BFA in Musical Theatre

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BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 2:32am

August lost his father (who was the sole supporter of his family) to ALS five years ago. He has offers at 6 top musical theatre programs but there is limited scholarships/aid available to the the few students who are accepted. It's disheartening to think that only those who come from families of means can pursue the arts.

Please click on the link and watch his video, then read his story and donate if you're able. Then please share it. He's incredibly talented and your support will help change his life. Thank you!

https://www.gofundme.com/august039s-bfa-musical-theatre-dream

Updated On: 4/20/19 at 02:32 AM

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 8:40am

can he not get a student loan from the GOVT?
This is not me being unsympathetic, im actually wondering

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 8:46am

Financial aid has NOTHING whatsoever to do with one's major. If the family is that financially strapped (Im not making judgements) his aid would go way up.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 10:48am

Government loans are already built into the FinAid pkg he rec’d and it still leaves a large gap.

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 11:05am

Do financial aid packages normally leave a large gap for the average low-income family? Just curious because I know for certain schools if your family's household income is less than ~$50k, then tuition is free (but obviously room and board may not be included.)

I hope he reaches his dreams and am glad his parent is being resourceful.

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 11:20am

You're absolutely right, financial aid has nothing to do with one's major, but the majority of the top BFA muiscal theatre programs are at colleges that do not meet 100% of need and many of these college are public universities, which if you're an out of state student, the price tag is much higher. If you clicked the link and read his story you would know all the details, including that he qualifies for a Pell Grant, so the family more than qualifies for need-based aid.

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 11:33am

Wick3 said: "Do financial aid packages normally leave a large gap for the average low-income family? Just curious because I know for certain schools if your family's household income is less than ~$50k, then tuition is free (but obviously room and board may not be included.)

I hope he reaches his dreams and am glad his parent is being resourceful.

"This information is not correct. Every college/university has it's own guidlines for financial aid and not all have the same resources. Top Ivy League universities offer free tuition if the family's income is less than $50k, but that's a very select group of colleges and not the one's offering the BFA musical theatre programs.

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 12:59pm

BFA programs (even BA in Theatre programs) often get special treatment in admissions and likely will get special treatment for financial aid. He has six programs competing for his admission - he should be able to appeal the financial aid decision - and get a better package - but time is short.

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 1:24pm

ggersten said: "BFA programs (even BA in Theatre programs) often get special treatment in admissions and likely will get special treatment for financial aid. He has six programs competing for his admission - he should be able to appeal the financial aid decision - and get a better package - but time is short."

Thank you. The family has done this and one problem is public universities are only able to offer federal aid, no grants/scholarships.

#10

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/20/19 at 11:00pm

BroadwayBaby25 said: "
Thank you. The family has done this and one problem is public universities are only able to offer federal aid, no grants/scholarships."

There are some overly broad statements being made in this thread. They may be true for this student and the six schools that have offered him a spot, but they are not universally accurate.

For example, Ray Bolger left his estate to UCLA in part to provide for undergraduate scholarships in the performing arts. The survivors of murdered actress Rebecca Schaeffer do (or at least did when I was there) offer in her memory scholarships specifically for theater majors at UCLA. Some scholarships require a specific application (it is probably too late for this year); others are determined by the acceptance committee and automatically built into whatever financial aid package is offered.

It is true that most public institutions have fewer merit-based scholarships to dole out, but it isn't true they never have any; nor is it true that one's major never makes a difference.

And as for the statement that "only rich people" can be in the arts, there is no rule that one must have a BFA to achieve a profession in the theater. Depending on where one lives, one can get a job, take acting/singing/dancing classes and skip college altogether. My local community college puts on excellent productions, so there must be something going on in their theater department and community colleges are a well-known way to save money on the first two years if one does go to college. Etc. and so forth.

I don't write any of this to discourage readers from crowd-funding the kid in question. There are a myriad of worse ways to spend your money.

***

OK, I checked out the link. The page was put up by John McMartin's daughter, so FOLLIES fans may want to contribute! The young man in question lives in Los Angeles, so he certainly has options (including some excellent community colleges in Santa Monica and elsewhere in the Greater LA area) other than a formal BFA program. Good luck to him (and all college-age kids)! There's no question that college has become ridiculously expensive!

Updated On: 4/20/19 at 11:00 PM

#11

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/21/19 at 10:21am

I think a lot of people in this thread are right about some general rules about aid/scholarships and stuff but don't know the specifics of what aid entails, and how much even really good aid can cover.

I am a student at a public, state university in the lowest possible income bracket as far as Federal Aid goes (basically meaning the quantities I list are around the most possible federal aid a student can receive). This past year I qualified for a $5,500 Federal Direct Subsidized loan, a $2,000 Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan, a $1,500 Ohio College Opportunity Grant and a $7,556 Federal Pell Grant. All that comes to $16,557 of government aid for a year. And keep in mind that the federal loans have to be paid back with interest after graduation, which can make people (especially people in a field that doesn't typically thrust people into financial stability immediately after graduation, cough cough theatre).

The college I attend (a relatively high quality, yet public school) costs around $30,000/year for my in-state tuition. That doesn't include books and supplies, which can add up to more than $2000/year. That means that even with high levels of aid, a student is often left to pay half of the tuition themselves. If this student wants to go to a private school or an out of state school for a more prestigious program, the prices can soar up to around $60,000. Even amazing financial aid barely puts a dent in that.

OP is wrong that public universities can't offer grants/scholarships, but they are in high demand (particularly for performing arts), usually don't cover all of school expenses, and by this point in the year it's typically too late to apply for them.

OP is right that students from lower class backgrounds often don't have the same luxury of studying arts/humanities in college as students from higher class backgrounds because of exorbitant costs and family pressure to major in something that can provide financial stability. Theatre has for a long time, unfortunately, had an issue with elitism and exclusionary practices in who can appreciate/enter it. If you don't want to donate I don't mean to force anyone to donate, but this is by no means an unworthy cause.

#12

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/22/19 at 12:45am

Thank you, Mr. Yeager, for details to bring the conversation into perspective.

May I ask in what state do you reside? I'm floored by the $30K for in-state tuition! That's as much or more than a lot of private schools, and more than twice as much as highly rated state schools like UCLA and UC Berkeley.

Updated On: 4/22/19 at 12:45 AM

#13

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/22/19 at 10:47am

As someone who went to a conservatory at a private university out of state, my school did offer a scholarship based on my audition, but to take that meant I couldn't accept any scholarship money given to me from the school academically. So I had to pick the amount to was more instead of being allowed to have both. Just another perspective.

I will agree that it's totally fair game to pit schools against each other for scholarship raises if he's got a lot of schools interested.

#14

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/22/19 at 3:11pm

GavestonPS said: "Thank you, Mr. Yeager, for details to bring the conversation into perspective.

May I ask in what state do you reside? I'm floored by the $30K for in-state tuition! That's as much or more than a lot of private schools, and more than twice as much as highly rated state schools like UCLA and UC Berkeley."

I live in Ohio. I go to Miami University. It's more expensive than some smaller state schools, but it's also a bit more exclusive and it costs about the same as Ohio State University.

#15

BFA in Musical Theatre

Posted: 4/22/19 at 8:45pm

Fredrich Yeager said: "

I live in Ohio. I go to Miami University. It's more expensive than some smaller state schools, but it's also a bit more exclusive and it costs about the same as Ohio State University.

"

Thank you for your reply. Damn that's pricey for in-state tuition!

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