 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Alfred
Date: 2009-08-19 07:33
I'm getting ready for college currently. I'll be taking auditions at Oberlin, Manhattan, Eastman, and possibly Northwestern. Anyone whose seen my posts knows that because I (admittedly, annoyingly) keep mentioning that. It'd be fantastic to get into one of those schools! Really. But there's a problem with that. One with which I'm sure everyone is familiar; going to school for music is ridiculously expensive. If I stay instate, I'll be, to some extent, circumventing the costs, but, if I do get into any of those schools, and wish to attend, I'll have to pay. Rather, my parents will. We definitely don't have $50K a year to pour into college. No one with whom I'm familiar has $200k lying around, either. I hate the fact that money has the potential to inhibit me from getting the education I desire or from getting into one of my dream schools, but that's life.
So, I need ways to pay for school. I do plan on working, and I'm going to apply for scholarships; I've a high enough GPA to have that option, but I'm very wary of student loans. Basically, what I'm trying to do is to go to school without bankrupting my parents and, most importantly, I AM TRYING NOT TO GO INTO DEBT. Finding a job will be hard enough when I leave school; I don't need to worry about debt that will follow me until I'm fifty. No.
So, I'm asking for help. Do you all know of prominent music scholarships? Do you know of loans that, if taken, will have affordable rates? How should I begin to search for scholarships?
Advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-08-19 13:51
It seems as though now no student or their parent is really able to come up with the $50K for the prestigious schools and virtually all of them give some sort of aid based upon your financial need. Many of these schools, such as Northwestern, have lots of alums who contribute $$ for the sole purpose of providing scholarships for the undergrads.
Generally the school will offer you a package of scholarships, grants and loans plus they have calculated an amount that your parents and you should contribute based upon your need. In today's market, you are wise to apply to a number of schools and see what sort of offer you obtain. Some of the students for whom I have written letters have gotten $40-45K in their package. If your SATs aren't that high you might consider taking a SAT prep class and re-take the test. Some schools "collect" students with high SATs and that is a good way to ensure that they collect you.
There are even creative ways to pay off your loans. If you work in some lesser school districts, they will pay off your student loans as part of teaching there.
I would start with your hgh school guidance counselor and be sure you apply for all the local scholarships first. They might not be huge but they'll cover books and maybe an upgrade on your instrument.
Good luck. It's an exciting time in your life!
Eefer guy
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Author: Alfred
Date: 2009-08-19 14:12
Well, I have an 1850 on my SAT, but I do plan to retake it.
See, the only problem with schools offering scholarships, at least to my limited knowledge is that private schools, i.e conservatories, usually have little scholarship money to give, willingly or otherwise. Could I research this in advance?
And see, I have the disadvantage of having a guidance counselor who's not very supportive of me. He's quite a jerk. He doesn't understand that some people want to do music and go out of state as opposed to wanting to be a doctor who stays instate. I'm not exaggerating. He's been trying to get me to reconsider, because he says that with my academic capabilities, I could do something else. I don't want to. Plus, he knows little to nothing about performing arts schools, let alone their financial aid offers.
And as for the upgrade, I have a Buffet Vintage that I, or again, my parents ( d: ) purchased back in March. I'm very happy with it, and I expect to use it for a long, long time. It would be nice to have some money to put towards an A Clarinet, however, or as mentioned, books. My parents just paid a small fortune for my sister's books, and are, to say the least, not happy.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-08-19 14:59
It's tough these days because college is so expensive. Also, most private schools require that you live on campus the first few years and pay their fees. Almost all private schools give grants and scholarships but often not enough. That was one of my major frustrations with the Peabody Conservatory, which I've recently resigned from, was that I would lose most of my best students to other schools because of the lack of scholarship money. It's always a combination of need based and where you place in the audition procedure. If you are in the top 2 or 3 and they need 5 new clarinet students and you're in a low - middle income bracket you might get a real good offer but you will probably still have to come up with half the expenses and some of the offers might be in the way of loans. The only way you will know is to take the auditions and find out how much they offer you.
My advise is to make sure you take some auditions in state schools as well so you can have an alternative. There are some very good schools in you state. As a matter of fact I've already suggested that you go to a state school, save your money, and go to one of the "big" name schools for your masters degree. Almost every student today has to go to graduate school so your better off doing that in my opinion. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-08-19 15:14
I wouldn't put too much of your decision on the advice of high school guidance counselors. They tend to have one piece of advice that they like to give. At my HS, it was to go to city college for 2 years to save money.
Expensive schools are expensive. Unless you're an absolutely stellar player, I'd expect to go pretty heavily into debt, especially since some endowments dried up somewhat with the stock market nastiness of the past year.
Really, though, for undergrad, I'd recommend bargain hunting for schools. At least consider a place or two that won't break the bank and allows you to explore all your options, but that still has a good music department with a good clarinet studio. You may decide, a year in, that you want to do something else, and it's a lot easier to justify and logistically make the switch if you're paying $7000 a year than $38,000.
As long as you have a reasonably solid undergrad program, you can worry about the pricier options come grad school. I'm taking $20k/yr in Stafford loans for grad school starting this fall (I have nearly a half scholarship), but it will be manageable because I have zero debt from my undergrad, which cost $1700 to $3200 per year (fees went up over the years) at a local state school that had a quite good music program (and I didn't even pick it for that, having started as only a music minor).
I had my "dream list" for grad schools, and was rejected from every one of them. Looking back, I realized that they were all (save one) schools that I had some impression that I SHOULD want to go there, but actually were not that good of a match for my personality and goals. I made a new list for round two, and am starting next month at a school that is a far better match for me, and that I can not figure why it wasn't on my list the first time.
I hope to pay for grad school by starting my own business, launching later today, which should have a sponsor link on this board before the week is out (shameless plug).
Textbooks are a scam. Borrow, buy used from other students, shop around online, or just wait a few weeks and see if you can do without.
Essentially, though, if you have no money and want to go to a really expensive school without going into debt... good luck with that. It can happen, just don't expect that it will.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-08-19 15:51
Afred, just a cost-saving suggestion for your parents: Used books are substantially cheaper than new tesxts. Slso, except for texts printed especially for just one school, it's better to shop aggressively online to find the best deals. Places like Amazon.com can be your best friend, when looking for cheaper texts! The only college texts I got at my own school bookstore were the math texts, which were custom printings for our college. Everything else came from online vendors, unless I had spare scholarship money to burn on books after all my tuition was paid for.
Jeff
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-08-19 18:31
Well if your guidance counselor is a dud then i would definitely seek advice from someone else in this matter. There are actually some services that help with now too although I've not known anyone that has used them. You need someone that is able to listen to your needs. With a sister in school you will actually look very needy to the financial aid people. That's a good position to be in as you're asking for $$.
Ed is right that the schools that are only conservatories tend NOT to give much $$ but a lot of other schools have great music programs. With your SATs you might be in line for some academic scholarships that some but not all of the schools offer. Also some of these schools have fine programs in other areas in case you decide half way through that you aren't going to be a music major. Virtually all of the ivy league schools have great music departments and many allow you to take lessons from off campus adjunct faculty who are professionals in the city orchestras. Definitely that way in my undergrad school.
I have a Ph.D. in genetics but I had enough courses to be a music minor and could have been a major had I taken some piano along the way. I still play in musical groups but I receive my major salary check from science. If you have something else in your life that you also have talent you might want to at least THINK of a plan B too. Many of my musician friends tell me "I would have made much more $$ doing anything else." However, I've always had the thought of "I wonder how good I could have been had I been a music major" so it's a double edged sword!
I hope our comments are of some use!
Eefer guy
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-08-20 15:00
Great advise Eefer guy, plan B. Most clarinet majors need a plan B if they want to eat when they graduate. There just aren't the jobs available. Wake up and smell the roses. Follow your dream but have a back up plan. A double major or at least a viable minor is a good beginning. ESP
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-08-20 15:16
My daughter got accepted at three well regarded state music schools here in Michigan. We told her she could audition for out-of-state schools as well, but that the difference in funding would be her responsibility. (We are covering the undergrad costs for her at the state schools) She ended up at a university with an excellent music program, where she is paying in-state rates, and is receiveng a nice shunk of scholarship money. Her current teacher had excellent things to say about her new school, its program and the professor in charge, whom he knows well.
Even so, she will be doing her clarinet studies in conjunction with another academic program for a double major. Her grades and honors/AP scores were high enough to get her admitted into the school's honors college for the second program, and also added a bit more to the scholarship funding pot.
She has (wisely) decided that she would gain greater benefit at present from studying the way she is going to, and saving the top-tied schools for the future, if she wants to investigate them for a graduate degree later on. AFTER she has a decent paying job.
Jeff
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Author: Rob Vitale
Date: 2009-08-21 02:59
here's some free advise, get into an okay school that gives you a lot of money. Some conservatories will match it. Manhattan will, I can't vouch for the other schools.
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Author: Sabinemeyerlol
Date: 2009-08-22 16:31
most of these schools offer merit scholarships to begin with - particularly eastman offers partial scholarships to most of their students
the name of the school doesn't matter though - the are a lot of great teachers at schools that don't charge as inhuman amounts.
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Author: Adrianna
Date: 2009-08-22 17:13
Another option is to take a year off after High School and get yourself a well-paying job. I know for myself, I am responsible for paying my university tuition while my parents support me through room and board. Taking a year off, is a great idea because it gives you a chance to save up the appropriate funds as well as explore you university options more throughly. I worked full-time while still taking private lessons and looking back it was one of the best decisions.
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-08-22 20:47
Very simply put...
Any clarinet player who takes on more than $100K debt in achieving a DMA or terminal degree is a total Village Idiot.
When dealing in these astronomical amounts of money that have no relation to work opportunities and compensation, it shows only how off kilter the US higher educational system has become.
Almost every (and I repeat EVERY) state has a university that a serious student can get a BM very inexpensively.
A straw survey of recent Mighty Five job winners include:
Nuccio (Colorado, Boulder)
Jennifer Gunn, piccolo CSO, (Akron, Duquesne)
Morales (Indiana)
Wayne (U of Michigan)
No longer do the traditional conservatories or universities have a strangle hold on quality education.
If I were to advise a young student entering college and embarking on a pro career I would tell him/her:
1) Avoid debt at any cost
2) Go to a place where you will have a good teacher with plenty of playing opportunities
3) Use your Ipod continuosly
4) In your summers, get some lessons with great players who are respected and who can help you by opening doors
5) Practice, practice, practice
6) Aspire towards a good graduate assistantship that will allow you to avoid student loans and where they may even pay you to help out in the classroom or private studio.
Dont forget to use your metronome.
Get acquainted with the local microbreweries in the state.
Get your Omega-3's.
Avoid direct sunlight
Did I leave anything out?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2009-08-22 21:04
Dileep Gangolli wrote:
< Did I leave anything out?
Since it takes an adequate amount of AIR to produce a beautiful sound, exercise regularly and keep yourself in good physical condition.
Personally, I run every day.
Get your heart rate up at least once a day and you will find that your lung capacity will also increase.
...GBK
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-08-22 22:15
GBK,
Yes.... diet and excercise are absolutely top of the list and not often spoken about. As is sleep.
Crucial.
Thanks for pointing this out.
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