Marching band scholarships for college students?

I'm involved in marching band at my high school and wondering if there are college scholarships available for band members. How can I find these opportunities, and what do they usually require?

Absolutely, many collegiate marching bands do offer scholarships. It's generally a way to encourage talented and dedicated musicians to participate in their program. The scholarships can range from partial to full tuition for exceptionally talented students, and come in two forms: music-specific scholarships and ensemble participation scholarships.

Music-specific scholarships are generally for music majors and specify that recipients participate in certain ensembles, like the marching band. You would apply for these scholarships just like you might apply for any other academic scholarship - with an application, sometimes an essay, and often an audition recording or live performance. You'd typically need to express an interest in majoring in music on your application, and you would be competing with all other prospective music majors for these scholarships.

Ensemble participation scholarships are open to students of any major who participate in the marching band. So, you could be an engineering major, or an English major, and still get a scholarship for marching band. These might involve similar application materials as the music-specific scholarships - an audition, possibly an essay or some kind of written response.

The best way to find these scholarship opportunities is to directly contact the band director or the music department of the colleges you're interested in. You can also do a bit of research on the college's website. Look for the music department or marching band page, where It's common to find information about scholarships there.

Additionally, you could use scholarship search platforms like Fastweb, Chegg, or Appily (formerly Cappex), which allow you to filter for your specific interests and see if there are any marching band or music scholarships available. These could be outside scholarships not tied to a specific school.

Remember, while marching band scholarships certainly can help offset the cost of college, they are just one piece of the financial puzzle. Make sure to also fill out the FAFSA to see what other federal, state, and institutional aid you might qualify for!