I made a post over the summer regarding hiring a college consultant and got some great feedback and actually hired somone recommended in that discussion. It was also mentioned how important college visits are so we spent a couple of weeks doing that at the end of the summer. So now we’re narrowing on “The List” for my DD and I want to do a gut check on where we are. I think her list might be a little “reachy” but let’s see what you think. We visited 10 schools and Swarthmore was far and away her favorite so she is likely going to apply there ED. She had an interview she felt really positively about and enjoyed everything about the school after we spent two days there. She has founded a Human Rights Club at her current school and is drawn to the Swat students’ passion for social justice. We live in Japan where she attends an international school. She is taking an IB program and has received all 6s and 7s and is taking 4 Upper Level courses. That translates to somewhere close to a weighted 5.0 depending on which school is doing the calculating. She has a 1440 SAT and will be taking the bio and chem subject SAT tests next month. She is a serious ballerina and has done summer intensives as the Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theater and currently studies ballet here in Japan and she’ll be submitting an artistic supplementtal video showing her technique. So while she is interested in majoring in psychology she’d like to attend a school that has a strong enough dance program that she could take 3 or 4 dance classes a week. We are committing to paying full fare if she gets into Swat ED but obviously, if she doesn’t get in and applies Regular Decision, schools that offer merit aid are an enticement. As part of her application, she will explain the gap in her high school record because she was hospitalized for three months her junior year and her essay will discuss how her experience with health care impacted her outlook (without focusing on her illness but instead stressing how she became more interested in working to create a system that works better for everyone). For the RD round her list is now: Barnard, Mt Holyoke, Wesleyan, Scripps, UCLA, Oberlin, Grinnell, Wellesley, Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore and Goucher. Thoughts?
Well, Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore and Goucher, and MoHo are safeties and have reasonably high acceptance rates. Grinnell and Oberlin, full pay, should be matches. The rest are reaches (unsure if you are a CA resident). An odd combination of large public universities, and small private LAC, located in rural, suburban, and urban campuses all over the country, some coed, some not. It is certainly a diverse list; I am surprised a student would find all of them appealing. Good luck.
If she likes Swat, shouldn’t Bryn Made be on the list? Haverford?
We visited those schools and while they clearly are excellent schools, she wasn’t feeling it. Her interview at Bryn Mawr felt too focused on dry school questions so she left feeling the school lacked the personality of Swat. Haverford we toured as well and it didn’t have dance and it seemed a little jock-y to her. It was the tour guide; these students carry a lot of weight in making impressions.
@roycroftmom Most of them have strong psych and ballet programs and opportunities for civic engagement. She also is interested in schools with a lot of international students and a diverse campus. They’re all LAC except UCLA because we have a financial incentive to apply to the UCs. Hopefully, that clarifies her reasoning.
If dance is a priority, Swarthmore’s dance program would not seem to be a good fit unless she is interested in multi-cultural dance and/or choreography. Barnard has a wonderful dance program and is in NYC. Sarah Lawrence might bea
good choice, though mostly modern dance (has she considered Bennington? check out the field work term). Goucher has a well-respected ballet program as well as choreography. Skidmore is good for dance. Mt. Holyoke is part of the consortium so there are opportunities to dance at UMass, Smith, and Hampshire. I seem to remember UC Irvine is really good for dance. Of course for ballet a favorite is Dominican in CA. https://linesballet.org/education/
Many LAC’s have dance but the focus is modern/contemporary dance and choreography. Ballet will not be up to her standards.
If dance is not a priority, her love of Swarthmore is understandable of course. Sounds like she has other interests that she wants to follow. Ballet requires so much commitment: it is hard to do full-time school and ballet unless you find a way to major in it at a college versus conservatory!
Thanks @compmom Yes she thinks she wants rigorous academics and ballet four days a week “because it’s what she loves to do.” This plan has yet to be tested but it’s what she does now and she studies pretty hard so I wouldn’t put it past her.
So she would do ballet in Philadelphia off campus?
She’s under the impression (as am I because I heard this at the info session) that if there’s a program your interested in and Swat doesn’t have the right instructor/staff, they’d bring in somebody to accommodate you. They do have a ballet instructor I just don’t think they’d offer her class four days a week for four years. I think they are talking about importing talent to teach a class, a seminar, a program but not an on-going dance class. But it sure seems like a good fit for her, even without the dance.
That is a big assumption. Has she visited the other schools on her list? I’m trying to figure out how she could want uber urban,like Bernard, and uber rural, like Grinnell. Or polished pre-professional Wellesley and granola crunchy Oberlin.
Of your options, the 5 colleges (Smith, MHC) and Barnard seem the best for a rigorous LAC experience coupled with ballet. Here are some other possibilities that are less reachy:
For a target option, maybe check out Dickinson. They have an affiliation with Central PA Youth Ballet, which is located in town. The new president there has an interesting profile (previous president of American U in Yola, Nigeria) and might appeal to your daughter’s sensibilities. I wouldn’t say the predominant vibe is social justice but she could find her tribe there. They run their own organic farm that provides some of the college’s food, have launched a new sustainable living initiative, and have interesting special interest housing options.
St Olaf in Northfield, MN has a strong dance program for an LAC, graduates several dance majors a year, and has depth in ballet. Admissions target with possible merit (for academics and for dance)
Muhlenberg would be a target/possible merit option that is very strong in theater and dance.
Oberlin’s dance program is rigorous, but contemporary based. They just hired somebody new in Flamenco who is very highly regarded. There is a small interesting contemporary ballet company in town (Neos) that might be of interest. Ballet offerings on campus are limited.
Goucher has strong dance offerings but might not be at the academic level she seeks and it’s quite small.
For ballet on campus, most LACs will be limited as @compmom suggests. If at Swarthmore, there are great opportunities in Philadelphia, like the Rock School.
Similarly, Macalester College, a great internationally-oriented, social justice LAC (target for admissions) has St Paul ballet just a couple of miles from campus. It is comparable to Oberlin in student vibe.
She should ask herself, however, if she wants to divide her live between campus and a company and is that the college experience she wants.
PM me if you want. I have a ballet daughter whose college list favored LACs. We visited many of these schools in 2016-17. Good luck!
First of all she’ll probably spend all her time in the library so beyond those walls is of limited interest. She hasn’t been to Grinnell but she met the Admissions Director at her school’s college fair and loved what she heard. Anybody who talks about social justice wins her over. Wellesley has women that change the world; Oberlin was part of the Underground Railroad; Barnard talks about giving women a voice; Swat is, well Swat. They feel similar to me in that regard. The only other schools she hasn’t visited are Skidmore and Goucher but they are strong in ballet, reasonably academic and safeties.
Almost all colleges talk about social justice and have women alumnae who change the world. She will certainly get into at least a few on the list; some have admit rates of 77%. Very different experience at them, with very different campus vibes and peer students, but if she is open to any of them and you can afford it, nothing more to do. You already know that Swat is a big reach, bigger for women, alas, and does have to staff its teams and questbridge and legacy in the ED round. Worth a try if she will be happy at the others.
I think Muhlenberg is an excellent suggestion given its strength in theater and dance. Its also just a really nice, kind place. Someone on this thread stated that Skidmore is a safety. It really isn’t. It has been getting more and more selective and the acceptance rate has been dropping quickly. . Its a good match, but not a safety.
Definitely seems like a reach-heavy list. Barnard is something like 15% acceptance rate these days, so a reach for everyone. Skidmore has gotten very competitive for admissions, and I believe is still slightly higher acceptance rate for males, so I would consider it a match.
Goucher is a safety, and Mt. Holyoke should be pretty safe as long as she demonstrates interest – remotely. Bryn Mawr is a deeply academic community, would be more of a match and seems worth adding to list despite the “not feeling it” on the visit. I haven’t explored Wellesley since I applied to college (since I have boys) but my understanding from other folks is that it has an intensity, though it is more professionally focused than “social justice” focused. Dickinson would be more of a match/safety, with remote expression of interest – has a more mainstream vibe overall but a strong international and sustainability focus, and the OP’s daughter could find her people there, and it has the Central PA ballet in town.
I love Grinnell – smart, engaged kids and campus vibe is more “midwest nice” than east coast “driven” (says the person who grew up in the heart of east coast and has lived in the midwest for 20 years). A lot of overlap in type of kid as at Oberlin, but less “driven” vibe.
Skidmore’s acceptance rate is 36%, but her scores put her in the top 25%. So likely but perhaps not a sure thing. Goucher OTOH looks pretty safe.
My son’s girlfriend went to Wellesley - she’s working on her PhD in history so I tend to think of it as more academic and less professional than it may be. Lots of her friends went straight to jobs in NYC. They have a really strong alum network.
Skidmore acceptance rate from most recent Common Data set was 24.5%. A number of LACs have seen substantial drops in acceptance rates over the last 2-3 years so what seemed safe for the college class of '20 might not be for the class of '22 or '23.
FWIW, my D applied to 4 of these colleges last year: Barnard, Scripps, Mt. Holyoke and Grinnell.
Scripps seems like a really good fit for your D with really strong dance program, diversity, social justice, and access to the 5Cs. Pretty much ticks all her boxes. It’s a pretty cosmopolitan crowd and I think she’d fit right in. I’d say it’s a low reach/high match.
Barnard seems like really strong fit too but more reach-y. Grinnell seems like an outlier in that group so I’d suggest she visit b4 committing there – tho perhaps you have.
While my D didn’t apply to Swat her best friend is a 1st year there now and we’re pretty familiar with it.
If dance is a passion that she really wants to focus on in college, I’m not sure about fit either as others have said. But if it’s not the driving factor, then it’s a great choice and, obviously, she loved it so that goes a long way
Good luck!!
I loved Scripps and Barnard and felt they were her best matches. But she just felt like she didn’t want to leave the Swat campus so that’s where her heart is.
Well, as least we parents are on the same page, lol! 
You know, maybe she likes the idea of being one of a few dancers and marching to the beat of her own drum. If that’s her heart, then go for and it’s great to know she’s got some other great options on the table if Swat doesn’t work out. I think she’ll do well this application season.