<p>There is a lot of information on this site about the amount of talent awards from the better-known schools. Some of the threads are pretty detailed and it helped us rule out applications to BoCo, CMU and Hartt - even the maximum award would not have allowed my son to attend these programs.</p>
<p>And when the scholarship letters went out in March for Point Park it was also pretty clear what the maximum award was (many parents on CC shared this) - though there is always a little wiggle room.</p>
<p>What is not known is what the lesser-tier schools may be able to do for students - these programs see fewer applications yet they still need to cast productions.</p>
<p>Even though my son got accepted at 3 of the top programs (on Emsdads list) he chose the University of Memphis because they went out their way to make sure he would receive both in-state tuition and a talent award. Thus, it was the only school where he could get a BFA and graduate debt-free.</p>
<p>We knew little about this program when he applied. The main drivers were that he could gain acceptance to the university with pretty average academics (3.0 and 21 ACT) as well as U Memphis being a real campus in a diverse metropolitan area. There was some mention of an MT endowment to support the new program on the department website - but no specific scholarship amounts are listed.</p>
<p>But being a new program there are not a lot of older students and so they were clearly looking for applicants with performance experience who can step into roles immediately - and one of the requirements of the scholarship is that he be in two shows per semester. </p>
<p>So it is true what others have said that there is often no way to know what is truly available until after auditions. Can some students coming behind us expect the same package? I dont know. Are there other lesser-known programs in the same situation? Probably, yes. All the more reason for middle-income families to be strategic and not limit your college search to the biggest, most-established programs.</p>