Ah just re- read your thread… she wants to minor in ballet. We did that route. Boston College, Union ,Providence are good schools to consider that have dance minors. Boston Univ is only a certificate in Dance, no minor. D finally decided on Penn State because of the highly respected Industrial Engineering program. She will get her minor in dance but unfortunately they no longer offer a minor after 2018
Haverford would be a great option. I see you have Swarthmore. The two are starkly similar and have virtually the same academic reputation. Swarthmore has engineering major but other than that they offer most of the same majors. I don’t want to offend anybody but TYPICALLY Swarthmore has a more artsy/progressive environment while Haverford is more mainstream. I think both would potentially be great options it just depends on which one is a better fit. I see Bryn Mawr is also on the list which is another great school in Philadelphia.
The results of my research on this on topic were last re-posted (so far as I know) in post # 16 here:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2021861-dancer-for-years-and-physics-wiz-university-suggestions-p2.html
( and how it worked out was in # 18)
It was quite a while ago though, original thread is here:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/dance-major/291713-academics-dance-ballet.html
Some schools suggested on this thread did not offer much in the way of ballet when my D2 was looking, so were not on my list.
Why do people believe stuff like this?
The College Board site shows that the midrange SAT’s for Williams is 1390-1560; for Vassar its 1390-1530. Both colleges do consider standardized test scores important for admission— but obviously students can be accepted with scores well 1500. And the bottom range of “midrange” is not cutoff – for each subtest, one out of four enrolled students enters with scores below the 25th percentile mark. So yes there is a “minimum” score for admission at each school – but that minimum is somewhere below the bottom of the midrange … it is not some arbitrary bar set near the top.
Will higher scores help? Yes, of course. But to say that a given student will need some lofty score that is not supported by the data is crazy. Perhaps at a particular high school the Naviance data shows that …that is school specific – not something that can be applied across the board.
This is a pet peeve of mine because way back when, some “expert” in college admissions (someone who was well known and charged $$$$ for their services) told me to drop Barnard from our list because they “would not even look” at my daughter with her test scores. (1200 SAT; 27 ACT). And similarly suggested some arbitrary number that was well above the 25th percent mark. My daughter was admitted Barnard RD round and has since graduated summa cum laude. My daughter was a white kid from a well-respected public school in California. But she had some things that made her stand out.
So yeah, I could have posted stats on CC and asked for advice, but instead we looked at what my daughter’s interests and strengths, did appropriate research, and targeted appropriately. And of course made sure my daughter had safeties as well. (In our case she had guaranteed admission to the state U. system based on GPA & class standing).
The OP’s daughter has a stand-out quality with the Ballet experience – something that shows passion, dedication, discipline,commitment. That’s what colleges like to see. I don’t have a clue whether that would get her into Williams or Vassar – but the question won’t be her test scores, the question would be the degree to which the colleges value the dance experience and her other qualities.
If an applicant’s scores seem to be on the lower end of the midrange for a school, that’s a good indication that the college may be a reach – but there is a very big difference between “reach” and “out of reach.”
@calmom That is really encouraging! and the information about the local ballet companies to take supplemental classes is so helpful. She took a class in November during visit to Barnard and really enjoyed the pace and level. Its hard for me to imagine her being unhappy with what they do offer there as she has been pretty clear in her preference to not attend a conservatory or BFA program- rather she is just not wanting to give it up for academics completely.
@guineagirl96 she does take a contemporary class as well but does prefer ballet. She knows most LACs are mor e modern focused as also mentioned by @mamaedefamilia (thank you for the GREAT list!!). Are most of the dancers minors or majors at URichmond? Do you notice any differences in how minors v majors are treated?
The Fordham BFA Conservatory program is fabulous, but might not be right for a student who wants a traditional liberal arts education with an opportunity to continue with her Ballet.
@CuriousPhD I believe there are more dance minors than majors, but I’m not 100% certain. I haven’t noticed any difference in treatment between minors and majors. We all take class together and so the professors get to know us all in the same setting.
@CuriousPhD - does your daughter also enjoy watching ballet? I know my daughter went to dance performances at ABT and Alvin Ailey regularly while in school. Discount tickets for all kilnds of performances were available through Barnard when she was there.