# Scholarships and Funding How money works at UNLV Percussion, for every level of study. **This page covers:** <small>*these links will keep you on this page...*</small> - [[#How Scholarships Work|The general principles of how scholarships work]] - [[#Undergraduate "Percussion" Scholarships|The good and bad news of "percussion scholarships"]] - [[#So how do I get considered scholarships?|How to get considered for scholarships]] - hint...you audition - [[#What if I don't get a scholarship right away?|What happens if you **don't** get a scholarship immediately]] - [[#FAFSA and University Financial Aid Information]] - [[#Graduate Funding]] ## How Scholarships Work First, a brief overview of the fundamental principles of scholarships (in music) and how they work. 1. Music-related scholarships of any kind are nearly all **service-based.** - What does that mean? It means that any money that you are receiving in from a named scholarship or grant-in-aid is contingent on **your service** to something at UNLV. (i.e., you actually have to work for your money)[^1] 2. Scholarships come in multiple "shapes and sizes" - What does that mean? It means some scholarships are "named" (e.g., named after a benefactor or entity from where the money originates) or it comes from, literally, the State of Nevada, which is called "Grant-In-Aid" 3. Service-based scholarships generally means **ensemble participation.** - What does that mean? It means that in order to fulfill the requirements to receive your money, you **must enroll and perform in some type of ensemble.** These ensembles are typically the large, public-facing ensembles such as bands or orchestras. 4. Virtually all scholarships require GPA and enrollment minimums. - What does that mean? It means that you must earn good enough grades **and** enroll in a set minimum of credits (generally 12 credits per semester) in order to receive your funding. **The bottom line about scholarships:** most funding does not come "free" and/or with zero effort. You *will* have to work (sometimes quite hard) on top of standard obligations in order to earn the funding being offered to you. **A helpful perspective:** view scholarships as "opportunities" and not financial contracts. Some students are not even given the opportunity to work for their funding. If you are offered a scholarship that requires a lot of work, view it as an opportunity to "show your stuff" and to "prove your worth" which will be expected of you for the rest of your career—might as well start now. ## Undergraduate "Percussion" Scholarships **THE BAD NEWS:** The Percussion Area has no dedicated scholarship fund Thus, a "full-ride percussion scholarship" or even a general "percussion scholarship" at UNLV does not exist. **THE GOOD NEWS:** Plenty of money is available The Percussion Area solicits *ample* internal funding sources to award scholarships to incoming students. We generally work the bands and orchestras to award students **with considerable financial support** for contributions to those ensembles. So while a "Percussion Scholarship" does not exist, you *will* (after auditioning) have access to scholarships. ### So how do I get considered scholarships? **You audition!** Reach out *early* and get on the [[2.1 Audition Requirements (all levels)|Scholarship Audition]] roster. Auditioning is the **only** way to be considered, first come, first served. **Scholarship consideration requires auditioning on one of the posted Scholarship [[2.1 Audition Requirements (all levels)#^246236|Audition Dates]]** — individually scheduled auditions later in the year are for entrance only. Dates and details are posted in [[2.1 Audition Requirements (all levels)|Audition Requirements]]. In rare cases, UNLV faculty may see you perform publicly and contact you directly and encourage you to audition. However, **no percussion faculty can or will ever offer you a scholarship directly.** >[!Warning] If anyone claims to offer you a scholarship to our program, please email us immediately. ### What if I don't get a scholarship right away? This happens *all* the time, and actually, is more common than most would think. Many students apply late, switch majors, or sometimes just don't start off very strong in their first semester and earn little to no scholarships. **The good news:** scholarship rosters are reviewed every semester and students can receive scholarships (or increases in scholarships) after their initial semester. ### FAFSA and University Financial Aid Information Visit https://www.unlv.edu/finaid/ for the University's official Financial Aid page covering Grants, Scholarships, Waivers, Loans, Work Study, and other Programs ## Graduate Funding Graduate funding works differently — it comes through Graduate Assistantships and Part-Time Instructor appointments, not scholarships. - **Pay, benefits, and how appointments work:** [[2.4.1 Assistantships and Funding]] - **How and when to apply:** [[2.4.0 Help for Prospective Grad Students]] - **Application Deadline:** applications completed by **March 1** to receive consideration. - See: [UNLV's Graduate Application Deadlines Page](https://www.unlv.edu/admissions/graduate/application-deadlines) [^1]: *Some* rare scholarships do exist without any service requirement, but they're likely not music based. If they are, the are likely contingent on some type of past performance, written statement, or other means that awarded you the scholarship.