Looking for colleges with fantastic contemporary dance vibe, USCSA alpine skiing, and high med school acceptance rate

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D27 is a high school senior, valedictorian(knock on wood 3 times) at a rural high school, with mid SAT for Ivy (+), 4’s on all 3 AP tests she has taken, and is taking AP bio, AP physics, and AP lit this year.

Dance award 3rd place national competition and Regional winner to get the invite

She has danced since the age of 3 and loves choreography--Dream is USC Kaufman but tougher to get in than MIT.

Alpine States --4th and 6th place and likely Top 2-3 this year. We will try to find some FIS races this winter in NH, Maine in between dance competitions.

Silver Key Art award–she honestly could paint the Mona Lisa and fake out the average museum goer, but not her current passion(sadly).

She has other nice academic awards, but neither here nor there for this post.

Schools we are looking at:

Dartmouth, maybe Brown/RISD, BC, Williams, maybe Bates or Colby, USC, U Michigan, UVA, UNC(not for skiing), BU, Northeastern, and maybe UCSD/UCLA. Probably Middlebury.

Safeties–UMASS, maybe U Wash, maybe Univ Arizona(dance but not sure about skiing)

There are other Ivies like Harvard, Cornell(Maybe Ithaca College for dance classes?) and Yale, and Princeton, but are probably too reach-y.

We are full pay almost everywhere, except Princeton (25-30K according to their NPC).

Any other college suggestions that thread the needle between dance, alpine skiing(USCSA not D1), and prepare kids well for pre-med, pre-orthodontics?

Much appreciated.

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Almost all colleges prepare for medical school with the same classes, acceptance is based on GPA and mcat scores. GPA? Test scores?

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What kind of college is D27 looking to attend - a larger university or a smaller liberal arts college? Any intended major yet? You’ve listed some colleges but the list isn’t that really defined - looks very preliminary. A couple of Ivys - Brown & Dartmouth. Maybe UCSD & UCLA (why not UCB or UCI?) Maybe Bates or Colby (why not Bowdoin?) Maybe other Ivys. You reference Princeton as the sole unaffordable full-pay option. Dance & alpine skiing, are they both equally important to D27? I’m somewhat confused. The list seems a bit bouncy.

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Premed and orthodontics are two very different areas. One is MD or DO, and the other is a dentist with advanced training. BUT regardless, IMHO, the college does its job teaching the courses, and the student prepares for their eventual applications to dental or medical schools.

If you are looking for a college that guarantees acceptance to medical schools or dental schools applying for acceptance after undergrad, I think you won’t find particularly helpful statistics to guide you.

As you know, the list you provided is a pretty top heavy list. I think.

It would be very helpful if you did a chance me/match me thread…answering all of the prompts on the template. This will give us better information to help you.

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An original list with Michigan, Dartmouth, USC, UNC, Bates, and Northeastern is a bit all over the place to me in terms of well, everything, from location to vibes to size. That doesn’t make it bad, or wrong, but we need to know more!

Also not sure about actual major - beyond wanting to be pre-med, you can actually major in lots of things and still be pre-med.

Also, I know people IRL who have been rejected from Dartmouth and got into Harvard (2 actually, neither with legacy or sports recruits) - and into Yale and not to BU (that is a weird one!) both real examples in last 5 years - there is lots of nuance on fit and such in selective admissions FYI. So saying Dartmouth and Cornell are ok, and Yale is too reachy is probably not true.

We need some priorities and also past course selections.. and just FYI only having 4s on APs and aiming for these top schools is not fantastic if she also has not ideal SATs… (though not sure what “mid” means in this context).

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She wants to get out of Maine and S24 is at Bowdoin(doesn’t want to go there). The list is a bit bouncy because she worries about her economic future, and her passions don’t pay very well. That’s why UMich(EA) and Dartmouth(ED) are at the top of her list.

She is considering other UC schools but is worried about having enough time to fill out the PIQ’s.
We are doing both a dance and art supplement. Auditions at USC take place in the middle of the Alpine ski season (January)–so she may have to make a decision there.

She wants to keep skiing and dancing but also knows that she can major in almost anything for the medicine dental pathway. It’s a bit tight to get pre-med requirements in along with the BFA requirements for dance at say a USC where 75% of the classes are specifically dance oriented.

She has 17-18 schools right now, but her heart is set on Dartmouth. We are just wondering if we are missing some hidden gems or other LAC’s that are great at dance and could allow her to ski.
The NPC’s for most of the schools make us full pay and that’s ok. Med or Dental school will be mostly on her, if she sticks with it( most likely plastic surgery because it utilizes her creative side).

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Wesleyan, Conn College or Vassar? I don’t know about the skiing though.

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She’s in HS. Have her take a look at the path- financial AND academic to becoming a plastic surgeon. There are dozens of careers that would utilize her creative side. You know this of course- but don’t set your kid up for failure before she’s even graduated from HS! There are fourth year med students right now who have aced every single exam they have ever taken- gotten 1600 SAT’s, 5’s on every AP, etc. who are being told “dermatology residency- not happening. Plastic surgery residency- not happening. You’d be incredible in geriatrics.”

She sounds terrific. Agree with the other posts- if the trade off were skiing/dance, where would she land? And is U Mass an acceptable safety for her?

IMHO It’s worth her popping an email to the Brown regional adcom to ask about the Brown/RISD program. If she’s going to fulfill the med school admissions requirement, I don’t think she’ll have time for dance OR skiing for that matter (at a competitive level. Of course she can do recreational stuff as her schedule permits). But worth asking the question and getting on their radar. Maybe just finding out how many Brown/RISD students have gotten into med school (either directly from undergrad, or after a “glide year” or two) and if the answer is zero- well, that’s an answer.

She sounds like someone ANY college would want to have on their campus!

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Thanks. Will do that. It’s intimidating seeing all of the “Chance me’s” with 1550 SAT scores.

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They don’t all have 1550 SAT scores. There are also a number of threads from previous years for students with other stats.

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I think U of Arizona skiing is - well it’s Mt. Lemon - so it’s not going to be good. But Northern Arizona U, if they have the dance, much better.

Pre Med is going to matter by the student, moreso thant he school. When you look at the top schools per capita - but it’s because they have more like your daughter vs. a 3.5 with 1300. Smart kids go to med school but you can look at top hospital residents like Vandy - and see they have kids who went to Luther and Lipscomb and K State and Miss State who are their residents - as well as kids that went to top schools.

You said you are full pay - but don’t forget, you have med school too.

If you want a high med school acceptance, then why not apply to the LECOM assured admission program - one of their schools that fits your other needs. That way, you know you have a med school home.

btw - your student sounds FABULOUS - but those AP scores, where needing to be submitted with no 5s, are likely to stand out, not in the best way at top schools. You never know but that’s my guess.

They’re not the biggest names - LECOM - but if you want an assured med school acceptance, this is a great way. Colleges like Rhodes are strong - although not for skiing.

Plattsburgh has skiing (not sure about dance) and is on the LECOM list. Not on the LECOM list, but close to skiing which I think would be harder to find - U Denver, Montana State, Colorado State, CU Boulder, and UVM - all are strong for skiing and show modern dance. And for an LAC, check Reed College in Portland, which seems to have both. Lesser skiing but WVU and App State could work, both with ski hills nearby.

Anyway, hope that gives you some thoughts.

Given her strength in dance and skiing, hopefully she can be "placed’ somewhere?

Good luck.

LECOM-AFFILIATED-COLLEGES-AND-UNIVERSITIES-9-8-26.pdf

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I think he meant the opposite:

TBH, I don’t think the Ivies are big destinations for dance and the outdoors. Your best bet is Middlebury, if you are looking for something Ivy-adjacent, close to the slopes - and isn’t Bowdoin.

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Thank you. I will look into LECOM. We have a similar arrangement here in Maine for Tufts. I keep hoping she will take a closer look at some of the schools here.

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I think St Olaf would be a fantastic option. Alpine skiing, BA in Dance with a concentration in choreography, excellent school but not as reachy as a lot on your list, very high med school acceptance rate and likely to receive excellent merit.

If she decides not to major in dance, there are excellent dance opportunities outside of the major

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USCSA schools–so many colleges. Finding the right vibe that includes great student run dance teams is challenging.

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Not sure about the others, but Colorado State does not have a varsity alpine team. Only club.

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Sorry bout that -was pulling schools with ski access. But looks like OP knows who’s’ on so can cross reference if interested in any names.

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Agreed. Our neighbor attends it. She loves it. Nordic skier. Also heading into medicine.

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Your daughter sounds great, but I think your list is reach heavy.

I would look at the University of Buffalo and Rutgers. Both have good dance depts and Buffalo also has skiing (maybe Rutgers does too idk).

It is important to recognize that the student is responsible for doing well, volunteering, etc. In other words, med school is on the student and not the school.

Best wishes!

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