Scholarship options

merit Scholarships

$125 merit scholarships are offered each year, chosen by application. These applications are due on April 11, 2025, and applicants will be notified by the end of the day on Monday, April 21, 2025, as to the status of these awards. Please note that the response will be sent to the email address indicated on the application. A teacher's recommendation is also required, and both forms must be submitted by the deadline to be considered.

2025 Merit Scholarship Application Form

2025 Merit Scholarship Recommendation Form

All-State Awards

All students selected for the ILMEA All-State festival in Peoria receive an automatic $125 scholarship. This can be combined with other scholarship awards. The All-State musicians are high schoolers who have been advanced from their district ensembles. The district ensembles are in November of 2024 and the All-State Festival is on January 30-February 1, 2025. 

These awards are applied automatically after participation is verified on the list supplied by ILMEA. Please select "all-state" on the registration form. 

If you were selected for all-state in another state, please contact the EMC Director by email. 

Need-based Awards

For further consideration of financial assistance based on need, please use the form below to apply. Some years, additional donors come forth to help students attend camp.

2025 Financial Need Scholarship Application

In 2024, some need-based awards were funded by a grant from the Ruth and Vaughn Jaenike Access to the Arts Outreach Program of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Eastern Illinois University.

outstanding camper Awards

Each camp was able to award between one and three Outstanding Camper Awards in 2024. If you received one of these awards, select "2024 Outstanding Camper" on the online application form, and half of early bird tuition will be applied to your account, which in 2025 is $287.50.