<p>When is dance tryouts? Is this something your DD would know before accepting?</p>
<p>search alabama dance team on facebook… (crimson cabaret) they have pictures that go back a few years</p>
<p>think the crimsonettes have a fb page too</p>
<p>“When is dance tryouts? Is this something your DD would know before accepting?”</p>
<p>That is a good question. At this point, I would say that we would be unwilling to commit unless it is verified that she makes the dance team. From what I have heard from other parents who are on dance teams at other universities, it appears that this can be done. However, they indicated that a deposit would be lost- don’t remember what the deposit was for. I think maybe $150. Definitely something to verify before proceeding.</p>
<p>I will add that I am not even sure she would have time to do a sorority. Dance team is a big, year round time commitment. Since she will be pre-med, she will need to do research, job shadowing, and volunteer work in the medical community. I don’t know how she could fit sorority stuff in there also.</p>
<p>I’m thinking your daughter is a Junior? If she hasn’t visited I would have her visit UA and see if she likes the campus. Where ever she chooses to go she will be there for 4 years. She may fall in love with it or not. My DS had one school that he really liked after visiting and one he didn’t care for at all and the rest he was okay with. We didn’t apply to the one he didn’t care for and he ended up at one he thought was okay. My point is if she likes the campus based on the other posts she should be fine but if she doesn’t like the campus then there isn’t any sense in applying.</p>
<p>Okay, dumb question. Probably dumb question of the week and pretty sure I will get slammed for it. I’m a big girl and can handle it 
Just wondering though…</p>
<p>“At this point, I would say that we would be unwilling to commit unless it is verified that she makes the dance team.”</p>
<p>This statement bothers me. Why? I guess I see academia being more important than if my kids make the dance team, a sorority, band, football team, etc. There was a girl that my D and her roommate met during rush. The girl got dropped and did not have any houses for Pref Day. She immediately said she was going to transfer to a different school. If going to a school solely based on if one should make a team or such is the only reason to pick THAT school, are our priorities just a bit skewed? DD1 was a middle school cheerleader and tried out for high school and did not make it. Sure she was upset and so were we. However, I would never let that be a deciding factor in picking a school. DD2 is/was a competitive cheerleader for one of THE TOP gyms in the country. If you know anything about competitive cheer you will know this gym. Last year she expected to make a certain level team, she didn’t. She stayed and we didn’t change. We had her at that gym based on their level of competitiveness. DD1 did go thru rush. However, before we allowed her to we sat her down and went over the whole scenario and told her she better be picking a school to attend based on academics and NOT if she makes a sorority or not. </p>
<p>What would be wrong with your D trying out and not making it due to the others, which are very few in number, being older than her with more experience? It is kind of like how freshmen football players are redshirted. There was a good article recently in the Tuscaloosa News about lower classmen on the football team and how one must bide their time till it is their turn to be a starter. I’d say it would be pretty hard for many freshmen to make it at any school. I know of one girl that did make a college dance team as a freshman but it was not a Div 1 school. </p>
<p>Just my .02 and really none of my business how you or your D choose to decide what school to attend. You don’t even have to respond. ;)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Personally, I agree with you.</p>
<p>My S went to a SMALL HS. It does not have a football team. Almost all the other similarly sized schools in the area, do have teams.</p>
<p>I know MANY students that transfer when they begin HS, some families even move to a different district so their kids can play HS ball. I’ve heard that some families that are moving to the area choose not to move into our town, just because our school lacks football.</p>
<p>Now I’m a big football fan and I see many benefits a team could provide, but moving your family so your kid can play HS ball? I don’t get it…</p>
<p>These are SMALL schools. It is rare for any of the teams to have any truly exceptional talent. It might be years between even one player going to a D1 school. </p>
<p>Shouldn’t the priority be getting their student the best education and looking at the test scores and the graduation rates and the number of kids that go off to college when selecting a school and then see what extra-curriculars are offered there?</p>
<p>We would not have Olympians if the truly gifted did not pursue their unique gifts of athleticism.</p>
<p>TxNewCollegeMom-</p>
<p>The reason why we would consider other colleges is that I think she could obtain good scholarships at schools that are either: (1) closer to home or (2) ranked higher academically in the field she is interested in. University of Alabama is a good school- however we have a list of things we are looking for and no dance team would knock it down on our list. If she is not going to do dance team in college, there are a lot of other schools we could look at that would be closer.</p>
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<p>Exactly. Dance team is not like being in a club or a sorority. It is a sport. And elite dancers want to be on elite teams, just like other elite athletes do.</p>
<p>High-level dancers are in a challenging position when they hit the college years. Some pursue a BFA or BA in dance, which generally leads to a performance career or high-level teaching (such as at a university). Others seek a path that allows them to combine dance with a more practical major. They can do this by taking classes at their university (possibly minoring in dance) or in the community where their college is located. Or, if they want to do the kind of dance that dance teams do, they audition for dance teams. Any of these routes can lead to a career in dance, part-time positions dancing in companies or teaching at studios, or at least a way to stay in good shape should other opportunities arise down the road.</p>
<p>Sally305 & TX Architect-
Yep. Thanks for understanding. Last week my daughter told me very seriously that she “lives for dance”. The training is arduous and she comes home every night with sore muscles. Still, she loves the physical fitness aspect, the musicality, and the creativeness it offers. And- she has a talent for it. If she wasn’t so strongly talented academically, I would encourage her to pursue a BFA in dance. Unfortunately, making a living in the world of dance can be a tough road; she realizes this and wants to achieve a measure of financial security with a long lasting career. However, I think doing a college dance team or finding a good minor program would be a good fit.
I would not be surprised to see her in the future as a physician whose hobby is owning a dance studio and teaching occasionally.</p>
<p>To be clear, my DD2 is a high school golfer. She is actually very talented at golf and athletic ability. She gave up competitive cheer to focus more on golf. She desires to get a full ride for golf. However, she has even stated herself she is picking a school based on her major, not golf.</p>
<p>I can understand that if dance (or golf) is one’s career dream, then certainly pick a school that will provide the most for that. </p>
<p>Aren’t auditions for Dance held before a student picks a final school, so a student would know whether or not she’s made it?? If not, that seems odd. </p>
<p>Or maybe I’m not understanding. Would she be auditioning for the school, for scholarships, etc? Or would this be for a group that performs at games? </p>
<p>Anyway…the people who would be doing the selection would be looking for the most talented regardless of race. Those doing the picking aren’t silly Alums trying to control a Greek House.</p>
<p>I also agree that if your career goal is associated with your talent, then you need to pursue the best opportunity you can find for it.</p>
<p>I just don’t understand making selections based on those talents when it is not your career goal (and I have seen that happen). I spoke with a young girl that played, I believe softball and was planning on selecting a school on the team and her ability to play. She wanted to major in physical therapy, but the school she liked for sports, didn’t offer that major. She was considering changing her intended major that would impact the rest of her life, just so she could play sports for 4 years. That’s what I don’t understand. Choose the school based on your major and play intramurals if you must. Now if she was planning on becoming a professional athlete or becoming a HS coach, then it would make sense to me for her sport to be a large factor in her decission.</p>
<p>jrcsmom, I agree! One also needs to consider the reality of an athlete getting injured and never being able to play that sport again. It happens. I’d hate for my own kids to pick a school based solely on a sport and change their major because of that, something happens and they don’t make the team later on within the 4 years, they are injured, etc and then they are stuck at a school they only wanted to be at for that sport. </p>
<p>My golfer now says she wants to be a large animal vet. Well, that limits her school selections pretty fast. When she was discussing going the sports management route we were also telling her she needed a very strong business background. Told our biology pre-med major the same thing, get a strong business background. Never now, you could end up having your own practice and need to know and understand the business side as well.</p>
<p>Once again, it seems that the South gets a bum rap in regard to racism. Anyone that lives here will tell you that is exactly the opposite in most areas. The South moved out of the racial era several decades ago. Please don’t judge us by the silly television shows that portray the South in crude manner.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Minorities have 0% pressure to pledge on this campus. We black and Asian kids dress however we want 
so if your a minority ignore that “What not to wear at Bama” thread. I’m black, but due to a lot of Native American and white in my family tree I get mistaken for a Puerto Rican or a Dominican sometimes. So your D isn’t the only one getting mistaken for a Hispanic ;)</p>
<p>Source: Student at UA</p>
I think you will need to decide on the priorities, being premed you can get an excellent education at a number of undergraduate schools. If your daughter can get full tuition, full ride at a school that is a significant savings.
You said in another thread that you would not want your D to go to U KY with a full ride unless she can get accepted to the honors college. Would it even be advisable to take honors courses as a premed?
What else does the school offer? Does it have a good dance team?
You only want your D to go to UA if she gets on the dance team. And if she can get into a sorority. I’m not even sure that being part of a sorority as a premed is that good of an idea, but you brought the time constraints up yourself.
What about Temple? Do they have a dance team? With your daughter’s stats she should get the Presidential scholarship, full tuition, and be automatically eligible for the honors college.
What other schools are there that have all the things you or your D want? How much would they cost?
Being premed is going to be rigorous enough, if doing engineering as well, even more so.
Your D will need a high GPA, high MCAT score, medically related volunteering/shadowing and research.
You should find the school that D likes and prepares her best for the path she might take.
Dancing and other things are icing on the cake.
Could you visit all of the schools and see for yourself which has the best opportunities for your D?
Temple has a dance team - the Diamond Gems - and last year, I remember them placing fairly well on the national stage.
This is an old thread (from 2013). I’m guessing the OP’s daughter has made her decision! 
Yes. Making a motion to close this thread.