@FrancescaBennett welcome!
College vs. auditioning–there are lots of reasons to go either route. In my daughter’s case, she chose the college route for two main reasons: (1) she wants a college education and (2) she felt she needs more training. It is particularly common for modern/contemporary dancers to complete their training with a college degree.
There is as much range in college dance degrees as there are schools. Some programs (typically BA programs) are more like a typical academic major, with plenty of room for a double-major and lots of other non-dance classes. At the other end of the spectrum are conservatory BFA programs that don’t allow a double-major or even a minor because of the demands of the dance program. I will say that it is my opinion that it is difficult to train for a professional dance career and complete an additional rigorous academic major at the same time.
I don’t know much about dance teams, but everything I’ve heard is that they are generally quite separate from dance departments, and that it is not possible to both major in dance and be on the dance team because of the demands of both. I’m sure this is less true in BA programs than more demanding BFA programs. In terms of majoring in a non-dance field and then being on the dance team, I would think that this would give your dancer a lot of performance opportunities and the fun of being in a dance group, but would not really further her training as a dancer. Others should feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!
We found it helpful to think long and hard about what my dd’s professional goals were, and thus what kind of training she was looking for. This helped us figure out what questions to ask and which programs to apply to.
Some helpful questions for us were:
-What dance styles were offered, and how much emphasis is there on each style?
-To what extent is choreography/creative work included in the curriculum?
-What kind of jobs do graduates of the program have?
-How many credit hours make up the dance major?
-How much technique class do dance majors take each week?
-What opportunities are there for students to perform?
-What opportunities are there for students to show their own creative work?
-What academic classes/programs are available outside of the dance major?
If you tell us more about what your dancer’s background and interests and goals are, I’m sure many of us can chime in with more specific ideas. Between everyone on these boards, we have visited and researched and have kids at a LOT of schools!!