Does it have to be a dance major or does she really mean a strong dance program, open to her talent level? What’s her point, in that combo?
Kids change between junior spring and the start of senior year, then through that semester. The mistake would be ending the look-see now. Ask her to continue with an open mind, in case. (That’s an aspect of maturity and readiness.)
Utah is one of the best dance programs in the country. The school as a whole might be a safety, but the audition process is competitive enough not to be a safety for any dance major.
University of South Carolina, Goucher College, Ithaca College, University of Miami. Tulane University, University of Massachusetts (or any school in the consortium), College of Charleston. University of South Florida
Maybe the OP can come back and provide more specifics…
Butler university and U of Cincinnati also have strong ballet programs, don’t know anything about the math departments.
As others have mentioned, we need to know more about the student’s academic credentials to give useful advice. I did a quick look at my alma mater, but is this student ready for a demanding math and general studies curriculum? If so, see a) http://www.reed.edu/dance/ and b} http://www.reed.edu/ and c) http://www.reed.edu/math/
Thanks for responses and my long delay in getting back…
As far as constraints,here goes:
Looks as though she will have around a 3.6-3.7 weighted average
31 ACT
President of her dance company, where she has been active for 13 years-the focus is Modern but also years of ballet and jazz. Assists in multiple classes a week for younger students there.2 summers at Bates Dance Festival and 5 summers at performing arts camp
mentor in school program for 2 years
Taken honors math since 7th grade,honors Latin last 2 years, handful of other advanced, AP Global, AP stat, next year taking AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP Latin
Traditional karate(brown belt) training since age of 4
Assist lifeguarding class(gym class) and lifeguarding this summer at local pool
Most of her time thru HS has been at dance , truthfully. Not a super social kid, somewhat introverted when not performing.
Assuming teacher recs will be very strong; she is a hard worker and quite mature.
Financial aid not an issue-extended family providing all aid necessary(yes, she is one very fortunate girl)
She wants to continue to study dance in college and feels strongly that she wants more structure than a club or team. May want to work professionally but also understands that earning a BA or BS in another field(she has always loved math) will most likely give her more options over time. Programs do not require audition prior to acceptance but would occur once enrolled during Freshman year(I assume for placement purposes)
We realize that kids change their minds during this process all the time, but she has been resistant to looking at lots of schools which don’t meet all her criteria
Already visited: Tulane, Emory, Case Western
LOVED TULANE. Attended dance and math class, great tour, spoke with department heads, met with current student. Have close family who live in NOLA. We are from New York from a large Westchester County high school which is very diverse, but for some reason has only sent one student to Tulane in last several years.
Emory: met with dance dept chair and really impressed with program but campus feel oddly lacking.
Case was recommended by local family whose daughter is there and they seem to have lots to offer, but Cleveland cannot compete with Nola.
Thinking of applying ED to Tulane; we know they are big on demonstrated interest. Seems to be a Target Match but I know these days all bets are off
I was hoping to have her visit GW and Maryland(College Park) this Fall as well. She prefers warmer climate but is not interested in Midwest or California. Would have looked at U of Miami but no dance major.
Really loves mid size- very turned off to smaller schools which have fewer than 4,000 students. Open to larger schools…
Goucher might be a good option, as someone else wrote. She can major in dance and do some math, or major in math and do some dance, or double major. It is okay to major in dance: career and grad school options in other directions are still accessible, including med or law school etc.
I know a young woman who studied dance and math at Bennington (tiny, rural, gorgeous campus, and they have a field work term each winter) and then did a computer science course at Tufts one summer after graduating. She teaches code to young people and dances in a company.
Dance Magazine’s college magazine is helpful. There are probably a lot of state schools that would work, Utah, yes, Ohio State, Miami, UMass, SUNY Purchase…good luck!
The test scores of admitted students at the University of Maryland are startlingly high. Per their web site https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/freshman.php, the middle 50% of ACT scores is 29 to 33. That puts your daughter in the middle of the pack, and she’s out of state, so the standards for applicants like her may be even higher. A 3.7 weighted GPA is not particularly high by Maryland standards, either.
You also need to realize that Maryland has LOTS of out-of-state applicants (perhaps because it combines a big sports school atmosphere with proximity to an attractive city – a rare combination). The university particularly gets a lot of applicants from New York and New Jersey (perhaps because, in addition to those other nice things, it has a strong Jewish community). So your daughter wouldn’t be contributing anything special in terms of geographic diversity.
I’m not trying to discourage your daughter from applying to Maryland. I just want you to realize that it’s a reach.
What about SMU in Dallas?
A friend of mine’s daughter chose U of Indiana over Tisch because she decided she wanted a real university experience. (Finances may have been an issue, but it was never mentioned to me.) Anyway she majored in Dance and French, but I’m sure as a large uni they’d offer plenty of math. Does Ohio State University still have good dance/performing arts? My sil’s brother went there many eons ago.
I realize neither of these are midsized, but sometimes you have to compromise. I do think that if you are in what is likely to be a small major, the school will not feel as big. (Speaking from experience.)
Casting a broad geographical net and considering your daughter’s stats, she might look into U Mass, Ohio State, U of New Mexico, Utah or U of Arizona (audition into dance program is no cake walk for either), Fordham (ditto for audition - also maybe too close to home?). Some of these are probably larger than her ideal but might be worth a look.
A weighted 3.6-3.7 might be a bit low for Tulane, Fordham, and Case Western. ED might offer a boost.
Too bad LACs and the colder Midwest are off the table because St. Olaf (45 minutes from Minneapolis) is strong in both Math and Dance and a reasonable fit for your D’s stats.
One of my nieces majored in dance at Tisch, and has worked professionally ever since. She chose not to apply to Julliard because she wanted more of a university experience.
@DBB6599 , has your D ruled out audition programs completely, and if so, why?
My S is only applying to 3.
My D20 is a dancer. From what I can learn from her friends, a dance major will need to cast a wide net. Most of D’s friends went on about 8-10 auditions each this year. One of the things with dance is that not only do you have to be a good dancer, but most require you to have a certain “look.”
It doesn’t meet a lot of your criteria, but Bard makes it possible to apply over the summer and have an answer. If she liked that one enough to attend (and you could afford it), it would alleviate the need to look at safeties where she couldn’t pursue one of her interests.