Is your kid in the high school band? If they are, that’s great news for the brain. Researchers at the University of California found that kids who play an instrument score 27% higher on math tests, and 57 points higher on the SAT’s verbal section. So why are the musically inclined a bit brainier? Because, according to Canada’s McMaster University, learning to play an instrument develops the reasoning and spatial centers in the brain. Music also maximizes brain development in the areas related to language and social skills.
So what happens after graduation, when there’s no more band practice? They can apply for a music scholarship in college. MusicScholarships.US offers a laundry list of music scholarship opportunities. Regardless of the instrument your kid plays or if they want to get into music education, there's an opportunity for just about everybody.
- Like the Arts Competition Scholarship. They’ll pay up to $10,000 toward a college education.
- Drummers, there’s a scholarship from the Percussive Arts Society for $3,000 to help fund young drummers' studies.
- The next scholarship is perfect if your kid is like one of the kids on Glee. It’s called the Educational Theatre Association's Thespian Scholarships and it’s awarded to future musical actors and educators.
- If your kid is like me and plays the piano, MusicScholarships.US offers a ton of scholarships for pianists. Most of the prizes are awarded through competitions, but they do provide scholarships like The Bach Organ and Keyboard Music Scholarship.
You can find listing for all of those at MusicScholarships.US, but you can also find more opportunities at Scholarships.com – they have a music scholarships page and at FinAid.org. They have listings for Arts, Music, Dance and Theater scholarships.