<p>i already posted this in another part of this site, but i thought maybe parents might be able to answer this wisely.</p>
<p>i am a lifelong dancer (ballet, tap, jazz, etc.) and i love it.
i am an assistant dance teacher and a member of a dance teaching organization.
i started a dance club at my school and perform in local nutcrackers
i do a lot of community service
i play varsity tennis
i don't have much time for anything more since i'm so very passionate about dance.</p>
<p>i get a's in my honors and ap classes, top 10 in class out of 400 at a public school.
could anyone give me some ideas on where to start looking?</p>
<p>my primary interest is biology. i want to become a biology major and minor in french. i do not want to major in dance, but i prefer a strong program with many options.</p>
<p>i have no idea what colleges to look for and some help searching for some would be greatly appreciated. i know i might not be an ivy league student, but i'm looking for some decent schools to look at</p>
<p>One of the schools my d liked best in her college search was Muhlenberg - a smallish LAC in Allentown, PA, with a strong dance program and excellent options in the sciences. She took an advanced ballet class there and had the impression that many of the advanced dancers were bio majors. Muhlenberg has a new, amazing science facility, gives merit aid, and has a gem of a campus. </p>
<p>Your question comes up fairly often on CC, and some of the schools recommended are Vassar, Smith, and Barnard (at the top end of the selectivity meter); also Goucher, Skidmore, Dickinson (strong LACs with good dance programs). University of Richmond, Wake Forest, and GWU were also on my d's list because they're great schools with more extensive dance offerings for non-majors than one usually sees. </p>
<p>Are you looking for a city environment, or a large university? Many of the strongest dance departments in the country are BFA programs for majors only. It can be tricky to find just the set-up you're looking for, especially as a minor.</p>
<p>i do want to dance daily, and i'm still considering double majoring. but i think i would prefer being able to major in biology as well. i want to open a studio and dance in LA, but i also want to have a career opportunity in biology (my primary academic interest) beyond all the dancing i do. i am very passionate and have a long history of dancing. i go to a well respected studio which i have been at since i was three. it is a huge part f my life and i want it to remain that way. but i want to major in somethin else too. i love biology. </p>
<p>as of right now, i don't really care about the sizes of the schools, but i do like the secluded feeling unless it is nyc. i don't like the boston college feel.</p>
<p>Vassar doesn't have a dance major or minor but it has a great program. I'm really satisfied with how much I'm dancing here. You should definitely look at it if you aren't stuck on having a degree in dance... I really wish we had it because I'm taking a LOT of dance without getting any "official" recognition, but oh well...</p>
<p>jane, I assume you are a girl. Take a look at Scripps College in Claremont near LA, I think you will like what it can offer. It is a part of the bigger consortium of 5 colleges located within 5-min walking distance, and girls from Scripps take advantage of the cross-registration within the consortium. This women's college feels more like a set of all-women dorms in a co-ed school of 5,000 students. From what I heard, Scripps' biology and dance programs are very strong, and double-majoring is common. Claremont is a nice little town 40-min away from the hustle and bustle of LA, so if the seculsion gets on your nerves, you can take public transportation to LA to get some urban air.</p>
<p>Ditto the suggestion of Scripps. I even knew two serious dancers who were bio majors (not sure if either was an actual double major, but I think at least one was). Dance classes are available on both Scripps and Pomona, bio courses are through the Joint Science Dept. shared by Scripps, Pitzer, and CMC (<a href="http://www.claremont.edu%5B/url%5D">www.claremont.edu</a> for an explanation of the consortium). Languages are also quite strong at Scripps. You'd be covered, interest-wise.</p>
<p>The Claremont dance program is pretty modern-based (Pomona offers a bit more ballet, jazz is offered every-other semester at a minimum...there's a mix, but not an exceptionally well-balanced one). There are no tap courses, but there is (or was...I assume it's still there, though the founder recently graduated) a tap club that performs regularly in the student-choreographed shows.</p>
<p>If you do end up interested in Claremont, I'd highly recommend spending some time around the dance dept. when you visit. I'm told that it's rather off-the-radar, but that it really impresses visiting students. There are a fair number of serious non-majors who dance in Claremont, and students also benefit from having the Inland Pacific Ballet nearby (the IPB performs on Pomona, so Claremont students get discounted tickets to concerts, and a few Claremont dancers also work with the company).</p>
<p>frazzled1 - you beat me to it. However, the OP didn't say if she had geographic restrictions in mind.</p>
<p>Janemac - Muhlenberg's dance program is outstanding, and non majors (or minors) are eligible to take any of the dance classes the school offers. Because the school has such a large pre-med population, their biology program is top notch. Although I know pre-med is not what you're interested in, it says something about their biology program that they have one of the highest admit rates to med schools in the country.</p>
<p>P.S. - also, with your stats, you'd get good merit scholarship there.</p>
<p>I would also consider the Dance Program at the School of Communication at Northwestern University. The school is highly-rated. The dance program offers academic and technique dance courses. Northwestern also has a very good varisty girls' tennis team, and there are numerous community service opportunities in the Evanston and Chicagoland area.</p>
<p>You sound like a clone of the daughter of a friend of mine. She ended up dropping the interest in biology in college though. She ended up double majoring in French and dance at U. of Indiana.</p>
<p>Saint Mary's College of California and Carroll College in Helena MT both offer dance programs worth a second look. Many schools focus almost exclusively on Modern but I know that these two offer ballet in addition.</p>
<p>Smith has everything you are looking for - excellent in biology, better than excellent in French, and a very large dance department, with most of the students either doing minors, or simply taking classes.</p>
<p>thanks for all the replies. i am now considering all the options out there. i am also looking into majoring. if double majoring is an option, i would do it. but at the time being, i know my three interests are dance, french, and biology. </p>
<p>smith looks good but i'm not so sure about an all girls' school.</p>
<p>Scripps is a wonderful, wonderful school! It doesn't have the depth of Smith in any of the areas in which you are interested, but it has Southern Cal. weather! It also has what in my judgment is the best core curriculum in the country (and I'm including Columbia and Chicago).</p>