So live the dream! You have to want to be here to be here, but as Francis Albert sang… 
@Otterma Thanks for the suggestion! I definitely don’t look into Minnesota much, but I don’t know why. The campus pictures I’ve seen so far are gorgeous, though!
@Postmodern Ha! Don’t get me started with that song! I’ll be humming til winter!
Also, would anyone happen to have some input about USC for this criteria? I’m a bit self-conscious about starting a new thread, but I can if it’s okay.
Based on your name, are you a dancer? I remember reading something about USC building up their dance dept. You might want to do a search here. My guess is that USC will be strong in many of the arts, but again, you want to check that out. Go to their website and look under arts majors for courses available and look under clubs to see what kinds of clubs they have in visual and performing arts
@citymama9 I was a dancer for nearly ten years, but I was unable to continue during high school due to a higher number of classes per week, stress, etc. That said, thanks for the advice on USC :)! I’d love to pursue it again as an EC in college.
Seconding all the colleges listed in #3, as well as Grinnell and Macalester (reaches though, and run the NPCs). Concordia would be a good safety.
Apparently UPuget Sound is very good for music.
What about SUNY Purchase and SUNY New Paltz, both safeties (apply to Honors program)?
With reference to Wake Forest and Winston-Salem, I’m not in a position to qualify the relationship between their arts communities.
I must say that while many of the suggestions from other CC users are interesting, they really miss the mark in terms of focus, geography, location and athletics that the OP set in her second post.
@Oregon2016 That’s okay! Thanks for shedding some light anyway!
And yeah, no one’s really mentioned much about the other factors I included. I haven’t really been as on top of requesting that, but if everyone could stick to suburban/urban schools in the South/Midwest with decent athletics (doesn’t have to be D1), that’d be pretty great!
Check out Fordham University
U Dayton might be an option. They have some assured merit aid. https://www.udayton.edu/apply/undergraduate/affordability.php It looks like you would be in the running for the President’s or Trustees scholarships.
Emory University has a definite musical, artsy presence, lots of a cappella groups and a decent vocal/choral performance department. Schwartz Performing Arts Center is a major stop for international artists in classical, world music and jazz. My D is not a music major, but plays in the orchestra and has taken dance classes. It’s a D3 school though: swimming, tennis, and volleyball are their strengths.
Oxford Emory offers some merit scholarships; Emory Scholars is extremely competitive and draws students who might otherwise attend an Ivy or a top LAC.
@NEPatsGirl @“Erin’s Dad” Thank y’all so much for the suggestions! As much as I’d love to visit NY some day, it’s a bit farther out than I’d like to be for college. Dayton sounds interesting though, and I’m glad you think I might be eligible for some merit scholarships! It means a lot 
@PiccoloMom1995 Wow, I’ve been looking into Emory for a while, and I never even knew about that! Thank you so much for telling me!
Also, for future reference, my highest ACT is now a 30 (still working on it though ehehe), and my superscore is a 31.
Emory is very strong in English (not sure about Psychology), especially Creative Writing; they do offer a BA in music performance (lots of students double major here.)
VCUARTS is one of the top art/design schools(actually ranked #2 ) in the nation and is part of the larger VCU school. Located in Richmond it provides all the art scene yet you do not need to be an art major to minor or just take some electives art/dance/music/film etc.
Tulane? Not sure about the on campus arts scene, but it’s hard to beat New Orleans for vibrant music scene. D1 also, though I don’t think their football games have high attendance.
@stones3 Thank you for the suggestion–I might still check it out–but right now, I’m really trying to avoid art schools. I used to be interested in them when I was sure I wanted to do fine arts, but certain experiences have made me reconsider 
@usualhopeful Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve looked at Tulane, but I actually hadn’t even put the school and the city music scene together. You’d think I would have though 
pas, my suggestion is to apply to VCU the university thus having access to vcuarts as well. They are separate entities.
Good luck whatever you decide.