<p>I am very much appreciating this lively discussion and wealth of information. Sorry if the original title was misleading, as all the schools certainly are not conservatories. I believe the consensus is that, aside from Oberlin which I know personally meets 100% of financial need based on the FAFSA and CSS Profile (and including small subsidized federal loans and work study), and special schools like Colburn, most schools do not have this generous an aid policy for all admitted students. Sounds like some believe Northwestern meets 100% of need if they admit you, while others don’t think so. Certainly I will help my friend personally verify the information directly with schools.
From my own experience with my S’s peers, based on talent alone (with even zero need) some highly talented students have been offered “full ride” merit scholarships at NEC, Julliard and MSM (on trombone, oboe and string bass/voice). Luckily the current friend I am helping plays a high demand instrument and is quite gifted in the talent department. I believe very generous merit scholarships will be forthcoming from most schools. My goal is to help this person know what to expect (given both the high need and talent level), though at most schools there is no guarantee.
The idea of waiving application fees via guidance counselor is excellent for those schools that will do it.
I wanted to add one more thought about outside scholarships reducing need/merit scholarships – I know personally that Oberlin reduces the federal subsidized loan or work study money first (you get to choose which one)-- so that generally it actually still is helpful in the long run to win some outside scholarship money for some particular schools. In other words, winning the outside award reduces how much time you have to spend making money to pay for school while you are in school (work study) or when you finish (student loans).<br>
I hope this thread will be helpful to others in this process. If I’d known to ask these questions a year ago when my S was applying I would have known more of what to expect financially (such as being prepared for the “gap” between EFC and need/merit scholarships at some schools).</p>