Dance program advice?

College Majors Dance Major
1

<p>I am a dance student from the Indianapolis area who will at least have a dance minor but would love to go to a college that offers a BA dance program so I can double major.</p>

<p>Info about me: This is my 15th year of dance but I have only been serious about it for the last four. I attend a noncompetitive dance studio, am involved in the ensemble, and performed with a dance ministry last year. Most of my experience is in modern and ballet (some pointework) but I also take jazz and hip hop classes. I have pretty strong technique but am by no means thinking about performing professionally. Even so, dance is a large part of my life, and I am strongly considering a career as a teacher or studio owner.</p>

<p>4.2 (3.85) GPA, 2150 (1390) SAT, 9 AP classes, looking at Honors college. $15,000/yr from parents but probably a higher EFC according to FAFSA. If it's out-of-state I'll have to rely on merit scholarships. PT/biology, social studies education, Spanish/international relations.</p>

<p>For me, Butler is way too close to home, but I know that my parents are hesitant about distance and money, an affordable university offering strong academics and widespread opportunities for my other interests would be great.</p>

<p>Most of the dance programs around Indiana are BFA-centered, but I also wasn't a big fan of the minor-only programs at Purdue or Belmont because I didn't feel like they would help me grow much from where I already am. Anderson has a great program with two BA options as well as a complementary major, but smaller than I would like, ideally (2.5k). This week I stopped by Western Kentucky and got to see the company's contemporary dance rehearsal, and I think most of the dancers were upperclassmen. Dance-wise, I was impressed and would want to dance as well as they did toward the end of my undergrad time; I'm still uncertain about the school in the academic realm.</p>

<p>I realize that this is a tall order, but do you have an opinion on the colleges I mentioned? What others should I think about? What factors should I stop worrying about?</p>

<p>TL;DR: I don't know what I want to do in addition to dance, but what are some good programs for the dance part of my life? Not Julliard but not dance team.</p>

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<p>More specifically, I would love more information on the dance programs at the following colleges, and whether or not I should consider them:</p>

<p>Butler
IU Bloomington
Ball State
Anderson
Western Kentucky
University of Kentucky
Belmont
Missouri colleges
Illinois colleges
Ohio colleges
Pennsylvania colleges
Upstate New York colleges
Anywhere outside of these states worth considering</p>

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<p>My S is applying to the University of Michigan - might be worth a look. Geographically it seems to be in the area you are considering, and it certainly has a good academic reputation. But it might be more performance based than you are looking for. Sorry I don’t have any info on the schools you list - S is in the midst of the information gathering phase too. I would love to hear how you narrow down your list and if you get any more info on any of your schools!</p>

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<p>Look at JMU in VA.</p>

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<p>My DD is a senior dance major at Slippery Rock University. It is in Western PA, only about 40 minutes from the Ohio border, about the same distance North of Pittsburgh - just to give you an idea. SRU is an excellent BA program, was just listed as the #2 dance school in PA. Their professors are amazing, many teach at American Dance Festival. They are extremely encouraging to those that want to dbl major. Some universities you will find are not very supportive to majoring in dance and something else. SRU is also affordable - around $21000 out of state if you keep a 3.0. There are about 8000 students who attend. My DD will be graduating early with her BA in dance then will finish up her grad classes in the spring. She has already been taking classes for grad school at the undergrad level. She has been extremely happy there overall. She looked at Ball State, Akron and Kent State and felt SRU was a better fit. She has been dancing since she was 3.</p>

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<p>Thank you all so much!</p>

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<p>I’ve seen students with your goals attend Columbia College Chicago. I think they’re having a open house soon. That school has a BA dance major and an arts management major. Might suit you. There’s an Honors Program too. </p>

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<p>Have you looked at Loyola of Chicago? They offer a BA in Dance and a minor. Beautiful campus and not too far from Indianapolis. You would be in the top 25% academically which would allow for scholarship opportunities.</p>

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<p>Zebrarunner, I checked out Michigan and I just don’t think it would be the best fit for me. Thanks anyway! Lambb66, from what I remember the same goes for Slippery Rock. Thank you though.</p>

<p>KatMT, it seems like JMU doesn’t give out merit scholarships to freshman, and I won’t be able to afford the chance of not getting one after that.</p>

<p>Dyiu13, my dad won’t let me apply to Columbia because it’s “too liberal” from his POV. Also, it is very focused on the arts, but I don’t think there are many opportunities outside of those fields.</p>

<p>Lvvcsf, I just applied to Loyola! It’s not one of my top choices at the moment but we’ll see.</p>

<p>Thank you all so much for your input. I think I will do just fine within a minor program for dance, but it is nice to know what else is out there! :)</p>

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<p>If you are considering Ohio look at Ohio University. They have a BA, BFA and dance minor as well dance opportunities for non majors. They also have dance auditions for dance minors for scholarship purposes. It’s a beautiful campus with about 20k students total.</p>

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<p>@indecisiveinfp7 – JMU does offer merit scholarships for freshmen. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.jmu.edu/theatredance/prospective-students/scholarships.shtml”>http://www.jmu.edu/theatredance/prospective-students/scholarships.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.jmu.edu/scholarships/prospectstudents.shtml”>http://www.jmu.edu/scholarships/prospectstudents.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>@KatMT, thank you for pointing that out to me! Unfortunately, the one large merit scholarship that I would be most interested in requires two essays and two recommendation letters, and I don’t have the energy or time to get those sent in by Saturday.</p>

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<p>Too bad you didn’t find it earlier. The links are on the Theatre and Dance Scholarship page for those lookin in future years. </p>

<p>Good Luck! :)</p>