Unusual Situation -- Would Appreciate Help

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am new to CC and would greatly appreciate any help with the following:</p>

<p>I am a rising high school senior from Massachusetts who is completing my last two years of high school by taking a full college course load at Harvard University’s Extension School. I am a ballet dancer and dance professionally with a company in Boston. I am also a competitive figure skater and compete at fairly advanced levels in individual free-style and ice dancing. </p>

<p>My first year of high school was completed at a very competitive public high school where I took the maximum number of honor courses and received all As. In my second year I attended a well-respected arts conservatory (for ballet) with a very good college preparatory program and again received all As.</p>

<p>This last year at Harvard I completed a program that included Calculus A and B; a 300-level World History class; Expository Writing; a 300-level Conversational Spanish course; Bio-chemistry and Earth Science courses and a course in the English novel. My unweighted GPA is 3.75. </p>

<p>In addition to my ballet and skating, I have participated actively in a Model UN program for home-schooled students. I also tutor 4 high school students in Spanish and participate regularly in 3 volunteer community groups.</p>

<p>This summer I have a paid internship as a research assistant in a highly respected molecular biology laboratory at Tufts NE Medical School, a position I held last summer as well. </p>

<p>My SAT score (first time) was 2100+ (700s across the board). I took the biology SAT II freshman year and received a 710.</p>

<p>I am beginning to look at colleges for the fall of 2008. I intend to enter as a freshman. There are few things important to me in a college The school should have solid biology and language programs. It should also present me the opportunity to partcipate in either dance (ballet) or figure skating. A cohesive “school spirit would be great. The only school I've looked at to date has been Dartmouth, which has a great skating program and an interesing and flexible curriculum (the D-Plan). I am interested in both LACs and universities in the northeast and west coast.</p>

<p>I would like your feedback on the attractiveness (or not) of my application with suggestions on schools to consider.</p>

<p>Many thanks,</p>

<p>BalletGirl</p>

2

<p>Ok, you need to focus on finding schools /areas that offer the ballet/skating opportunites at your level first, because they are much rarer than solid biology and language programs, which most top colleges will offer. I would talk to you ballet instructors and skating instructors and get recommendationsof schools from them, and then see if those schools have the academic programs you want. Your application looks very solid. Be SURE to get a letter of recommendation from your Tufts molecular biology professor, because that will help to set your application apart from others even more than it will already! I would look at Columbia- perhaps there would be an opportunity to dance in NY with ABT or NYCB? Don't know if that is a possibility, just suggesting.</p>

3

<p>Tufts has great biology, language, and dance programs.</p>

<p>Middlebury fits the bill for biology and language -- don't know about dance, but look into it.</p>

<p>Wesleyan. NYU. Barnard. Columbia.</p>

4

<p>your scores, GPA, ECs and rigor of curriculum are going to make you attractive to any school you like -- no guarantee of admission, but you are seriously competitive for all schools. Make sure you have excellent teacher recs, spend time on your essays and consider taking more SAT IIs. Many top schools require 2-3 SAT II tests (and some, like Columbia, require an additional 2 SAT II tests from homeschoolers).</p>

<p>I agree with menloparkmom -- you need to find schools with ballet and/figure skating first -- those schools are much harder to find.</p>

<p>To get you started: <a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/majors/brief/major_50-03_brief.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/majors/brief/major_50-03_brief.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>and try a google search for "best college skating" and see what you find.</p>

5

<p>i hear good things about vassar's dance program</p>

6

<p>Great link hsmostef. So balletgirl,I know that Julliard has a joint enrollment program with Columbia. That would make them a top choice in my book.</p>

7

<p>Although this was already mentioned, I am going to put in a special plug for Barnard (or Columbia, but the dance program is at Barnard. Gelsey Kirkland is on faculty,) About your accomplishments all i can say is wow! Congraulations and good luck.</p>

8

<p>"Tufts has great biology, language, and dance programs."</p>

<p>My D found Tufts lacking, relatively, in dance, compared to some others. particularly with respect to ballet. Otherwise she might well have applied there.</p>

<p>By all means investigate, perhaps she missed something.</p>

<p>Perhaps this thread may be helpful:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=291713%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=291713&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>To all,</p>

<p>Thank you so much for this wonderful advice. Rising to the top of my list are Dartmouth for skating, Barnard and Vassar for ballet, Stanford for dance and skating. I am also investigating Amherst (with ballet through the five college exchange), Pomona (with dance/ballet at Scripps), Williams and Swarthmore. </p>

<p>Advice on the Tufts professor's recommendation is well-taken. I have also gotten two good scores on my recent SATIIs -- math and bio. </p>

<p>I will keep everyone posted. Thanks again.</p>

10

<p>The Claremonts have no on-campus skating program, but there are two rinks within ten miles (both in Ontario) and a fair number of skaters on campus (at least I found the number surprising for SoCal). The Inland Pacific Ballet also rehearses in the area and performs on Pomona's campus (one of the leads is a Pomona professor). There were at least two students I knew of who were members or apprentices with the company (one of them was a Scripps student, one is a Pitzer student). Given that the schools aren't known for dance, the program is actually surprisingly strong. And for the record, Pomona has its own dance department (it's cooperative, but not joint with Scripps. I generally hear more positive feedback about the Scripps program, but obviously there's a great deal of overlap and opportunity to cross-register).</p>

<p>As for skating, what are you looking to do with it in college? If you just want to continue individually, then all you need to make sure of is that there are rinks in the area of the school (much easier if you have a car). You might also be interested in area coaches (and on the west coast, be prepared to travel to skate, even if there are rinks nearby. It's common to float around numerous rinks or have to drive a fair distance for a solid coach or club...the scene is very different). But there's also plenty more that you can do with this sport in school. Some schools have campus clubs and compete at the collegiate level, others have synchro teams, both senior level and collegiate (check out <a href="http://www.synchroboards.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.synchroboards.com&lt;/a> for more info. These are mainly larger universities in the midwest, but Dartmouth, BU, and Princeton have made appearances in the past). Univ. of Delaware is, as far as I know, the only school in the country to actually offer a DEGREE in skating. Many midwestern schools have rinks on campus, as do some northeastern schools, but the type of school that comes to mind doesn't seem like the type that would otherwise attract your interest. The point is, this should be pretty easy criteria to meet if all you want to do is keep skating. If your plans are more specific, though, then it might be more limiting. If this is very important to you, then I'd recommend bringing your skates and checking out local rinks when you visit west coast schools, b/c as I noted, it can be a very different experience than skating in the midwest or northeast.</p>

<p>I went through some of this myself during the college search (mostly geared toward west coast) and most of my friends did, as well. I don't know how relevant a lot of my knowledge is now (4 years old), but feel free to PM any specific questions (either about skating or about Claremont).</p>

<p>And good luck...you look like an exceptional applicant :)</p>

11

<p>Check out the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. It has a very strong Dance program which is part of its top ranked schoo of Music, Theater and Dance.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.music.umich.edu/departments/dance/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.music.umich.edu/departments/dance/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Michigan's Sociology department is world renowned, with a faculty of 60 or so professors and lecturers and a incredible variety of course offerings.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/soc/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/soc/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Michigan has several Biology programs that may be of interest to you:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mcdb.lsa.umich.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mcdb.lsa.umich.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/biology/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/biology/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Ebiophys/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~biophys/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.eeb.lsa.umich.edu/eeb/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.eeb.lsa.umich.edu/eeb/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>It is not uncommon for students to double major in Music and Arts & Sciences. In fact, a good friend of mine double- majored in Music and Biology.</p>

<p>Given the size of the University, there is also a wide variety of Language offerings.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/rll/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/rll/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/crees/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/crees/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/german/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/german/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/cmenas/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/cmenas/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eneareast/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~neareast/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/ccs/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/ccs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/cjs/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/cjs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/ksp/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/ksp/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/csas/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/csas/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich-cseas.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich-cseas.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.umich.edu/%7Eiinet/lacs/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/lacs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think that's it...but I may have missed a couple!</p>

<p>Of course, when it comes to things such as school spirit (both social and athletic), Michigan is hard to beat. </p>

<p>Given your stats, Michigan would be a safe match.</p>

12

<p>I agree with myth, menlopark and hsmom about checking out Columbia/ Barnard & Vasar. You should also look into Smith. </p>

<p>I would suggest posting your questions on the parents forum. I know that thedad's D who is a rising senior at Smith is also a ballet dancer, and Calmom's D is a dancer at Barnard perhaps they can give you some insight on the dance programs. Soozie's D is a MT theatre major at Tisch, perhaps she can talk about other dance programs @ NYU.</p>

13

<p>Goucher has a solid dance and biology program. Personally, I like the Barnard/Columbia option too.</p>

14

<p>Connecticut College is well known for its dance program, and over the past couple of years has started a competitive synchro skating team that might be of interest to you.
Similar to Vassar but a tad easier to get into</p>

15

<p>Oh yeah, Goucher sounds like a good safety for you.</p>

16

<p>You might want to look at Wash U--you can minor in Ballet.</p>

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<p>I haven't posted here since I was applying, but I saw this and had to respond.</p>

<p>Re: skating in college -- it's not a NCAA sport anywhere. A few of the synchro teams are well-funded; at Miami of Ohio, their senior synchro team has varsity status, complete with swanky locker rooms and a brand new three-sheet rink. Miami of Ohio is your best bet for synchro (their senior team is very competitive though, and it is supposed to be incredibly difficult to get onto with no synchro experience) or UMich, Western Michigan, or MSU (I might be mixing those up though, try checking the results from nationals last year). I'm not really familiar with collegiate synchro, but I'm sure you can find someone here who is.</p>

<p>For intercollegiate (aka singles) skating, by far your best choices are Dartmouth, BU, Delaware, and Indiana University. Dartmouth is the only one that gets nearly full funding (mostly supported through donations -- we pay for half the cost of our team dress, but ice time, coaching, travel, and entry fees are paid for by the friends group). We have ice time every day in the rink on campus, meaning that you don't need a car at all. The team can be somewhat internally competitive, though; because we're a big team and have a limited number of starts, you actually compete against your teammates for a chance to compete at nationals/the qualifying competitions. (And we haven't lost a competition in four years.)</p>

<p>Delaware, on the other hand, guarantees every skater a chance to skate in at least one event at every competition. They have a number of really, really good skaters, but, because UD is a major training facility, "training" there centers less on the collegiate team and more on the USFSA eligible skaters there. From my understading (which could, of course, be completely wrong), they only have 1-2 practices as a team a week. Everything else is individual, meaning you pay for your session, your coaching, etc. and there isn't the support network of having the same group of people at all of your practices. UD is a amazing training center, though, with some of the best coaches in the world. Not sure where exactly campus buildings are located, but I'm guessing you would need a car. Oh, and UD no longer offers a degree in figure skating -- it's actually called "sports science" I think, though you might still get credit for practice/competitions.</p>

<p>BU is also very good. I'm completely unfamiliar with their program, really, but the training opportunities in Boston are great (particularly Skating Club of Boston). Again, though, I think a lot of the costs are paid for by the skaters and not the university. Indiana is a relatively new program, but did very well at nationals this year, with a very high number of junior/senior freestylers.</p>

<p>I would recommend Dartmouth (and I would recommend you forget about ballet and just skate!), but I'm willing to admit I might be a tiny bit biased. Most of the teams have pretty well-maintained websites (google "Penn figure skating" and check out their list of links), and your best bet is probably to contact the coaches and see if you can arrange to skate with the team when you visit the campus. I know we get upwards of 3-4 dozen prospies who skate during their visits each year.</p>

<p>One question, though -- what level are you? Most of teams have a mixture of levels, but your experience with admissions and at school is going to be different if you're pre-pre than if you're senior, and that's largely going to depend on the team.</p>

<p>Also, if you have any questions about skating in college or Dartmouth admissions or anything, feel free to PM me.</p>

18

<p>Princeton has a very good ballet program and you can minor in dance. If you're good enough you could audition, and then if accpeted, dance with the American Repertory Ballet which is also associated with Princeton through their school.</p>

19

<p>Just a belated thought, another very good school with a campus skating program is Northwestern. Not on either coast, but might be a nice in-between sort of school to look at. Don't know about their dance, but you'd be hard-pressed to be missing out on too much so close to Chicago.</p>