Student Lesson Scholarships

Student Lesson Scholarships

SAWS is piloting a program this year that will provide eight $500 scholarships to offset the cost of music lessons. Students and teachers will apply jointly for this scholarship. Interested students can talk to their teacher about writing a recommendation letter. Teachers who think they have a student with financial need can ask the family to apply for the scholarship with their recommendation.

When to Apply: 

Winter: 4 Awards will be given out in February following a December-January application window

Fall: 4 Awards will be given out in September, following a June – August application window. 

Application process and eligibility requirements for students:

• The student’s teacher must be a member of SAWS with dues paid in full at the time of application.  Student’s teacher must submit a letter of recommendation here.
• The student (or parent) must fill out and submit an online application answering all questions in sufficient detail. 
• The student (or parent) must write a letter of commitment explaining why they think the lessons are important and their plan to be committed to their lessons.
• Student must submit a video recording of themselves performing a polished piece from the Suzuki repertoire.  (beginning students are exempt)
• The student must have a genuine need for financial assistance and explain that need in the form.
• The scholarship is renewable, however, first time applicants will receive priority consideration.

Click Here to Apply

Considerations for Teachers:

Once awarded, funds will be sent as one $500 payment to the student’s teacher. As payment systems vary greatly between studios, the distribution of those funds are up to the teacher. The teacher can decide how to divide the funds for the awarded student. For example, those who bill for the full school year may choose to reduce the year’s tuition invoice by $500. Teachers with a set monthly fee may choose to reduce the tuition for the student by $50 or $100 until the scholarship is exhausted. Families can talk to their teachers about a scholarship-distribution arrangement that works for both the family and teacher.

If the scholarship recipient stops lessons before the funds can be fully distributed, please email us to discuss if the remaining funds needs to be returned to SAWS or otherwise redistributed. To avoid this problem, please only recommend students for the award for whom you have strong confidence in their long-term commitment to lessons.