<p>I love art. I am an artist, photographer, dancer, and pianist. I also love to write and am interested in cultural studies.Though I am pretty sure I will end up doing something with art for my career, I didn't want to limit myself so I decided not to apply to any Art institutes. </p>
<p>I would like to apply to a college in the first or second tier. Right now, my list is: Stanford, Duke, and Rice, and I am considering Yale as well. What other colleges should I consider, that will provide a good academic as well as artistic environment?</p>
<p>Oberlin has a great music conservatory. Many of the students who aren’t in the conservatory also play instruments of some kind and there is a great musical environment. Also, they have a wonderful art museum and allow students to rent works of art to hang in their room for a semester at a time. I don’t know about dance, but my son, who is a biology major, has taken several dance classes throught the Extended College or ExCo program.</p>
<p>ashley, I’d take a look at Williams – a wonderful art-rich environment within a rigorously academic small liberal arts context. The Berkshires offer a wealth of art related activities and Williams strongly supports students who pursue artistic interests with multiple performance opportunites even for non-majors in music, dance, theater. There are three world-class museums on or near campus and handson involvement is encouraged as are phenomenal internship opportunities.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you consider Brandeis University. They have a strong commitment to the arts including highly regarded studio art and post-bac art program. There is an annual Festival of the Arts and the School for Creative Arts offers the art, music and theatre depts. I would also recommend that you look at both Wesleyan and Skidmore. Skidmore is strong in music and studio art, while Wesleyan is known for theatre. Both Brandeis and Wesleyan are also strong in creative writing and provide an intellectual environment.</p>
<p>Wesleyan actually also has strong studio art (as well as art history) and, especially, music. We have one of the best ethnomusicology grad programs in the country, which definitely trickles down to the undergrads (I know several undergrads who took music grad classes, one as early as Freshmen year). That might work well with your interest in cultural studies (we also have fairly strong performance opportunities in more traditional forms of music). In general, we have very good cultural studies (including strong majors in East Asian Lit + Culture, African American Studies, and Gender + sexuality studies). </p>
<p>Our dance program itself isn’t fantastic, but if is fine if you just want to keep taking classes (except perhaps for an upper-upper level ballet student, who might find challenging classes lacking). We also have tons of students run dance groups on campus, as well as opportunities to perform in dance major’s pieces, if you want to keep dancing. In general, the arts are huge here.</p>
<p>I also agree with all of the other schools listed. Also check out Goucher for a much safer option with strong emphasis on arts.</p>