Performing Arts Scholarships: The Untold Story of Unrestricted Funding

Shedding light on the financial freedom performing arts students deserve—and the billions in performing arts scholarships many never knew existed

On any given Saturday, college football stadiums are packed to the brim with screaming fans, creating an illusion of athletic dominance.

But beyond the cheers and the roar of the crowds, there is a lesser-known reality: more performing arts scholarships are available than athletic scholarships. This is not a coincidence, but a result of the NCAA rules that govern student athletes.

Unlike performing arts students, student athletes are restricted by the NCAA rules, which determine the amount of scholarship money they can receive based on their sport and the college's NCAA division. Additionally, they can only accept scholarships from their school and are limited to receiving general academic scholarships.

On the other hand, performing arts students have the freedom to receive scholarships from both their school and non-institutional (third-party) sources. This means they can receive funding from groups that are not part of a college or university, such as The American Viola Society or the Nashville Opera Guild. This freedom extends throughout their education, even if they decide to pursue a doctoral degree.

This lack of restriction has resulted in more scholarship money available to performing arts students than athletic students. In fact, there are six performing arts students for every athletic student on college campuses. When performing arts students utilize all the available resources, they receive $7 in scholarship money for every $1 student athletes receive from their institutional scholarships. This translates to over $5 billion in scholarship money available to performing arts students each year.

While athletic scholarships are often touted as the path to success for student athletes, performing arts scholarships are the untold story of unrestricted funding. This freedom not only makes college education more affordable for performing arts students, but also more enjoyable as they pursue their passion for music, dance, or theater.

Key Points

Performing arts scholarships outnumber athletic scholarships in colleges throughout America.
Athletes are limited by NCAA rules on scholarship amounts and sources, while performing arts students have more freedom to receive scholarships from various sources.
Performing arts students have access to over $5 billion in scholarship money each year due to fewer restrictions.

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