<p>So I was wondering how colleges see ballet as an extracurricular. I know of one girl who had the lead in the Nutcracker when she was in high school and had pretty good grades, but I was told that colleges probably didn't see ballet as a strong extracurricular because she wasn't accepted into an Ivy League college. I was wondering if that was true?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t conclude that ballet isn’t a strong extracurricular just because your friend wasn’t deemed Ivy caliber. College admissions is such an opaque process and there are too many reasons to list that could explain why she wasn’t admitted.</p>
<p>One could be that there were plenty of dancers applying to Ivy league schools this round. It’s my understanding that every year, certain extracurriculars are overrepresented within the applicant pool while others are not. For example, two years ago my cousin was admitted to UMD College Park on a full scholarship because he was their only applicant that year who wanted to study double bass. Other years, it might be trombonists or basoonists that colleges find are in short supply.</p>
<p>I would think all recognize the dedication and effort to achieve at a high level, but not all schools have ballet companies, so the importance varies. But when applying to the most selective colleges you need to have the whole package. So unless the girl you know danced with American Ballet Theater or a similar top company, having just “pretty good grades” is not going to get you in. Now if she had excellent grades, test scores, etc., then ballet could have put her over the top. The EC achievements are used to differentiate amongst top students, but not to leapfrog over them unless the achievements are truly world class.</p>
<p>There’s a wide range of ballet training out there, and a wide range of Nutcrackers. There are kids who are in residential pre-professional training programs who perform with professional companies; there are also kids who take two classes a week at Miss Sally’s Ballet and Baton Emporium who perform The Nutcracker in a middle school gymnasium.</p>
<p>College adcoms will be very impressed by the former, if they are also well-qualified academically. Impressed enough for an admit? Who knows,when you’re talking 10 percent or under acceptance rates? They’ll see the latter as kids who are pursuing an interest, but that level of EC alone will not be an admissions boost. </p>
<p>But as Ablearcher says, Ivy and comparably selective admissions are complex. You can never know that what kept an individual out of Harvard, or got her in, was the level at which she performs ballet.</p>
<p>None of the Ivies have outstanding dance programs, so it stands to reason that ballet as an extracurricular is no more special to them than anything else kids do outside of school. If your friend is serious about dance and planning to pursue it as a career, she would have a lot more than local Nutcracker productions under her belt by the time she applied to college. And she would have more likely applied to colleges known for their strong dance departments, anyway.</p>
<p>Although the top ballet departments are at Indiana University, SUNY Purchase, NYU, Butler, and a few others I’m forgetting, they’re for students who plan to pursue dance professionally. Some Ivies and comparable schools do provide strong dance instruction and performing opportunities. The offerings at Harvard and Princeton are especially good, even if they are minors or extra-curricular only. Some very high-level dancers are admitted every year, when they decide for whatever reasons that their careers won’t be in dance. Vassar, Duke, and Barnard also have first-class departments.</p>
<p>I guess I didn’t make my point very clearly.</p>
<p>If the student in question is a serious dancer, she would have reputable summer intensives and more performance experience on her resume. What I was trying to say is that I am not sure how much adcoms at universities with “only” minor or EC dance programs would care or be impressed, since they don’t regard dance as something worth having a major in in the first place. Perhaps there is some recognition of the commitment and sacrifice it has taken to get to a high level…or not. But I agree that a lot of accomplished dancers become more “recreational” in college as they realize that their career prospects lie in fields other than dance.</p>
<p>I included my summer intensives & years of volunteering at my nonprofit ballet academy as ECs. I was also sure to mention how ballet shaped me as a person, etc. The level of my dedication however was apparent, as I went to a prestigious arts middle & high school. While I did not apply to Ivies, I believe ballet is a valuable EC regardless.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s any doubt that ballet is a valuable EC. It’s valuable for what it gives the dancer in terms of discipline, self-expression, fitness, an understanding of art, etc.</p>
<p>My point in post 6 is that adcoms at Ivies and similarly selective schools will be aware of the high level of ability indicated by having attended SAB, highly selective summer intensives, having been recognized at YAGP, etc. Even if the admissions department isn’t trying to fill dance classes or cast dance productions, it will recognize and value outstanding ability.</p>
<p>@OP: Similarly, many people who list years soccer or band on their applications aren’t necessarily or even likely to go out for those activities or study it at college, regardless of skill level. It’s commitment etc admissions looks for. It’s not really relevant if they plan on joining whatever team or if the school even offers that major, you know?</p>
<p>First, never forget that the most important EC is one that you love doing and feel passionate about. It never makes sense to do an activity because you think it will help for college. The second thing, and I’m not an admissions officer, is I’m guessing that ballet would be looked upon very favorably as an activity BUT schools do not have “ballet teams” so it will never be the same type of hook that might get you in to a school you might not otherwise academically qualify for that say being a star football quarterback or tennis player etc. (assuming a school has those teams) would be. Unless you are applying for a dance program, I don’t expect that ballet will get you into an Ivy League or any other college that you don’t have the stats for…but then again neither will most student’s chosen activities. Top schools expect a student who is committed and has passions – and you show this through your ballet. Enjoy what you love and apply to schools that make sense.</p>