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Corps Fees


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You can practically spit on the Cavaliers' facilities from the tarmac of O'Hare Airport in Chicago, but unfortunately that's not the Chicago airport Southwest utilizes, so plane tickets might not be cheap enough to make it worth it coming from NJ.

I know nothing about their fees.

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Then make it happen. Put 100% into it right now. Otherwise, you'll regret it later.

I'm doing my best. The big problem is my parents, who (putting it lightly) don't appreciate drum corps as much as I do and have a serious problem with me putting too much extra time an effort into it, especially since I'm in college and they think I'll get distracted from that if I have other commitments like a job while classes are in session. Even though I'm paying for drum corps out of my own savings, they're paying for my education and can pull the plug on that if they don't think I'm making it a full priority (and they have threatened it before).

Edited by MetalTones2012
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As a parent who had a child march with both Surf and the Cadets this year, I can tell you what each cost according to my checkbook:

Surf = $2590

Cadets = $3298

Experience = priceless :)

Hope this helps.

Edited by jent
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Glad to help.....those figures are total...they include everything except spending money on tour.

In 2011, they had a registration fee ($125 - free for returning members), uniform/equipment fee ($100), and 3 camps ($300 total - after you pay for and attend 3 camps, you go to the rest for free) plus the tour/spring training fee. The only time they split the spring training fee out from the tour fee is if you need to pay on a schedule. If you can afford to pay all at once by Jan 7, the tour/spring training fee for 2011 was $2798. And that was for a full national tour that had free days in Southern Cal, San Francisco, Seattle, San Antonio, and other places. Although a Cadets free day is only about 5 hours. :tongue:

Edited by Shamu89
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Another way to approach this is to listen to the corps really carefully once the APD's come out. Listen for lines that appeal to your own musical style - not just in music choice but in particulars of sound.

Also, some corps do video screenings for applicants so you can avoid the initial outlay of cahs for travel. I don't know how Troopers will do it this year, but I believe last year the November and December camps were dedicated as audition camps, so if you went to November you didn't have to go to December or vice versa. Other corps may do something similar.

Troopers' fee was $2400 this past season. There's a detailed schedule of it here on their website. I imagine a small increase in the coming year is not out of the question.

Just for a point of reference, tour fees cover about half of the cost (or less) it takes per member to put a corps on the road. Between food, fuel, bus leases, drivers, insurance, staff, licensing and other fees, administrative costs, uniform purchases or alterations, equipment maintenance, etc. the costs are HUGE. The fact that corps are on the road at all in this economy is simply a miracle, IMO.

Good luck in your search for your age-out experience. If you'd like, I'm sure some of us out here can put you in touch with recent age outs from various corps. They'll have the most recent experiences to share with you.

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I'd give anything to age out with The Cadets, but they're actually a lot more than $3,000. That's just the tour fees. They also charge you for individual winter camps, spring training, equipment maintenance, etc.

Man, if you really want to march Cadets, and you live in Jersey, then Cadets is your choice. They aren't going to cost you a ton more than other world class corps, and they are practically in your backyard, eliminating at least a thousand dollars in traveling fees. This is not to mention the selling point to your parents of far less travel time to keep you from your studies. Its a smart choice financially, and its where you want to march. So go for it.

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Surf and Cadets are in your backyard, but some other corps are reachablle. Look into finding carpools to other corps you might be interested in. You might be suprised that some members drive to Glassmen, Bluecoats, Crown and Boston (not sure how many camps are in FL now) from your area. If you don't mind up to ten hours in a car and stuffing three or four people in, you might have a great adventure. Good luck.

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