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Blair Ovation Award

The Blair Ovation Award offers scholarships covering required direct costs to eligible students admitted to the Blair School of Music. The award recognizes high achieving music students with financial need because we believe cost should never be a barrier to a world-class education. 

In a dark performance hall, a music professor works with multiple students, one plays saxophone and the other plays guitar.

About the Scholarship

The Blair Ovation Award covers required direct costs at Vanderbilt, including tuition, fees, housing, and meals – currently valued at approximately $97,000. Blair Ovation recipients also receive a one-time summer stipend of $6,000 after the second or third year at Vanderbilt to offset costs associated with summer internships. 

Scholarship Eligibility

To be eligible for the Blair Ovation Award, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Qualify for a Federal Pell Grant or have a parent US Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $100,000 or less
  • Apply and be admitted to Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music through either Early Decision I (must apply by November 1) or Early Decision II (must apply by Blair’s priority application deadline of December 1)
  • Apply for need-based financial aid through the College Board Financial Aid Profile and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
  • Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

Note: To remain eligible for the Blair Ovation Award, recipients must continue as a Blair Major making satisfactory progress towards their Blair degree. In addition, you must complete the CSS Profile and Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year. Recipients who transfer to another Vanderbilt undergraduate school or college will no longer be eligible to receive the award.

How to Apply

To be considered for the Blair Ovation Award, eligible students must:

  • Apply to the Blair School of Music through one of Vanderbilt’s Early Decision plans:
    • Early Decision I – apply by November 1
    • Early Decision II – apply by December 1, Blair's priority application deadline

Note: students who apply through the QuestBridge National College Match and meet other criteria are eligible for the scholarship.

Eligible students who apply through the Early Decision plans and for financial aid will be automatically considered for the Blair Ovation Award.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What does the scholarship cover?

    The Blair Ovation Award covers the required direct costs at Vanderbilt, including tuition, fees, housing, and meals (currently valued at approximately $97,000). The scholarship also provides a one-time summer stipend of $6,000 after the second or third year at Vanderbilt to offset costs associated with summer internships. The scholarship is awarded for a total of four years (8 semesters) of undergraduate study. Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress to receive the scholarship each year.

  • Who is eligible to receive the Blair Ovation Award?

    To be eligible for the Blair Ovation Award, you must be admitted to Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music through Early Decision I or Early Decision II or matched to Vanderbilt through the QuestBridge National College Match. In addition, you must qualify for a Federal Pell Grant or have a parent US Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $100,000 or less, and you must apply for need-based financial aid through the College Board Financial Aid Profile and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. To remain eligible for the Blair Ovation Award, recipients must continue in the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt. Recipients who transfer to another Vanderbilt undergraduate school or college will no longer be eligible to receive the award.

  • What types of scholarship and grant assistance are used to provide the Blair Ovation Award?

    Vanderbilt’s scholarship pledge can be funded based upon the following types of financial assistance administered by Vanderbilt:

    • Vanderbilt need-based assistance
    • Vanderbilt merit-based assistance including Athletics
    • Vanderbilt Faculty-Staff tuition benefit
    • State of Tennessee General Merit Assembly Scholarship
    • State of Tennessee Aspire Scholarship
    • State of Tennessee Hope Scholarship
    • State of Tennessee Ned McWherter Scholarship
    • Federal Pell Grant
    • Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (Federal SEOG)
    • Tennessee Student Assistance Award
    • Outside sources of assistance (e.g., outside scholarships, outside tuition benefits, VA Benefits, ROTC Scholarships)
  • What is the deadline to apply for financial aid?

    We recommend applying for financial aid by the priority filing deadline for each decision plan, listed on our Apply page. 

  • How do you define parent income?

    Income for purposes of determining eligibility for the Blair Ovation Award is defined as the parent adjusted gross income (AGI) on the US tax return used in the application process.

  • If I apply Early Decision but Vanderbilt chooses to defer my admission to Regular Decision, would I still qualify?

    Yes. Each year, Vanderbilt defers a limited number of students to Regular Decision who originally apply in either Early Decision I or Early Decision II. If Vanderbilt defers your application to the Regular Decision round, you would still qualify for the Blair Ovation Award.

  • If I apply through the QuestBridge National College Match and I am not a Match Finalist or I am a Match Finalist and I do not get matched, could I still be considered for the scholarship?

    If a student is not selected as a QuestBridge National College Match Finalist or decides not to participate in the match process, they may still qualify for the Blair Ovation Award if they apply through either of our Early Decision plans.  If a student is a Match Finalist who ranked Vanderbilt but did not match with Vanderbilt or any other school, they may complete the Early Decision Agreement forms and convert their application to Early Decision II at Vanderbilt in order to meet eligibility requirements for the Blair Ovation Award.  

  • Are transfer students eligible to receive the Blair Ovation Award?

    No, transfer students are not eligible to receive this scholarship, but may apply for other need-based assistance.

  • Is there a limit to the number of scholarships offered?

    No, there is no limit to the number of students who can qualify for the Blair Ovation Award.

  • Are international students eligible for this scholarship?

    Only US citizens and eligible non-citizens can qualify for the Blair Ovation Award. International students are not eligible to receive this scholarship. International students may apply for other need-based and merit-based assistance.

  • If I do not qualify for the Blair Ovation Award as a first year student, can I qualify for this in subsequent years?

    No, you must qualify for the scholarship as an entering first year student.

  • Are Blair Ovation recipients in the five-year Blair-to-Peabody program eligible to continue receiving their scholarship in the fifth year?

    Yes, Blair Ovation Award recipients in the five-year Blair-to-Peabody program qualify for the continuing fifth-year award.

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