Merit scholarships

bridgenail
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:55:29 +0000

One other way to try figure out merit is working directly with the teachers in the fall. This would require your kid to talk about money…so you’ll have to decide their comfort level.

Teachers may be a bit more forthcoming in private with your kid. I would not advise for your kid to lead with questions on money. But after a good meeting or two, they could try a heart to heart with a teacher that feels “approachable”. Your kid could say something like…I’m really interested in auditioning here…but in the end, money will matter. Do you know how that works for UG? They do NOT have refer to themselves or their talent level…just UG in general.

Some teachers may not want to respond in detail (besides what is generally known). But through the grapevine, I have heard of teachers saying…well we don’t give a lot of merit so if it matters a lot you may want to try us for grad school. Some have been forthcoming on their high needs or low needs for the upcoming year. So you could potentially glean some information.

It may be a good exercise for you and your kid to start decoupling merit from solely related to talent. That’s a hard hump to get over. But it can make the “money discussion” less emotional or scary…if you are simply asking about merit guidance in general…and not specifically related to you (which most teachers will not answer bc they don’t have enough control of the purse strings).

Something to think about with your kid. Remember music admission
WANTS you to apply (hence the 90% of kids get merit at our school!!!…and my kid got nothing…and didn’t attend…so that 90% may not reflect offers…only kid that accept!…so be careful with the marketing numbers).

On the other hand, teachers may be a little more empathetic to the high costs of auditioning…and getting no or low merit. So they could give you some comments, hints…or nothing.

Just another quiver in your bow.