So the one big obstacle to returning to music school is money. I found out that as an international student, there is no financial aid available from the hosting country (which makes sense), but that certain schools abroad have FAFSA codes and I can use US federal loans toward those schools! In looking through the list, there are 4-6 of them in London that have popular or contemporary music programs with a voice performance degree/course. I’ve decided on London, because it is reasonably close to friends and family, and, being in Europe is smack in the middle of the touring area for both the kind of metal and the kind of techno I want to perform- both of which are minority tastes in the US. Australia will probably be a nice place to move later, but for now, with my focus on music and metropolitan culture, London is the best!
So, when the catalogue arrived for one of these schools, I was overcome by this sense of certainty that I wanted to do whatever it took to get into a school and work my ass off to fill my heart and body with as much knowledge and experience as possible! I have SO many questions! But I was still waiting back from the financial aid departments about the math regarding how much federal aid I have left that I can spend on an undergraduate program. So, this morning, I got a letter with all the math spelled out, saying that I have over $36,000 available! Apparently I only took out $18,000 in loans for my undergraduate degree, which means I worked myself through school a lot more than I realized, since ugrad school cost over $40,000! No wonder I was always so stressed- every penny was going toward keeping me in school!
Having $36,000 to spend on a second BA is amazing good news- one of the schools is $10,000 for international tuition a year, with a 3 year bachelors, this means I can have the whole thing covered, and I only have to cover my living expenses! So it looks like working so hard with my first BA is going to pay off in me getting the degree I really want! This is probably the best way it could have happened because I was such a mess during my first degree, if I had done music then, I wouldn’t have gotten what I wanted out of it. I have also been thinking how ambiguously oppressive that music department was… very clicky, and people did not seem to be having much fun. I’m pretty much guaranteed to meet more colorful characters at a contemporary music school- I mean, their catalogue is totally hip! :P
So, in short, I can go to music school next year! I will post soon about the schools I am applying to!