How Music Education Can Help Students Get Scholarships

February 18, 2023

As the cost of a college education skyrockets, students and educators are on the lookout for ways to reduce the financial burden of higher education. However, as an educator, you can help students open avenues to scholarships through music education.

Even if your students aren’t applying for music scholarships, a solid music education can support your STEAM education initiatives and inspire students to pursue interests they may not have considered otherwise.

In addition, music scholarships can empower your students and help them reach their full potential. These scholarships enable students to limit the amount of financial relief they need to borrow. Not to mention that by giving students the framework to pursue music scholarships, you may open the door for your students to collaborate in their craft with highly respected professors and professionals.

Together, let’s find out how you can help your students earn music scholarships and discuss why music education is so important for students of all ages.

Why is Music Education So Important?

In the public school system, arts education and music programs are first on the chopping block. However, music education provides benefits that will serve students well into adulthood. These benefits include the following:

Music Education Improves Student Learning

Music education improves the development of language skills, especially when students are exposed to different types of music at a young age. The complex mixture of sound and lyrics enhances neuroplasticity, which allows students to understand new vocabulary easily.

Additionally, the boost in cognitive development from consistently creating music enhances students’ mental capabilities. Regular music practice sharpens memorization skills because students need to recall rhythms, pitches, and other musical elements simultaneously.

Furthermore, students that receive a music education also receive higher scores in science, math, and English exams than their non-music counterparts. Even STEAM educators can add this type of learning to their lesson plans and give students fresh perspectives on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Music Education Improves Social Skills

While the mental benefits of music education are significant, the social benefits are just as amazing through music education. At its core, music education encourages students to collaborate to find the best way to develop a piece or finalize a project.

For example, if your students are using tools like Soundtrap for Education to create a song, students can work in groups where each one is responsible for a different part of the project. Through this process, they learn about the importance of collaboration and are more willing to work with others in the future.

Additionally, music education exposes students to different cultures, which broadens their worldview and creates a more inclusive educational environment. If you’re not sure where to start in opening your students’ worldviews, you can get ideas from Soundtrap’s Culture Capsules. Through the program, your students can learn about other cultures through music education and cultivate greater respect for cultural differences.

Music Education Provides Essential Life Skills

It takes more than academic prowess and communication skills to succeed as an adult, but music education can help your students along the way! Music education teaches students about the power of determination, hard work, and a positive mindset from an early age.

Everyone needs an outlet for their emotions, but few students have a safe space to express their innermost thoughts and feelings. Music education provides students with a much-needed source of stress relief when facing pressure from academic expectations, making sports teams, or even issues at home. Through music education, students learn how to handle life’s stressors in a healthy, constructive way.

So, What is a Music Scholarship?

While the benefits of music education are valuable in and of themselves, they can also allow students to earn music scholarships. A music scholarship is a type of scholarship that grants money to students with musical abilities interested in pursuing a career in the different avenues of music. Music scholarships lessen the student’s financial burden, so they can direct their energy toward cultivating their skills as musicians, producers, technicians, or other music-oriented careers.

Although the cost of higher education is rising, scholarships can help your students achieve their dreams of a college education without neglecting their art. In fact, students on average earn $6,041 from a single scholarship.

Not only can music education help your students get music-oriented scholarships, but they can also use their music skills as transcript boosters for other financial aid or scholarships. From grants to tuition assistance, students that are educated in music have a competitive edge versus other applicants who do not have this additional life skill.

What are the Requirements for a Music Scholarship?

Getting a music scholarship takes hard work and dedication from the student and the instructor. Make sure your students have everything they need to succeed on their journey to pursue music education. Most music scholarships require the following:

Academic record. Music scholarships require a strong academic record, just like any other academic reward. Students will generally need an above-average GPA in addition to their musical talents.
Financial need. Although not always a requirement, students often need to demonstrate their financial need for a music scholarship.
Demonstrated musical abilities. Of course, music scholarships require applicants to possess exceptional talent in their preferred area of music.
Music audition. Lastly, most music scholarships require applicants to complete a musical performance video or audition. This helps the scholarship committee assess the student’s musical abilities.

And that’s all there is to it! Now, let’s discuss how your students can prepare for the music scholarship application process.

How Your Students Can Get Music Scholarships

Most students apply for scholarships based on their GPA or location, but music education can also pave the way for their college education. If your students are ready to make the most of their music education, these tips will help them get music scholarships along the way!

1. Help Your Students Prepare in Advance

The music scholarship application process can be tedious, so your students will need to prepare. If your students are serious about applying for music scholarships, they’ll need to start applying for scholarships long before they reach senior year.

Your students should complete all their scholarship requirements two weeks before the application deadline, including performance videos, letters of recommendation, and other audition materials. Check your students’ work so they have stellar scholarship applications free of errors.

2. Encourage Students to Apply for Many Music Scholarships

Let your students know that there are plenty of music scholarships available, so they shouldn’t limit their opportunities by only applying for a few music scholarships. Furthermore, there are several different types of music scholarships, such as the following:

School-issued scholarships
Music department scholarships
Industry-related scholarships
National music scholarships

Your students can find music scholarships by visiting the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at their preferred college, where they’ll find information about scholarships for music degrees. Encourage your students to search for music scholarships online and for music scholarships available through organizations in the music industry.

3. Make Sure Your Students Know Their Audience

Most music scholarships also have an audition process, which is one of the most important performances your students will undertake as college students. Your students should create a musical presentation that appeals to the scholarship committee in question. Ensure that your students know what types of music the scholarship committee prefers, so they can fine-tune their audition.

More than Music Scholarships

Students don’t necessarily need to have a passion for music or a particular instrument to reap the benefits of music education during college admissions. Instead, many applicants can bolster their applications with a music-oriented extracurricular.

Even if the student wishes to take a more analytical route or pursue an unrelated field to music, a past in music education demonstrates social skills, creativity and problem-solving, and a determination to learn outside of the classroom.

Many applicants utilize the benefits of music education to bolster their ensembles of essays, recommendations, and test scores. By doing so, they fortify their positioning as diligent students and showcase their discipline.

Getting Your Students Access to Music Education

Music education is notoriously underfunded, and many schools need more financial resources that divest students of the ability to qualify for music scholarships in the first place. Fortunately, you can level the playing field and increase access to music education by applying for grants.

Grants can help you bring easy-to-use tools like Soundtrap for Education to your classroom so that every student can experience the power of music education. This is a great way to positively impact your students and improve your music program while allowing your students to fund their college education with music scholarships.

Increase Access to Music Education with Soundtrap for Education

Some schools don’t have the resources to purchase fancy musical instruments, but with modern EdTech software, you only need internet access!

Soundtrap for Education is the ultimate audio production platform for students and teachers to create and edit audio recordings. Pupils and educators can easily tap into their artistic side with this intuitive audio platform that facilitates a creative learning environment for every subject, regardless of the student’s age or experience level.

With Soundtrap for Education, students and teachers can collaborate with advanced cloud technology at any time or place. In addition, the platform comes equipped with a robust resource portal, with tutorials, an external curriculum, and lesson plans to complete the educational experience. And to ensure privacy, teachers can ensure that student collaboration is safe and secure with invite-only groups in Soundtrap’s versatile digital environment.

If you’re ready to enhance your educational experience with an intuitive cloud-based audio production platform, get started today with Soundtrap for Education! And be sure to share this article with other teachers in your network to help spread the joy of learning through sound.