets and they have to use it to get all. They are businesses. That you got more money is awesome. But they made a business decision - it’s not personal.
I would not re-appeal again and keep your student emotionally attached.
I would find the school you can afford, the school that has shown you love - and love them back.
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Just chiming in that music programs may run a little differently with respect to the appeals process than general colleges.
It is not unusual to request a second appeal for money to close the gap. And it can be successful.
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Just wanted to chime in and say that, throughout this whole process, some schools have made it very clear when this sentiment applies to them… and perhaps even clearer to those it does not.
That has very strongly factored into our decision.
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Still undecided. The UNT professor retirements threw a monkey wrench into his decision making process. I think it will come down to the wire. It’s good to have options though!
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I guess the good thing is that they announced the retirement before May 1st. But it also sucks that they only waited until about a week before May 1st to make said announcement. I feel awful for anyone that has totally committed at this point.
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I wonder if it’s a true retirement or a budget cut - we’ll pay you to go away.
“Last month, UNT offered buyouts to faculty with at least 15 years of service. Tenured faculty could receive a payout equal to one year of salary, while some non-tenure-track faculty on multiyear contracts could receive half a year’s salary to leave early. About 30 faculty members have applied ahead of the the April 10 deadline, Keller said, and no faculty have been laid off, though some adjunct instructors may not be rehired if their courses were eliminated.”
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I will admit I did wonder the same thing, it was just odd that on the same exact day 3 people decided they are all retiring at the same exact time.
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We will do a 3rd appeal to the school DC will likely attend.
Edited a grumpy post.
You did make an important point in the post you edited. And I’m going to reiterate here for people thinking about the cost of college in the future. For performance majors, particularly classical, there will likely be costs associated with summer festivals throughout college. So when thinking about how much one can afford per year, it is important to keep in mind that the college COA is likely not the only expense. There may be travel/festival costs over the summer, and the student may not be able to have paid employment over the summer due to the timing of, and attendance at, festivals.
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Good luck. If going regardless, why not ?
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We heard from one of the retiring professors and this was exactly the case. Financial incentive to retire due to budget issues at UNT.
It seems as if music is a differentiator for UNT at the national level. Hopefully they can manage cuts without damaging their program.
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These are absolute facts. My daughter picks up gigs throughout the school year and works for the youth orchestras, but summertime is festival time and no money is being made. Quite the opposite! 
summer festival cost is another important factor to consider when choosing which studio to commit to. Some professors teaching in summer festivals can bring a couple of their students for free, or to advocate for fellowship or tuition waver; some professors have strong reputation of sending students to paid summer programs - at least enough to cover travel and lodging and food. If school A costs 10K more to attend but the professor there can bring you to summer programs where you can also study under other masters, I think that’s worth consideration.
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That’s a great point… but can you ask up front? And there’s no guarantee that won’t change (or that they might bring other students instead), right?
Conversely, I know some schools will offer stipends/aid specifically for summer programs, so I guess that’s worth asking admissions about.
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My son has gotten some funding for summer programs every year from Blair, but the amount varies and isn’t predictable. He’s also usually done shorter programs interspersed with working to pay for them rather than summer long programs (so one summer he did the college program at Rocky Ridge in Estes Park, CO and then worked as a camp counselor there for a few weeks when his program was over. This summer he’s doing the Akropolis chamber program which is at Interlochen this year and then staying to work an office job at Interlochen to cover costs/save some for grad school).
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My kid spent most undergrad summers at one or sometimes more than one festival in Europe. Their university paid for the festivals as well as airfare. They were in a BA degree program at an Ivy. It is an important factor to investigate when applying to schools, I think. I wonder that the policy on this is at some of the top conservatories and schools of music.
Part of what I edited earlier, leaving out the grumpy bits. My daughter has 3 by invitation festivals this summer. I think she has a total of 2-3 weeks off. All are tuition free but one charges for dorm space. 2 of the festivals are on the West coast, we live on the East. So with Ubers and such 6K or so. This has been the case since she was 10 or 12 and will likely continue through Grad school. Having these experiences and connections seem essential to thriving in this world, so not extra. Add to that, a good professional level violin, in her case, and bow.
Just daunting for a moderate income family. I’m sure we are not alone.
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