Financial Assistance

Financial Aid Available To Music Students
Financial aid packages, which combine merit and need-based awards, grants and loans, will first be received by admitted students in late March as a result of our block admissions calendar. Thereafter, awards are prepared for students as they are admitted, after the necessary financial aid applications and forms are received, for as long as financial aid dollars are available.

Music Performance Awards
Music Performance Awards are "merit" scholarships. You will automatically be considered for a Music Performance Award based on you entrance audition. No additional paper work is required and you will be informed even if we are unable to offer you a music award. Music Performance awards are renewable given your full-time enrollment in the School of Music and your participation in assigned ensembles and other School of Music productions. Music Performance Awards may be held concurrently with academic and community service scholarships.
If you are admitted to the School of Music as a transfer student, are currently receiving a music scholarship from your college, and you wish to be considered for a music scholarship at DePaul, we will need to receive from your current music chairperson a brief letter acknowledging your interest in DePaul and giving us permission to speak with you about music scholarships. Music Performance Awards are also offered to graduate and post-graduate students in March and thereafter as students are admitted.

Academic ("Merit") Scholarships and Community Service Awards
Freshmen who wish to be considered for academic scholarships and community service awards will not be required to submit a separate application. You will automatically be considered for an acedemic merit award based on your admission application. Consideration for academic scholarships require that a freshman be ranked in the upper 10% of his or her class and have an ACT score of 27 or higher (SAT of 1220 or higher). Academic scholarships may be renewed based on full-time enrollment and grade point averages that vary with the value of the award. Community Service Awards require additional qualifications and are renewed according to specific criteria.

Transfer students:
Academic scholarships may only be awarded to students who have completed or are enrolled in two-year programs at Illinois community colleges with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 and higher. Masters and Certificate students: Academic scholarships are not offered to graduate and post graduate students.

Need-Based Financial Aid
All need-based financial aid is based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completed applications will be accepted after January 1.

Freshman and Transfer students:
Freshmen can usually obtain the FAFSA from their high school guidance offices just before Winter break. Students can also file FAFSA on the web through the U.S. Department of Education's website at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Many high schools offer seminars to families wishing to complete these forms. It is advisable to delay filing FAFSA forms until receipt of your earnings statements for the previous year (W2 forms), but still filing should occur by March 1. Need-based awards for freshmen and transfer students are often combined with grants, merit scholarships and loans.

Masters and Certificate students:
There is no absolute deadline for graduate and post-graduate students, but since only Stafford Loans are available to such students (currently about $18,500 per year), one should file by May 1 to be assured of loan availability for the following fall.

The O'Malley Choral Leadership Awards
For Graduate Voice Students, 2005-06
Four awards will be given for leaders in each section in University Singers. Section leaders will be expected to sing in the ensemble each quarter, run sectional rehearsals, and provide leadership within the section on a regular basis. Those auditioning for a choral leadership award will complete an audition in sight reading, ear testing and melodic error detection in addition to the regular admission requirements.

Special note:
If you file the FAFSA prior to February 28, please send or fax (773.325.7429) a photocopy to the School of Music. With assistance from the DePaul Financial Aid office, we can provide you with an estimate of your need-based award in your financial aid package. You may expect to receive this letter by April 1. We will need to know your college choice by the National Candidate Reply date of May 1. The University Office of Financial Aid maintains a web-site with further information.

Questions?
Contact Ross Beacraft at 773.325.7444 or rbeacraf@depaul.edu.