Liberal Arts colleges, Northeast with dance program as well?

My daughter, HS class of 2017 is starting to get more specific on what we should be looking at. She is undecided on a major, is interested in writing, psychology, perhaps pre-law, will probably look to minor in French.

Dance was her major EC, and she would like to continue as part of a company or perhaps minor in it. She is not looking to be on a sports dance team.

She does not want to go to a really large school, and she seems to like the ones in a more rural setting. But it is early days yet. Ideally, she wants to be within 3-5 hours of the Boston area.

Her GPA is about a 3.85, no SAT scores yet. She is doing SAT prep now but I am not counting on super high scores. Cost is somewhat of a consideration, so she would not be looking at reach schools.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

“Cost is somewhat of a consideration, so she would not be looking at reach schools.”

This may need clarification.

Connecticut College has an excellent dance program and would seem to fit some of your daughter’s other criteria.
Muhlenberg offers good merit and also has a good dance program

We cannot pay 50k+ a year out of pocket. (ETA and we do not want her to take out large loans)

She would need to be eligible for some merit aid to bring it down a bit. Ideally she would go to a state school, but that is not her first choice. Looking for options given her interests and stats (though the SATS are not a given at this point)

Then you have researched far enough to determine that colleges with need-based financial aid programs would not be suitable for your family’s circumstances?

Yes. I’ve been here long enough, and I don’t want to get into that discussion. We make enough such that we do not qualify for much, if any in the way of need based aid. But it is not in our family’s circumstances to take out large loans, and we do not want our daughter to leave school with a mortgage sized student loan to pay back.

When my son was applying back in 2009, we came up with some really good options for him that we could work with. But that was for a science major and he had different stats and requirements.

Just looking for a starting point. I know there are a lot of liberal arts colleges out there. I figured a good place to start would be to look at the dance programs, then find something with decent academics in the majors she is considering.

Try Wheaton (MA) and Purchase (NY).

@wisteria100 - I will check out Connecticut College, thanks. I used to pass through New London a lot when I would take the ferry to Long Island, not sure if that would be too ‘city’ for her.

@mer81 thanks for the suggestions

Along those lines, however, Connecticut College does not offer merit scholarships. So the additional information you provided may enhance the further suggestions you receive.

@merci81 yeah, I don’t think the 62K a year is going to fly. ETA, though at that cost point, we might actually qualify for nominal need based aid O_0

OK, not to spam my own thread but I did the cost estimator for Connecticut College, and we would qualify for some need based aid. But if there is no merit money available, I don’t think it will bring the cost down enough. I am going to put it on the list for now, but it will probably not make the final cut.

Muhlenberg does offer good merit and you don’t ned super high scores to get it. Conn College has a very pretty campus and the area feels more town vs city

Thank you @wisteria100 I don’t think she wants to go as far as Pennsylvania. I am keeping Connecticut College on the list for now, I am very nostalgic for the area as I don’t go down that way much any since my parents passed away.

And as @merci81 pointed out, I should confirm what we are eligible for as far as need based. The last time I really ran the numbers was in 2009; the estimated contribution is looking right, but I think we can pull off a little more out of pocket this time around. Though we have to keep some resources for DD2, who will be class of 2021.

My D is a senior dance major and we looked at a few small LAC’s in the northeast.

Hampshire: This was her first choice partly because of the 5 college dance department (https://www.fivecolleges.edu/dance). Because of the 5 college consortium your D could choose between Hampshire, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst and UMass. It’s also a rural setting and close to Boston as well. It’s a quirky kind of school and lets students design their own majors if they wish. D was offered merit aid at Hampshire, but not quite as much as she wanted (to avoid loans).

Sarah Lawrence: She loved it, but we found out they offer no merit aid, only need based. It’s also a very quirky artsy school and they have very strong performing arts. They also give students wide berth to put together a kind of “customized” program.

Goucher: We both liked the small friendly campus. We got a bit more of a traditional small college feel here. Their stats are a little lower, so maybe easier to get merit aid. She found their dance program to be too conservatory style and ballet-based. Of course this may be what your D is looking for! My D did love that they were the only college to offer aerial dance – one of her favorite styles that you definitely can’t perform at home!

D also visited Connecticut College and Skidmore but found them both a little preppy for her taste. Since she wasn’t considering them I’ve kind of forgotten what she thought about their dance programs, but they got her attention well enough to visit.

I should add that my D is mostly interested in world dance, particularly African and Middle-Eastern. Most dance programs (at least that we found) are based primarily on either ballet or modern dance and one or the other would probably be required as a concentration area if your D does a minor.

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Thanks for the info @snoozn. We will look at Hampshire. I saw that Amherst has a dance program, but it may be a bit pricey. D is probably looking for modern or jazz type of dance; this will be more recreational for her rather than a career path. She has had a lot ballet training but more to supplement her technique. She is in no way looking for aerial dance (she can do a cartwheel, that’s about it)

A preppy type school would probably not be her thing. I think she is looking for something on the quirky side.

-Bowdoin College (Reach)
-Colby College
-Hobart & William Smith Colleges
-St. Lawrence University

For reaches, many of the top schools in Vermont meet her criteria.

@newjerseygirl9 Thanks. I keep looking at Bowdoin and am going to put it on the reach list, Hobart & William looks nice, but wondering if it would be too preppy her.

Muhlenberg is on the border with NJ and should be no more than 5 hours from Boston.

Muhlenberg is a very nice school.

@onthebubble , it does look nice, I will run it by her.