<p>My DD had decided when she was 8 that she wanted to attend the Ailey/Fordham program. She is now entering her Sr. Year of HS and just completed the Ailey Summer Intensive. After having lived at Fordham for the summer and studied at Ailey, she is decided that without a doubt, she will not apply to Fordham. She does not like that there is really no "campus". And while she loved studying at Ailey, she felt that having jazz one to two times per week was not enough for her (she is a comp kid, but also studies at a conservatory in Boston). On the suface, I am relieved that Fordham is out, given the how competitive it is to get into the school academically and with dance. However, with her need to have jazz as frequently as ballet and modern that leaves us only a a few programs to choose from, based on my research. Right now we are looking at Point Park, U of Arts and possibly Marymount Manhattan (although I fear the campus is similar to Fordham). Are there any other schools that we should look into. I would like for her to apply to at least five schools and she wants to stay on the East Coast (New York through Florida, with the exception NJ). She really needs a program with a strong ballet component, where she can continue with her love of jazz and become proficient in Modern. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Please and thank you.</p>
<p>Point park is in downtown Pittsburgh and my dd did not like that she was not on a campus either. She still wanted that college experience. I am guessing Marymount is going to be the same way. What about Muhlenberg or Oklahoma City?</p>
<p>Thank you for the response! Any thoughts on how competitive Muhlenberg is? She really needs to be challenged. As for Oklahoma, I hear there is no modern there? Mhmmm this is very stressful. lammb66, what college did your daughter attend, if you don’t mind my asking. Thank you</p>
<p>Have you looked at the Dance Spirit College Guide? It’s a great resource for seeing which schools meet your criteria. </p>
<p>OCU and Muhlenberg are both on my D’s short list. OCU does not have modern. Muhlenberg is not competitive, in that you don’t have to audition to be in the program, just for scholarship consideration. However, it does have a strong reputation. We toured there and really liked it. You may want to check out SUNY Purchase and SUNY Buffalo as well. I think Purchase is more ballet/modern focused.
It’s hard to get a real taste of the strength of the programs without actually seeing them. Most schools usually have dance performaces on the same dates as the auditions, so we are hoping to get a better picture at that time.</p>
<p>Maybe look at Shenandoah?</p>
<p>Senior here looking for colleges too what about Elon, SUNY Fredonia, and UMass.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I do have the Dance Spirit Magazine, which has been a huge help. However, it’s hard to get a feel for whether a particular school is worth applying to. I will keep looking through the magazine and looking on websites. @Katmt would you consider Shenandoah a “triple emphasis” program?</p>
<p>@ JDancer, my DD’s friend is a dance major at Elon and he loves it there. He said it is much different than the comp dancing that he was accustomed to, but he has made the transition without much difficulty. My DD also has a friend at UMASS and she seems to love it there. She is double majoring in dance and kinesiology. I am not sure how competitive the dance program is. My DD does not want to stay in New England, so we are not applying to UMASS.</p>
<p>I have heard that SUNY Purchase slants more towards contemporary ballet. I looked at the course descriptions for the BFA and there is hardly any jazz offered. That was initially on my list because of the cost and its reputation…but I don’t think my daughter would like the dance program. I will keep looking through the DSpirit magazine. Thanks for the response…</p>
<p>I believe the performance emphasis at Shenandoah may be slightly more modern… but they have a strong faculty and class opportunities in all areas.</p>
<p>Thank you for the response.</p>
<p>I think the OP said “not NJ” but what about Rutgers Mason Gross or Montclair State?</p>
<p>She feels that NJ is too much like not leaving home, because dad lives in NJ along with a whole host of relatives. She feels the same way about New England (where we live). Also, I got the impression that Rutgers was strongly rooted in modern and ballet, with very little jazz. I had not even considered Montclair State. How competitive is their program?</p>
<p>Not sure about admission stats but it is most likely on their website. The facilities are beautiful and they have outstanding performance spaces. They have had a very strong dance program for years and are a 25 minute drive into NYC, with two train stations on campus! However, it is a bit if a commuter campus, although they have had a significant capital expansion underway. It is a true campus- with athletics , etc for those who want that. A very strong theatre program as well and a great value economically.</p>
<p>Thank you lightingmom! I will take definitely take a look.</p>
<p>Thus far, we have definitely decided to audition at :Point Park, UARTS, SUNY Buffalo and Shenendoah. We are considering Mary Mount and LIU Brooklyn, just because…</p>
<p>I know you said your daughter wants to stay on the east coast, but I couldn’t help but comment that your daughter sounds so much like mine a few years ago. She was accepted into Fordham/Ailey with scholarships, but turned it down without even a 2nd thought because she wanted a real campus feel and she wanted Jazz. She ended up at the University of Arizona (I know, wrong coast). But, it was a perfect fit for her. She gets to participate in all of the normal Division 1 university stuff (football games, etc), but she also gets to be a part of one of the best university dance programs in the nation (not that I’m biased or anything). Best of luck with your search!!</p>
<p>Greetings All. 34ballet took the words right out of my mouth. My DD just graduated in May from the U of A with a BFA-Dance, and it was the most amazing experience of her life. Superior training by world class faculty in all 3 disciplines (Ballet, Modern, Jazz), incredible performing opportunities in a magnificent facility built just for dance, the chance to work with icons brought in from the dance world, a truly wonderful, supportive environment in which to pursue big dance dreams. Fabulous college experience, climate to-die-for, fun place to visit 
… my DD would go back in a heartbeat. Her graduating class is off doing great things. If location is flexible, at least take her for a visit, but be forewarned… she’s going to love it there!! Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thank you so much! U of A was on my original last, precisely because of what you mentioned. After reading your post, I talked to DD again and she is adamant that Arizona is too far from home. If at all possible, I will try and see if we can visit. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Thank you! I will try and take her for a visit and see if that helps. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the school and program.</p>
<p>Dancemomdee- If you are considering LIU in Brooklyn, then I would also suggest Brooklyn College which is part of the City University of New York system. The surrounding area may not be the greatest, but once on campus it is lovely, and Brooklyn College is completing a brand new performance facility and has a very good reputation in the theatre community. If you are considering other urban schools like Marymount and UArts, what about Pace?</p>
<p>Here’s my daughter’s final list (in no particular order): Fordham, NYU, Point Park, Univ of the Arts, Univ of Az, Loyola Marymount, Chapman, Boston Conservatory, SMU, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and Univ of Colorado Boulder. These represent a combination of academic and dance Reach, Target, and Safety schools, although we are only considering non-audition programs to be dance safeties. Her college admissions counselor guided her relative to categorizing schools from an academic perspective and the director of her dance company guided her categorization from a dance perspective. We went through this process with our son last year (BFA Musical Theater - now at BoCo), so we know that the process of selecting the list from both an academic and talent perspective is so crucial. If dance is anything like MT, we learned that you can’t take any audition program for granted; there are no audition safeties. He got into a number of the top 10 programs, but was rejected by a number of them also. He also was rejected by some programs that many would consider less prestigious than many that he was accepted to. If the dance admission process is like MT, it is complex, seems irrational at times, and filled with ups and downs. Sometimes I wish our kids were going through the more straight-forward general college admissions process, where one can assess chances based upon GPA, course-load, SATs, and extracurriculars.</p>