I am having trouble picking a school. I am good at science and math but I don’t think anything interests me as much as dance. However, my parents are urging me to consider STEM because I am “stronger” in academics and it pays better. I know that some schools (like IU, VT, etc) offer ballet classes for non-majors but I still don’t know what to pick.
Here are my stats:
1480; 720 ERW 760 MATH
34 (35 sci, reading, english, 32 math)
3: ap physics 1
4: ap bio, ap world, ap chem, ap lang
5: ap euro, apush
Accepted:
SUNY stony brook (major: applied math) +2k scholarship
SUNY Binghamton (major: math)
WPI (major: chem) + 100k scholarship
Virginia Tech (major: math)
Indiana university Bloomington (would have to switch major, got rejected for ballet)
University of Oklahoma (switch major, rejected for ballet) + 60k scholarship
University of Cincinnati (major: ballet) +6k scholarship
Rather than the amount in scholarship, can you indicate net price for all 7 of them?
To find net price: (tuition, fees, room, board) - (grants, scholarships) = per year
This will help in determining value and perhaps ROI.
wrt academics:
IU and OK seem out since you were rejected for ballet - what majors are of interest? Are ballet classes and performances open to non majors? It seems that you wouldn’t be able to dance and you mention it’s important to you.
At Stony Brook, Bing, WPI and VTech, would you be able to take Ballet classes, dance in general (through what level) and participate in performances as a non major? Ask under what conditions and whether you can be put in touch with someone who is doing that.
UC is a conservatory so it’s the riskier bet. Congratulations - it’s really really hard to get in, but it’s difficult to do something else. You wouldn’t really have a fall back if you get hurt or can’t find employment.
I think what your parents are saying, dance is going to be really hard to make a living.
It’s true but I do believe that kids should pursue their dream. If they’re willing to spend on a dance degree, it’s great. But if you can get a double major, it’d be great too.
Are you from NY ?
How much can you afford ?
When you say IU and OU rejected for ballet, switch major - are you even admitted.
You have small, mid, and large schools on the list. Some big sports, big Greek.
Not a single bad name.
Which are most affordable to your family ? Of those which did u like best upon visiting ? Hopefully you can still take ballet classes there too.
Performing arts tends to be elite or bust if you want to make a career out of it. Math or statistics could prepare for day jobs in finance, actuarial, operations research, data science, etc. that can pay the bills while you do performing arts outside of work (e.g. community groups).
Forgot to say this before. I am a NY resident, so SBU and Bing are in-state tuition. Got into SBU Honors College and Binghamton First-Year Research Immersion
No disrespect to your parents, but you are going to be the one majoring in a subject, not them. You seem like the type of student who needs to be able to have a way to express yourself.
I think you’ll have a good experience at Bing, Oklahoma, or IU. My overall vote is for Bing, given that you are instate. Stony Brook has more of a commuter feel than Bing. There should be dance opportunities outside of majoring in dance, and there will be enough variety that you can choose something you want to major in, whether it’s science of something else.
This is from Reddit, so not totally reliable, but Binghamton is big enough to support a number of different dance clubs:
“There’s the school’s dance team, kickline team, and cheerleaders which all perform at the basketball games and stuff. Then a lot of my friends were in IFD which does a lot of different varieties of dance like lyrical and hip hop. There’s also a tap dancing club that I was a part of for a second during freshman year. They’re great! And you can take dance classes for credit on campus. They’ll count for your physical education gen ed requirement and you put on a performance at the end of the semester. My roommate took ballet and African Dance.”
The majors I’m interested in exploring most (in order) are math/applied math, data science, business finance, astrophysics, and chem. I think later this week (when I have less schoolwork) I’m going to compare net price and starting salary within each field for each school.
Both IU and OU offer ballet classes to non-majors, but not performances, but I am willing to consider as dancing at all is a plus. I am debating changing my major to something academic (already got into each school) so I can see if I get a scholarship.
I know VT has a small ballet group AND has an interesting math track (4 different concentrations) so it’s one of the top choices right now, but I’ll have to double check on the others (right now I don’t think they do).
Thank you! I’ve been holding off on accepting the offer to UC-CCM because I wanted to make sure I was preparing for more than just the next 4 years. I appreciate the advice!
Math / statistics / data science are less lab heavy than physics or chemistry (though some computer work will be needed), so they may leave more time for performing arts courses and/or extracurriculars.
A double major would be nice, but I don’t think I have the time management skills to (being realistic), especially if I continue on the STEM route. I think I’m leaning towards keeping ballet as a side activity outside my major.
I am from NY, and I’m lucky in that finances won’t have to be a major deciding factor. I did get into both IU and OU academically so changing major isn’t a huge stretch academic wise, but I am still debating changing (is it worth the effort). I plan on doing more research on student life at each school this week, and planning to visit as many as I can. I visited VT and liked it, briefly saw SBU, Bing, IU, and WPIm but I’m planning to go back to as many as I can before I pay any deposits. Thanks for the advice!
I do like the versatility that math has to offer, especially because I’m very indecisive on what career path I want to go down. As of right now, this is the plan, because financial stability is something really important to me.
FRI is a very well-designed program that will help you build your resume and get jobs in labs on campus (then internships or later real jobs after college). It doesn’t seem to come with a living learning option but there are possible LLCs in Mountainview (Engineering), Dickinson has CORE (STEM/Robotics) and Wellness (which sounds cool), and College in the Woods has Environmental Action and Animals.
Stony Brook Honors is the whole package: small interactive seminars, contact with professors with a research thesis jr-sr year alongside excellent research opportunities in labs, priority registration, topnotch housing with actual suite-style living (as a freshman!), field trips and discounted concerts/broadway shows.
WPI has a unique schedule: does it appeal to you? It’s also highly hands-on, collaborative, lots of resources for its students, and almost everyone will love science/STEM. It may be more intense than Bing or SB.
If you want to continue dancing seriously then I agree a math major, not a double major, is more reasonable.
At all of them you’d need to check that you can take dance classes and participate in performances or ballet even if you’re not a major. What dance clubs are there? How does one get into them and how difficult is it? Try to reach out.
OP hasn’t been admitted to Purdue but it’s a good idea - worth checking whether
SUNY stony brook , SUNY [Binghamton], WPI, [Virginia Tech] have a dance minor!