Funding for Musical Theatre/Drama School - what do i need to know?

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Newyearnewme2019
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Funding for Musical Theatre/Drama School - what do i need to know?

Post by Newyearnewme2019 »

Hi, New to all this and finding all info on the internet a little confusing and was hoping someone could give me an idiots guide to funding my daughter through drama school as she wants to do Musical Theatre (MT) She is at present in Yr12 at college doing a BTEC Level 3 in Musical Theatre and is looking to progress in this field when she finishes.

I thought she would be looking at attending university to do this training and therefore she would get student loans for the course and for maintenance loans, she has now told me she intends to apply to Laines and others and looking at these, the normal student loans don't apply and i can't find any easy to understand information on what we would be expected to pay per year, if she could get a loan for this etc...

Can someone please give me a idiots guide on this? Many thanks
islandofsodor
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Re: Funding for Musical Theatre/Drama School - what do i need to know?

Post by islandofsodor »

Professional musical theatre training can be delivered by a university but in general universities don’t have the contact hours and practical content to adequately prepare students for a performance career (there are exceptions)

The most common qualifications are a BA(hons) degree in Dance/Musical Theatre Performance or the Level 6 Trinity Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre. Some colleges offer training with no formal qualification. For these courses you have to find the fees yourself.

Trinity Diploma - Students accepted onto one of these courses may be eligible to apply for a DaDa (Dance & Drama Award). These are means tested and cover part or all of the fees depending on parental income. For the lowest income families only there is a maintenance element. They are awarded following audition. The income scales and expected contribution is here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ome-scales. On graduation you can top the diploma up to a full degree either by a part time distance learning course or some colleges offer this in house. Student Finance is available for the top up year

BA Hons - degree offered by a university or conservatoire but delivered on their behalf by a dance/drama school under a sub-contract arrangement - these courses are funded by Student Finance in exactly the same way as a normal university course.

BA Hons - degree offered by a private college and validated by a university. - Student Finance is available, but only up to a maximum of roughly £7,000 so the balance of the fees has to be found. These colleges may charge more than the usual maximum £9,000 fees (up to £14,000 per year in some cases).
Newyearnewme2019
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Re: Funding for Musical Theatre/Drama School - what do i need to know?

Post by Newyearnewme2019 »

Thank you so much for this, i have a few questions and i apologies in advance if some of them seem ridiculous but i'm just trying to get my head around it all :)

What is the difference between a Trinity Diploma and a BA hons degree?

If she was to go down the route of going to a private college and required student finance (albeit £7k) would this be paid back in the same way as a normal university course (when earning over an amount etc) or would it have to be paid back when/throughout the course finishes?

Is student finance readily available in the scenario above?

And how is the difference paid to the private college, year on year by her/us or do students have to get a normal loan from the bank etc..

And i take it, with the private colleges/conservatoire, they don't have halls of residence? Would they have access to student accommodation of some sort and is there help with any funding of this?

I'll leave it there for now and thank you in advance
2dancersmum
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Re: Funding for Musical Theatre/Drama School - what do i need to know?

Post by 2dancersmum »

Differences between Trinity diploma and BA hons degree. Both are a level 6 higher education qualification but the diploma is more practical in nature as the degree has a higher academic content. Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Courses funded by student finance is the by the normal student finance application as applies to any degree regardless of private college or university so yes it is readily available - has both loans for fees and maintenance (accommodation + living costs) and is repayable in the same way as any student loan ie once earning above a certain amount.

Any shortfall between the loan and the cost of the course is payable each year by the student/parent - self funded and as with any degree , expect that there will be a contribution to accommodation/living costs as student loans do not always cover the full amount required.

Trinity level 6 diplomas are either funded by DADA - (sliding scale of parental contribution where bulk of fees paid for you) or totally self funded - ie parent/student pays either through income/savings/loans etc. There are not DADAs available for every student accepted onto a Trinity course. Help with accommodation costs only available for those on a very low income.

Accommodation for all of these varies according to the college/university. A whole range of accommodation available - university student halls, private student halls, student houses, landlord/lady accommodation - depends entirely on where you train.

Providing you with a link for more information on non-university training in MT. Have a good read through. Also, It might be worth your while seeing if you can attend the next careers conference. That involves workshops for the students, showcases of current students work from various colleges and q&a sessions for parents on application processes, funding etc

https://cdmt.org.uk/about-us
islandofsodor
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Re: Funding for Musical Theatre/Drama School - what do i need to know?

Post by islandofsodor »

2dancersmum has given you pretty much all the info you have asked for. I will just reiterate about the accommodation. It's not necessarily true to say the private colleges don't have accommodation. Some do, in the same way as some universities do and some don't.

The colleges that accept 16/17 year olds do tend to often use live in landlord/ladies as it is felt that these younger studetns need more looking after than an 18 year old s/c. Many student halls of residence are private these days anyway and shared by the students from 2 or more colleges/universities. However I know of a couple of private colleges who have their own halls for some first years.
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