Also, for anyone unfamiliar with BFA admissions, no Theater BFA programs (e.g. Tisch/NYU, DePaul, et al) are EVER anything close to “safeties.” They have acceptance rates comparable to Harvard or Stanford, in some cases, and the auditions count heavily, meaning that objective factors like test scores and GPAs are meaningless in determining admission prospects.
^this is important. It is very common for theater students to be accepted academically but rejected after their audition.
@Qwerty568 - Each theater school is different. Most have either a straight acceptance or rejection. There are some colleges (Pace and Montclair State are two I’m aware of) that require students to apply for regular admission before scheduling an audition for the BFA programs. That is not the case with most that I’m aware of. The main thing is that a university’s overall data sets are utterly meaningless when it comes to admissions for an auditioned conservatory program. A student can get into some with pretty low stats; others have basic academic minimums, but the audition/talent review is still the most important factor in admission. Fordham is a little different from others. If the OP’s daughter is interested in an auditioned program, she should consult the Theater Majors thread. It’s a very different scenario, and every school has separate requirements. I did not infer that the OP’s daughter is pursuing that; I think she wants a liberal arts college with opportunities in Theater. The Theater programs at, say, NYU and DePaul, are quite separate from their colleges of Arts & Sciences. Double-majors are impossible, for instance, and non-majors have very few opportunities.
Your daughter and I have very similar interests - I’m an Ohio student planning to major in psychology and music, looking for an east coast, big city school. Maybe we’ll end up at the same college. 
I’m no expert (obviously), but I can give a run down of what I’ve looked into, to give you a different viewpoint.
-Sarah Lawrence might be a good fit if she’s looking for a small, liberal arts college feel. But I also think it would be more of a safety, and in a more secluded, not-so-urban environment. If she likes the Sarah Lawrence philosophy, though, NYU Gallatin might be a good fit for her.
-I visited DePaul in Chicago and it’s one of my favorites. It’s a somewhat non-traditional urban campus kind of like NYU, which it sounds like something she’s looking for. Loyola also has a good psych program, but I know nothing about their theatre program. Both would definitely be safeties. Can’t really speak for any of the other schools in the area, but I think with your daughter’s stats, U of Chicago would definitely be worth a look.
-Fordham would be a good fit in the NYC area. Their theatre program is only available at their Lincoln Center campus, which is, again, very urban, and right in one of the major performing arts centers of New York. Psych program is pretty good, although it’s probably the weakest of all the school’s I’ve mentioned. NYU is also a good low match, but beware of the price tag. Columbia could also be a possibility, if you’re looking for a reach. And if she really likes New York but wants a cheaper school, CUNY Hunter’s honors college might be a good fit, as long as you’re both okay with a state school.
-Boston is full of so many great universities, the most noteworthy probably BU and Northeastern. (Boston College is good as well, but isn’t in a very urban environment.) DC might also be of interest - maybe George Washington (urban environment and great psych program, but more of a safety) or Georgetown (more prestigious, but in a more isolated setting). She might be interested in schools in the Philadelphia too. Haven’t looked into any in that area, though, so I don’t have any suggestions. Same goes with Nashville… although that’s probably not east coast enough. But I can see Vanderbilt as a good fit.
This was definitely one of my more incoherent posts. Sorry about that. 
Hope this helps!
thanks dragonfly26, some very good info.!
It does sound like you’re very simliar I actually suggested she look at some of the Ohio schools but she’s not interested. As far as the theatre program, she very involved in theatre, but she doesn’t want a BFA. We’ve researched the whole audition process and she has friends who have done it. One friend got accepted into Roosevelt’s Musical Theatre program and loves it! I like the info. about DePaul and U of Chicago, we’ll look into those. I’ve researched so many schools, my head is spinning But it has been a great educational experience! I did not go away to college and am currently working on a degree from home.
I’m hoping that our trip to the Boston area will result in some solid choices for her. I think we’ll also look in the Chicago area too!
Thanks again and good luck with your plans!
Big city, theater, liberal arts – how about Catholic University in D.C.?
They are expensive, but give a lot of financial aid/scholarships. There is a D.C. metro stop right on the campus.
Great point, @woogzmama. I was thinking only of academic safeties and didn’t consider the uber-competitiveness of being accepted as a theatre major.
My son received a huge scholarship from NYU - so it is ALWAYS worth a shot. We were completely shocked and blessed.
If she’s interested in small colleges in urban areas, I would also encourage Barnard. I know you said she doesn’t want all-women’s, but Barnard has a somewhat unique relationship with Columbia - students take classes there and have activities and extracurriculars there in addition to classes and activities on their own campus. So she could participate in the theater scene at Columbia - and have access to the incredibly awesome theater scene of New York - while still attending a small college with small classes and lots of personal attention.
Vassar seems to be a good place for theater kids; a friend was a theater kid there and had a huge group of musical theater friends who would ride down to NYC and do karaoke on the weekends, lol. And I have two close friends who went to New Paltz; both of the are “artsy” people - not artists themselves, but the kind of people who really appreciate experimental/non-traditional arts of all kinds and love cultural events. They’re also both from NYC, and I got the sense that they traveled down to the city quite often in college. New Paltz is also a cute little town in and of itself.
Might your daughter be interested in Oxford College of Emory University? She would spend two years in a small college environment about 45 minutes from downtown Atlanta, and then her last two years on campus in Atlanta at Emory (more medium-sized). Emory seemed to have a pretty decent theater community, and Atlanta is a great college for the arts.