Scholarship depends on performance

It is spring time. In Japan, a new fiscal year starts and everything looks anew. Spring in New York is like March in Japan.

Undergraduate students in Juilliard are busy preparing for the upcoming examinations in the first half of May(in academic subject and performance). Graduate students are worried about compulsory graduation concert, where to live or what job to do after graduation. The usual tension seems to reach the boiling point at this time of the year.

Why such tension? Of course there are reasons like "To show the result of the past year (7 months)", or "I do not want to lose against my rival." But besides these personal reasons, one possible reason is because the result of the examination will affect the amount of scholarship.
( On the left:This is a relief of Mr. Augustus Juilliard, the founder of Juilliard )

There are various scholarships in Juilliard such as "Juilliard loan," Federal Scholarship, New York State Scholarship, personal or company scholarships. Students in need of financial support turns in the application form and wait for the response. While doing so, grades of the performances or examinations are very much important. This rule applies to new students too. When a new student applies to Juilliard and asks for the scholarship too, the school decides by how well the applicant did in the entering examination. When I received the notice of scholarship that covers half of tuition fee along with notice of acceptance, I was very, very happy. But I recently happened to meet a student whose scholarships covered tuition, dormitory costs, plus even living expenses. There is no limit to greatness!

In the US, foreign students are allowed to work within the campus only and less than 20 hours per week. This apparently will not bring reliable income. But students in Juilliard would rather spend their time practicing. Therefore scholarships are very important. There are about 220 members of scholarship foundations in the list on the bulletin board. Let me talk about Mrs. Mizue Hayashi, who is one of scholarship contributors. She lives in Japan, but has been supporting students in Juilliard for the past 6 years.
( Above: A scene from one of the part-time jobs in the school; letters are forwarded to 800 students everyday.)

Following a notice from school, she visits New York herself to meet and talk with the candidate. She talks over lunch, sees the performance of the candidate, and then makes the final decision. Mrs. Hayashi mentioned that her money should go to a student she approves. On the other hand, meeting his/her financial supporter will be a worthwhile experience also to the student.

The other feature of Mrs. Hayashi's scholarship is the yearly concert by scholarship students. The concert is held in a hall in Juilliard, and its profit goes to Juilliard pre-college students as scholarships. Subsequently, some of pre-college students will again receive scholarship from Mrs. Hayashi in Juilliard. He/She can then repay to Mrs. Hayashi by performing in this concert and supporting another pre-college students. Mrs. Hayashi encourages the students by telling them " You do not have to pay it back to me, but to younger people.
( On the right: A picture of Morris Hall: various halls or facilities in he campus are built by donation. )

Soon after I had joined Juilliard, I was advised "If you perform well, you do not have to worry about money. So give your best." In Juilliard, the more amount of scholarship you receive, the more it will tell how good you are. This is another major difference I found compared to Japan.