Finding the Money: The Complete Guide to Financial Aid for Students, Actors, Musicians and Artists

269 Pages·2009·1.06 MB·English

by  Preethi Burkholder

FINDING THE MONEY
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Finding the Money
The Complete Guide to
Financial Aid for Students,
Actors, Musicians and Artists
P B
REETHI URKHOLDER
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Burkholder, Preethi.
Finding the money: the complete guide to financial aid for
students, actors, musicians and artists / Preethi Burkholder.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-3692-7
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Student aid—United States. 2. Humanities—Scholarships,
fellowships, etc.—United States. 3. Arts—Scholarships,
fellowships, etc.—United States. I. Title.
LB2337.4.B86 2009
378.3—dc22 2009000740
British Library cataloguing data are available
©2009 Preethi Burkholder. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Cover image ©2009 Photo Objects
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
I dedicate this book to my parents, who taught me
what is important in life, and who made selfless
sacrifices to send me to a land far away, so that I
would have a better life. I thank my father, who
taught me to believe in myself and advised me to
avoid the pitfalls that lay on my path to success;
and my mother for setting an example of what it
means to be a woman and for shining a spiritual
light. Thank you, Amma and Thatha.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband, Trent, for being a supportive
spouse and for standing by me during good and bad times. Thank
you to my sister and Dileepa, for offering me a roof to live under
and for guiding me when I was rather lost. Thank you to my
brother, for chauffeuring me around for piano lessons, as a little
girl growing up in Sri Lanka. Thank you, dear Fremont, for being
a great friend. Finally, thank you to my baby daughter, for re-
igniting my passion for life.
vi
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
1—An Introduction to Financial Aid 5
2—Federal Student Aid Programs 11
3—Getting Money for College 21
4—The College Essay 35
5—The Art of Winning Scholarships 50
6—The Hunt for Loans 58
7—The World of Grants 79
8—Congratulations! You Have Been Awarded
Financial Aid 120
9—The Alternate Aid Route 127
10—Around the Globe 136
11—Working Along the Way 141
12—The Acting Connection 143
13—Investing Strategies 156
14—Resume Writing 178
15—Cyber Aid 201
16—Listing of Grant Directories 213
vii
viii Table of Contents
17—Useful Websites Every Financial Aid
Seeker Should Know 217
18—Financial Aid Myths 238
19—Marketing Tips 242
Glossary 249
Bibliography 257
Index 259
Preface
Performing artists are unique individuals. They have a secret side to
them—a side that gets unfolded mostly through their art. At least, this has
been one of my discoveries as a pianist. My journey as a performing artist
spans the gamut of emotions and experiences—success, joy, failure, despair,
loneliness, and betrayal; and my journey is far from over.
I woke up to the sounds of Beethoven and Mozart every morning. It
was a habit instilled by my father, a lover of classical music. Although my
father had the inspiration to study piano, his parents could never afford to
give him a music education. Due to the lack of finances, his musical tal-
ents were never cultivated at an early age. My father worked hard to give
his three children a luxury that his parents could not afford.
If the inspiration to study music came from my father, then the aspi-
ration came from my mother. My father handled the cassette player while
my mother handled the money. I mention the part about money right at
the start of the book because, without it, I may not have become a musi-
cian, nor would I be writing a book about financial aid. The bottom line
is, you have to get some kind of financial support to make it in the per-
forming arts world. Without money, many a talent has gone unheard,
unused, and uncultivated. Lack of money has turned many dreams into
dust.
My piano teacher in Sri Lanka, Shanthi, sparked my musical talents
at the young age of five. After completing high school I was offered sev-
eral scholarships by American universities. It was a life-changing step that
would never have been possible had I not received any financial aid.
I came to the United States at age nineteen, brimming with hope and
ambition. It was a frightening and exciting journey for a young girl who
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