DD is a sophomore and just beginning to think about college search. She thinks she would like to major in astronomy. She dances 4-5 days per week and would like to continue with ballet in college,though is not interested
in majoring in dance. We live in MA and she says she would like to stay on the east coast. She is a strong student, taking the most rigorous course load available, though I don’t think the ivies are within her reach. Any suggestions on where she should begin to look?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20224520#Comment_20224520
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1920258-biomedical-engineering-and-dance-p1.html
Here are just two recent threads from students looking to continue dance in college but not major in it. My niece was looking for the combination of dance and biomed engineering and columbia and duke were high on her list. i believe Barnard has high level ballet also. At one time I think UMCP was known for dance but I haven’t looked into it in a long time. I don’t know anything about astronomy programs. I think there is a dance majors forum, you might be able to start there to find some schools with ballet and research if they also have astronomy programs. The trick is find a high level dance program that allows non majors to participate.
Here is the link to the dance majors forum
I know nothing about dance, but I would recommend looking at physics programs vs astronomy programs. Astronomy is a grad level type focus. I would look for a physics program with some astronomy courses (which is the majority of physics programs, so it will make your search for dance easier.)
Take a look at Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College. Both are strong in the sciences in general and offer good programs in Physics and Astronomy. They operate as a Bi-College, where students can take classes and major at either campus. Bryn Mawr has a solid ballet/dance program. Additionally, both colleges are part of the Quaker Consortium which includes University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore, further opening up additional opportunities for coursework.
My daughter is a Barnard grad, also a former dancer, and took Astronomy as her required lab science when she was there (at the time it was required that students take at least 1 year of a lab science to graduate) She signed up for Astronomy because she already knew the prof, who had co-taught one of her first year seminars. Daughter not a science person, but did enjoy the class D. graduated in 2010, but I just checked and Barnard’s web site and my D’s former prof. is currently the head of the Physics & Astronomy Dept. at Barnard. Barnard students would have full access to astronomy courses at Columbia.
It works the other way as well. If your D. attends Columbia, she’ll be able to take the astronomy courses offered by Barnard and enroll in Barnard dance courses.
Barnard has a very strong dance department with a wide range of ballet offerings. A strong dance background is also a positive factors for admission. Also, there are several excellent dance centers in NY where students can take extra classes on a drop in basis, such as Steps on Broadway. My daughter also appreciated the opportunity to attend dance performances at ABT, Ailey and other dance theaters, and those dance companies also offered open classes for adults. My daughter did continue with dance but her participation fell off over time, but there certainly was no shortage of opportunities.
Is she wanting to continue in classical ballet? More college programs in dance tend to offer contemporary ballet. I don’t know anything about astronomy programs in schools, but I know Goucher has a classical ballet-focused dance program. My daughter was taught by one of the teachers (Tim Fox) at a ballet intensive and he was very good. Used to dance with Barishnikov in his day. I don’t know if Goucher’s academics are rigorous enough for your daughter but many think its a very nice school, though not in a super-elite category.
Dickinson College is located adjacent to the highly regarded Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (one of the most stringent ballet schools in the country that accepts students of all levels and abilities as long as the student is willing to work hard. ) Don’t know about scheduling, but perhaps your daughter could take classes at CPYB while in college. I do know classes are offered day and night at CPYB (have called them about traveling there for drop-in classes for my daughter.) Again, you would have to check out the academic offerings (if any) in astronomy, but Dickinson as a nice, well-regarded school.
Oh, Further south, UNC Chapel Hill also has ballet opportunities for students.
Agnes Scott has a great and unique astrophysics dept that’s almost a tutorial. Agnes Scott allows cross registration at Emory and several other schools in the area and it has a dance program.
If she would consider going South, I strongly recommend looking at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Charleston has astronomy, physics and dance majors. Charleston has a strong arts community and has many arts and dance festivals including Spoleto which is an international festival. They also have a wonderful Honors College full of high achieving students . Just a thought .
I like the College Navigator search engine for this kind of thing. She can ask for places that offer both astronomy and dance in the states she likes. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
College navigator also tells you what the average net price is for variouis income levels.
The University of Arizona is highly regarded for both astronomy and dance. I believe you have to go through the audition process even just to minor in dance, though.
Thank you so much for the insight and suggestions! Right now, DD is sure she wants to stay in northeast or mid Atlantic region. She has no aspirations to dance ballet professionally, she just loves it and is hopeful to continue after high school.
Though we are just starting to think about colleges, I’m inclined to think she might be most comfortable at a smaller lac rather than a big university so we’ll definitely look into Barnard, Dickinson, & Gouchrr and Bryn Mayr, though financially they may be a reach without knowing if DD will receive any merit aid. (We are comfortable with about 45K per year)
Mom2aphysicsgeek -from the limited research I’ve been doing, I think your advice to look into a physics vs astronomy program is spot on. Any suggestions for programs?
Check out Connecticut College. Very strong dance and science departments with Astronomy offered in the Physics department
Just so you know, Barnard provides full need-based aid (as they determine need), but no merit money. So while I would highly recommend Barnard, you will pay your EFC (as determined with info on CSS/Profile).
My DD did an overnight at Goucher but felt that it was not a place that would challenge her academically, so dropped it from her list. Her visit took place 11 years ago, so things could have changed – and of course your daughter is still a sophomore so a little early to even get a sense of admissions prospects at various schools.
IIRC this person is supposed to be good:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janna_Levin
There are a lot of talks by her on Youtube, FWIW.
Look into some of these strong dance programs in terms of their physics programs and astronomy electives:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20203989#Comment_20203989
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20072365#Comment_20072365
We went through this with my D15, and it’s harder than it seems to find the right mix, particularly if you require merit and have geographic limits. Vassar, Skidmore and Connecticut College have good dance programs for non majors, but don’t offer merit aid. URochester has a minor, and there are a number of student dance companies including one for ballet, but their facilities were disappointing. BU might work if you get merit. If your D would consider going south, my D loved Tulane’s dance program, and they offer great merit for strong academics. One last thought - I recall hearing that UNH has a dance minor with a strong focus on ballet.
In terms of looking for LAC physics programs with a sufficient number of astronomy electives, you may want to primarily consider those colleges that offer an astronomy minor (or major).
The presence of an on-campus astronomical observatory would be another important consideration.