i am a senior now, and i’m realizing i didn’t do enough research or preparation for college my junior year/this summer. i was focused on becoming a ballet dancer, but now i’ve shifted my focus to college. i have several safeties, but i’m wondering what my chances are on reach schools.
SAT: 1350 (i took it three times, and this was my highest one)
english: 750, math: 600. (i wasn’t even aware that subject tests were a thing).
does having a good english score help my chances at a liberal arts college/humanities major?
GPA: 3.987 weighted. i went to a performing arts school for two years of high school, which messed up my gpa.
ECs: dance, at least 30 hours a week. several performances a year, and some outreach events. and that’s about it.
APs: world history - 4, english language - 4, US history - 3
top 13% of my class
as a senior, i’m only taking AP literature, AP macroeconomics/AP us government, environmental science, and latin 2.
i switched schools after my sophomore year to focus on dance, so now i do online school. it’s difficult to mostly teach yourself and try to apply to colleges without much support, but i’m trying.
applied to: UT, IU
safeties: OU, belmont
reach schools that i might apply to:
wesleyan
vassar
reed
NYU (i could probably apply for dance, but i don’t think i could afford it, so i might not apply)
and any other liberal arts colleges that might fit
should i even apply for these schools? i’m not sure if i would be able to interview or how that would work. i would have a short amount of time to get these applications in.
does anyone have suggestions for liberal arts colleges i might look into? what about women’s colleges?
Ask your parents about budget. Have you completed the FAFSA to see if you might qualify for need-based aid? Have your parents told you what they can afford? Every college has a Net Price Calculator (NPC) that can give you an idea of how much financial aid you might receive.
I hope you have applied to other in-state options other than UT-Austin because it’s tough to get in if you don’t qualify for auto-admission based on rank. Maybe check out UT-Dallas?
In the SW, you might qualify for some merit at U of Arizona or Arizona State. You would qualify for in-state tuition at U of New Mexico with your stats and it has a decent dance program. U of Utah might be worth checking into - I have read here on CC that you can qualify for residency/in-state tuition after a year, but you should check to make sure that is still the case. As I’m sure you know, it is a top ballet program.
Liberal Arts colleges that are good for dance that might be a match for your stats are Dickinson and St Olaf.
i’m hoping to get into UT austin as a dance major, but i’m okay if i don’t get into any in-state schools. i would rather not stay in texas if possible.
i’m looking at liberal arts colleges even without dance. i’m applying to several schools with ballet programs, but i’m not sure if i want to continue with serious dance.
Conn College? What are you looking for/what’s important to you in a school? It seems like you want an LAC. Do you care about geographic location? City or rural setting? What majors are you considering? And definitely talk to your parents about budget. Will you need merit or FA? How much?
Run the net price calculator (NPC) at each of the schools on your list to see an estimate of what you will be expected to pay. Talk with your parents about budget sooner rather than later.
You need to shore up instate safety schools (that won’t be UT will it? You would know if you are auto admit, ). You need to know what your parents will pay, OOS schools will be $$. Will they pay 30K a year? 40K a year? More? Where do you live in Tx? It sounds like you are not a talent admit for ballet, otherwise you would have auditioned? Sit your parents down and firm up the budget. It looks like you have no safety if your parents won’t pay OU, belmont rates. Do you know your FAFSA EFC?
not sure what that means by not a talent admit for ballet. i’m applying and auditioning for several schools with good ballet/dance programs, but i want options outside of just dance.
i might apply to TCU because of their dance program, but it’s not my favorite and quite expensive? i would prefer to go out of state and i think my parents are willing to do so to an extent.
I second Dickinson. The highly-regarded Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) is literally next door to the campus. Dickinson students can earn a certificate for CPYB classes. I believe your stats would be solid for the school, even if the math scores are slighly low.
With a 1350 and no math senior year, Wesleyan and Vassar are very high reaches. Conn College has an excellent dance program and would be a more realistic option
Bryn Mawr is a great liberal arts college/women’s college just outside of Philadelphia. They offer dance, though probably not for the super serious dancer. The ballet classes are taught in Balanchine style and they have beautiful studios and live accompaniment. My D19 is a student at Haverford (they’re in a consortium together, along with Swarthmore and UPenn), but she dances at Bryn Mawr. Your SAT score is basically in the middle 50% for Bryn Mawr, but your gpa probably makes it a reach- and they require both an interview and an extra writing thing from homeschoolers, so I would look into them soon if you’re interested.
Really, the most importation thing is sort out the budget , like today, your idea that there will be financial aid is possibly misplaced. What is your SAR number from FAFSA? What WILL your parents pay? Where are you auditioning? What public instate school IS a safety? Are your parents involved in this at all?
NYU is extremely competitive for dance–so it’s a reach for anyone. And they do not meet need or give much merit/talent aid.
A couple of other schools that have strong ballet components to their programs are Towson in Maryland and Adelphi in NY. Both do require auditions and I believe are BFA programs. You also might look at Hofstra, also in NY. I think they have both a BFA and BA options.
Mount Holyoke has a great dance program though I’m not sure how much of a ballet emphasis, and I don’t know what scores they are looking for these days (I went there myself a zillion years ago). Probably less of a reach than Barnard or Vassar.
I’m guessing you don’t want a straight arts school, but you could look at Point Park, UArts, and UNC School of the Arts.
I will say re: TCU that one of the faculty there (Adam McKinney) was my daughter’s teacher at a summer program and he is really wonderful. My dd decided not to apply there for a number of reasons, but regretted it because she loves Adam so much.