Free and Discounted Admission to Nearby Museums

*Always check the appropriate website before you go to find more information about the museum, hours, discounts, location, etc.

Always Free:

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art - Bainbridge Island

Bug Museum - Bremerton

Center for Wooden Boats - South Lake Union

Center on Contemporary Art - Pioneer Square

Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center - South Seattle

Frye Art Museum - First Hill

Kent Historical Museum - Kent

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park - Pioneer Square

Microsoft Visitor Center - Redmond

Naval Undersea Museum - Keyport

NW Railway Museum - Snoqualmie

Olympic Sculpture Park - Waterfront

Pacific Bonsai Museum - Federal Way

Puget Sound Navy Museum - Bremerton

Washington Park Arboretum - Madison

Applicable Discounts:

Seattle Children’s Museum - Seattle Center

• Donation Only Hour: The last hour of every weekday (4-5pm)
• WA EBT or Food Stamps Card - Show your card at the box office and receive $1 per person daily admission for the card holder, your partner, and your dependent children
• WA DSHS Services Cards: Show your Services Card to receive free daily admission for the individual who is named on the card

Pay What You Wish

• Children’s Museum of Tacoma - Tacoma

• Job Carr Cabin Museum - Tacoma
• Log House Museum - West Seattle

Free Library Museum Passes

• King County Library allows patrons to print free passes from its website. Passes are available for Bellevue Arts Museum, KidsQuest Children’s Museum, and Washington State History Museum. Search Classes & Programs using the keyword “museum” to find available museum passes and dates. Or visit the Free Seattle Museum Pass page on the Seattle Public Library website.
• Bellevue Arts Museum
• KidsQuest Children’s Museum
• Log House Museum
• MoPOP
• SAM
• Seattle Aquarium
• WA State History Museum
• Wing Luke Museum
• More!
• Pierce County Library offers free passes that patrons can check out - 1 pass per museum for 3 weeks. You can check out passes to 3 different museums.
• Museum of Glass
• Tacoma Art Museum
• WA State History Museum

Free First Thursdays of Every Month

• Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture - University District
• Bainbridge Island Historical Museum - Bainbridge Island
• Henry Art Gallery - University District
• Kids Discovery Museum - Bainbridge Island
• Living Computer Museum - SODO
• Museum of Flight - South Seattle at Boeing Field / King County Airport
• Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) - South Lake Union
• Nordic Heritage Museum - Ballard
• NW African American Museum (NAAM) - Central District
• Seattle Art Museum (SAM) - Downtown
• Free first & second Thursdays
• NW Seaport - Lake Union Park
• Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) - Capitol Hill (CLOSED UNTIL 2019)
• Wing Luke Asian Museum - International District

Third Thursdays of Every Month

• KidsQuest Museum - South Bellevue - $1
• Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) - Tacoma - Free!
• Tacoma Museum of Glass - Tacoma - Free!
• WA State History Museum - Tacoma - Free!

Free first Fridays at Bellevue Arts Museum and Kitsap History Museum (Bremerton)

Free first Thursdays & Saturdays at Volunteer Park Conservatory - Capitol Hill

Free third Fridays from 5:30-9pm at Imagine Children’s Museum - Everett

Free first Wednesdays and Third Saturdays at Renton Historical Museum

Free first Thursdays and Sundays at White River Valley Museum - Auburn

Blue Star Museums (Free Admission for active duty, National Guard and Reserve Military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day)

• Bainbridge Island Historical Museum (Bainbridge Island)
• Kids Discovery Museum (Bainbridge Island)
• KidsQuest Children’s Museum (Bellevue)
• Kitsap History Museum (Bremerton)
• Harbor History Museum (Gig Harbor)
• Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (Seattle)
• Henry Art Gallery (Seattle)
• Museum of Flight (Seattle)
• Northwest African American Museum (Seattle)
• Wing Luke Museum (Seattle)
• Buffalo Soldiers Museum (Tacoma)
• Foss Waterway Seaport (Tacoma)
• Museum of Glass (Tacoma)
• Tacoma Art Museum (Tacoma)
• Washington State History Museum (Tacoma)

How Am I Going to Pay for Cornish?

Click here to estimate what you’ll owe to Cornish after your financial aid is applied to your bill. (Do not include work study in your estimation)

Outside Scholarships

There are many outside scholarships available for students to apply for. There is no guarantee of an award, but if awarded, that money can be applied to your tuition for Cornish and other eligible costs for attendance. We have a database of collected outside scholarships that Cornish students may be eligible for on Compass under the Financial Aid tab.

5 (or 4) Month Interest-Free Payment Plan

Cornish offers an option to break up the semesters bill into five (or four) equal monthly payments, July (or August) to November. Families pay a one-time fee to begin this option and pay no interest on the balance. For more information, please contact student accounts at 206.726.5025. The payment plan is also an option for the Spring semester.

Parent PLUS Loans

The PLUS loan is a federal loan taken out by a parent for the student’s education, and is available to biological parents and any step-parent on the FAFSA. PLUS loans require a credit check and in some instances an eligible co-signer. Repayment of a PLUS loan begins following the final disbursement of the loan, although borrowers can request payment deferment until six months after the student graduates or no longer attends at least half time. If the PLUS loan is denied for credit reasons, an additional Unsubsidized Stafford Loan will become available to the student.

Private Student Loans

Private loans are non-federal loans issued by a lender such as a bank or credit union. These loans require a credit check of the student borrower and co-signer. They are a viable option to cover direct costs but should be considered very carefully. These loans are not available through the financial aid office, but lenders our students have used in the past are available on Compass under the “other resources” section of Financial Aid.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if your FAFSA does not reflect your current financial situation due to exceptional circumstances such as the loss of a job or the death of a parent, please contact our office at finaid@cornish.edu or 206.726.5014

Understanding Your Financial Aid Award

Your award is based on a number of factors. Assuming you’ve completed the FAFSA for this year, your EFC, number of credits, your eligibility for state and institutional aid, and your year in school, are all taken into account.

Your EFC represents how much money the federal government has determined you can contribute towards your education based on the results of the FAFSA. The cost of attendance (COA) is calculated by the school and is based on tuition, fees, books, supplies and living expenses. It is an estimated cost, and is not meant to indicate an amount due to Cornish.

Financial aid is calculated by subtracting your EFC from the COA here at Cornish. This leaves us with your financial need - this number can’t exceed your COA. Need based aid includes things like grants, work study and subsidized/unsubsidized loans.

Keep in mind that work study doesn’t apply directly to tuition. This is a need based award that is treated more like an actual part time job, where you apply, interview, and get paid on a monthly bases.

Institutional merit scholarships are awarded to new and transfer students based on their audition or portfolio review. Your department scholarship is renewable for four years if you begin at Cornish as a freshman and maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and a 67% pace of progression annually.

If you are receiving any outside scholarships, notify us at the financial aid office and be sure that the organization you are receiving the scholarship from has the school’s information so that the check can be mailed to us and applied to your financial aid award.

In subsequent years of attendance, a Cornish student may qualify for a merit-based or endowed scholarship based on donor criteria and department requirements for demonstrated artistic and academic excellence.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if your FAFSA doesn’t reflect your current financial situation due to exceptional circumstances such as the loss of a job or the death of a parent, please contact our office at finaid@cornish.edu or 206.726.5014

Free online learning/courses

If you’re looking to get some extra learning done during your break, or sometime in the future, check out these resources and classes we’ve found and compiled that are free or low cost.

General Accounting American Government Animal Behavior Astrophysics Auto Education Botany Cooking - X X X X X Cooking for Engineers Computer Science Digital Painting Drawing Economics Etymology Global History Health & Wellness - X X Jazz Justice Law & Philosophy Math - X X X Microeconomics Mobile Gaming Neuroscience Philosophy Photography - X X X X X Photoshop Physics Poetry Psychology Public Speaking Reading Music Science of Happiness Science of Religion Sewing X Sociology Typeface & Layout Typing Video Game Design Video Game Design History Vocabulary Website Design World Religions More: Academic Earth Alison Class Central Coursera edX Free Ed Khan Academy MIT OEDb Open Culture Stanford Online Udacity	Music Bass Drumming - X Flute Guitar - X Harmonica Home Recording Italian Opera Music for Wellness Music Theory Piano - X X X Violin Coding Code Academy Coding Bat HTML Dog LCodeTHW Try Python	Languages Afrikaans American Sign Language (ASL) - X X Chinese (Mandarin) Dutch English French German Greek & Latin Hungarian Polish Spanish Swedish More: BBC Languages BUSUU Duolingo Memrise Verbling
	Misc. Chess CPR Dog Training - X Electrical Repairs Homebrew Household Repairs Plumbing Poetry Self Defense Surfing Yoga	Resources Bartleby (books) CrashCourse Documentary Heaven EHow Gutenberg (books) Howcast How Stuff Works Instructables Investopedia Lifehacker MIT Supplemental Resources Open Education Consortium Open Learning Initiative TED Textbook Revolution The New Boston Top Documentary Films Unplug the TV UReddit Wanna Learn WIKIbooks WIKIHow WIKIversity Wolfram Alpha Wonder How To Zen Habits

These are just a few of many resources, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for do some research!

Happy learning & Happy Holidays.