D23 has been having good luck so far with applications – very competitive stats and decent essays/ECs. Wondering about other schools she should perhaps look into. She is interested in engineering, but has also danced ballet for 14 years. Not on a professional track, but would enjoy dancing in college if possible. Schools with strong ballet programs are out bc non-ballet majors won’t be given performance opportunities, so she is wondering about what schools have solid ballet clubs that put on a couple of performances each year. Insights/thoughts appreciated.
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Here’s an old thread maybe with some ideas.
So she’s applying as an engineering major or a STEM of another sort like physics.
I don’t see engineering per se in the thread nor do I know anything about your student such as stats and budget.
But maybe this thread will spur some ideas.
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Would you be willing to look at colleges where there are excellent off campus ballet studios nearby?
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Sure, if not too far. Oldest D now a Sr at BC, similar to my D23, and the 40-minute commute to Boston Ballet became too much to keep dancing.
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Excellent. I’d looked for a thread like this, but missed this. Thank you.
Wake Forest has a dance minor, no major. Full time faculty members in ballet. Performance opportunities every semester in ballet (as well as other forms.) Many pre-med etc. dance company members.
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It would be useful to tell us where she has applied so that we don’t suggest those schools.
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I believe there is a ballet club at UVA.
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OK. W/out considering ballet, she’s applied to engineering programs at Mich, Wis, ND, Purdue, Case, OSU, U of Cin, and Fordham (no idea where that came from). She’s been accepted so far to ND, OSU Honors, & Fordham. Except for Mich (hard target we think), most of these are likely admits. ACT 34, UW GPA 3.95. Good (not amazing) ECs and essays. Recs likely very helpful.
My D23 is similar interest in dance and majoring in Aerospace or Mechanical engineering. Would love the same advice. Applied to 9 so far and gathering steam for the RD applications.
Accepted: CSU, Denver U, Union (Schenectady)
Applied: CU Boulder, USC, CalPolySLO, U Washington, Purdue & CWRU
RD planned: Princeton, Stanford, Harvey Mudd
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Purdue has a dance club and there is a division of dance in the College of Liberal Arts that has classes open to all majors. There is also a contemporary dance club that performs a few times/year.
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You may not be considering west coast schools, but Harvey Mudd (as noted in RSM’s list) could be a great option. Fantastic STEM school, but also great course offerings in dance through Scripps and Pomona, and a consortium-wide ballet club. There are dance majors at the 5C’s, but no BFA program at any of the colleges, and everything is fully open to cross-registration.
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Not much specific about your student - but just in case this sounds interesting:
And as far as engineering:
https://barnard.edu/4plus1-pathway-engineering
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Has she thought about Bucknell? It offers a minor in dance only and also offers arts scholarships.
Or what about U. of Dayton? Its Dance Ensemble seems to be a bit broader than just ballet. Although there’s a dance option within the theater major, I suspect your D may still have performance opportunities.
I’m not sure how active they are, but at least as of March 2022, Fairfield (CT) has both a Dance Ensemble and a Dance Fusion student organizations.
Ohio Northern only offers a minor in dance, but students who minor are eligible for talent scholarships.
Villanova has a number of student dance organizations, and the Dance Ensemble apparently performs every semester.
All of these programs are ABET-accredited.
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My dancer/chemistry major is involved with both CUBE and CRB, and it has been fabulous for her. She also did a show with the Barnard dance department at New York Live Arts that she loved. Barnumbria has a surprising number of STEM dancers.
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I heard just a couple weeks ago that two Purdue students just launched a ballet club too, so will be interesting to learn more about that.
You might want to look at RIT. It has lots of STEM options and they are building a beautiful new performing arts facility. They have a dance company and also offer a performing arts scholarship.
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We considered west coast for D1 (who ended up on Boston), but for D2, we are trying to keep within a medium day’s drive. The pandemic kinda soured me on 13+ hour drives (we’re in Cincinnati) or booking multiple flights/hotels each year – I’m getting older and cheaper. Also, we found we just missed a lot of fun parent stuff. (She ended up spending more time with parents of pals who lived within the 4 hour drive.) We know they have to leave the nest, but only seeing her at Thanksgiving/Xmas/end of terms wasn’t what we wanted. May give west more thought tho given your helpful suggestions.
These look like great dance opportunities. And the 4+1 looks terrific. Thank you for suggesting.
I’m hesitant to commit or suggest to her 5 years at the Columbia sticker price as that’s what we’d be paying. Her stats might be good enough to be admitted, but as a “typical” admit, I’m pretty confident they’d not offer her any $.
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They don’t really offer merit, but they do meet full need.
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