Just found one we didn’t think of. RIT has both skiing and is a LECOM affiliate. I loved Rochester when we visited with our son for Eastman/Rochester. Just have to look at dance options.
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I think some folks are getting confused re: Alpine Skiing. Alpine Skiing is downhill (ideally down “mountain” vs “hill”) skiing, not Nordic/cross-country. And because of that I have only one / two real answers.
University of Utah
Westminster University (in Utah)
It is nearly impossible to find schools with better access to world-class skiing. Like from her dorm to some of the best skiing in the world in 35 minutes. Olympic training facilities are here. The recent Olympics were filled with students from both schools. (And SLC will be hosting the Winter Olympics in 2034 (climate change permitting), so it would be super cool for her to ski here before that).
Utah in general also has a shockingly strong dance scene. And both of those schools have great dance programs.
The UofU has both NCAA and USCSA teams. Westminster might only have NCAA, though they are listed on the USCSA page, so maybe they have both. I wouldn’t be surprised. They will be strong in either division.
But being in Utah is pretty much the dream for anyone who skis.
Someone mentioned St. Olaf. Love the school and have a kid there now, but downhill skiing?..lol..no.
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If D27 is ready to leave the state of Maine, then I would drop both Bates & Colby. She is currently a valedictorian with special talents in alpine skiing & dance coming from a rural area. Dartmouth and UMich Ann Arbor (OOS) are good “reach” options. She could also try for Yale, if interested. I wouldn’t apply to more than 2 Ivys.
The case with USC: do you think D27 will need more than 4 years to complete all requirements for the BFA & also premed costing more $$$?; something to consider when weighing different options. Middlebury & Williams are also nice alternatives. Her ACT/SAT scores fall in the mid-50% for most schools. Even if they don’t, D27 shouldn’t be discouraged. And even if she ends up being salutatorian instead.
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Students also don’t need to score all "5"s or all "4"s and "5"s on AP exams to get admitted.
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There are plenty of music majors, for example, who graduate in four years and take the required courses for medical school admissions as their electives.
The issue with fine arts is that often the required performance ensembles can conflict with lab science courses.
Your daughter would need to find a college that is friendly to students wishing to double major like this…Lawrence is one I can think of. I have no idea about downhill skiing there.
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Just thinking more about this - the dance audition might drive this more than academics. I assume she only wants a BFA.
But how important is skiing or rather the frequency of being able to ski? Do you want to ski multiple times a week ? Mt Baldy is a haul from SC. The Claremont Schools - Pomona and Scripps have dance and are much closer to skiing but are club teams.
There are schools in Utah (pointed out) and Colorado where you have “real” downhill skiing close but others like USC not.
And then doing all this with pre med - it’s a lot.
I’m sure she’s very disciplined.
Being from Maine will be a plus out of the Northeast although not necessarily for an audition dance program like at SC.
I hope you keep us updated on the journey. I think this one will be fascinating and I’m sure no matter what it will work out for your daughter.
If she is filling out the application for one school, there is no additional work for the other UCs. You just select the campuses you want to send it to and pay.
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Is the goal an MFA or a BA with a dance major? University of Colorado has both. She would not have to audition for the BA.
CU skiing is D1. I’m not sure a D1 schedule would work with labs and rehearsals/performances, but the good thing is the mountain is right there. That is, if there is snow. The Colorado teams had to travel to higher elevation for training last year.
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At some point people with multiple passions have to decide which one(s) to focus on. One person cannot do everything. Varsity skiing, dance, and premed classes adds up to a LOT, even for an exceptionally strong student.
Your daughter should not underestimate how difficult premed classes will be, and how strong the competition will be. Even at a university that is not quite ranked in the top 100 in the US (U.Maine, UNH, and UVM come to mind) the competition in premed classes will be intense and there will be a lot of very strong students (I have for example met several UVM premed students, and been quite impressed). Of course the competition will also be intense at Dartmouth College, or U.Mass, or any other school mentioned in your post.
As long as medical school is a realistic option, you should budget for a full 8 years of university where the last 4 years are likely to be expensive. If your daughter takes even half the cost of medical school as debt, that would be a lot of debt for a newly minted medical resident. It will be way easier and more likely to succeed to plan on saving $$ for the first four years of this marathon rather than the medical doctorate part. Medical residents do not make all that much.
Also, students in very good MD programs (and other biomedical graduate programs, and other graduate programs in many fields) come from a very large range of undergraduate colleges and universities. A student really does not need to attend a highly ranked university to go on to a highly ranked graduate program (whether MD or something else). There are a LOT of colleges and universities, hundreds of them, where premed classes will be tough, the competition will be tough, but which can prepare a student very well for applying to MD programs.
That will be tough. It is hard to imagine how a student could pull this off.
Our older daughter got her DVM about a year and a half ago. She has said multiple times that the majority of students in the same DVM program were taking on way too much debt. This can become a significant problem for years for many recent MD and DO and DVM graduates. The cost of eight years of university is going to be very similar regardless of whether a student is aiming for an MD, DO, or DVM (the required undergraduate classes are the same classes).
MDs do eventually make more than DVMs. However, MDs have to go through a significant residency (I think that for a plastic surgeon this might be 6 years, and this is after getting the MD). Medical residents make less than DVMs until they finish their residency (DVMs do not need to do a residency, except for a few specialties). Thus the amount of debt needed to complete the first 8 years (bachelor’s degree and doctorate) can be a big problem regardless of which medical doctorate the student is going for.
To me an alternate plan to seriously consider is to find a very good affordable undergraduate university, and take the money that you save and apply it to the potential cost of medical school. Our veterinarian daughter is very glad right now that we went with this alternate plan, and therefore were able to help significantly with the cost of the doctorate.
For some of the highly ranked colleges and universities, such as Dartmouth, this is probably pretty close to the average applicant. However, 4’s on three AP exams is probably lower than the average applicant to Dartmouth. I would think of Dartmouth College as a somewhat high reach.
You might not like this: U.Maine. UVM. I am glad that you already have U.Mass on your list. Perhaps UNH is another to consider.
I think that there are many things that help a student be successful on the road to becoming a doctor. The determination to stick with the plan, and a budget that helps with all 8 years of university without excessive debt, are very high on the list of what I would put as important. Both of these are IMHO way more important than the ranking of the undergraduate university they attend.
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She could go all-in on skiing and go to U of Utah, CU Boulder, UN Reno or UC Davis.
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This site analyzes colleges by medical school matriculation rates, and includes a separate listing for LACs:
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I agree with this. In addition to studying and class work, students need shadowing, medical volunteering, volunteering in underserved communities, mcat prep, etc. Some students do research, which can also be time consuming between meetings, etc.
Most students take gap years to strengthen their application. This could make it “easier” to dance and/or ski in college.
I think it might be hard to do it all unless there is a plan in place.
One of my kids was premed at one of the public reach schools on your list if you have any questions.
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Thank you. For D1 skiing, you need a FIS score well below 80. I think she can get close to 100-125, but the Vermont kids are unbelievably strong(many not too far from competing on the circuit just below the Mikaela Shiffrin and Bode Miller’s of the world). Pre-med and D1 skiing don’t mix very well from what I read. And definitely no time for dance. Appreciate the comment.
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Thank you for all the comments. I appreciate them and will update once we get results from the SAT this weekend and in October.
We are considering both Boulder and Utah. She will have to decide between skiing and dance at some point.
I appreciate the comment on med school cost. Despite today’s politics, loan forgiveness when practicing 3-5 years in rural or physician shortage areas for both primary care and several specialties is still in play.
Will update soon.
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This is true, but med school loans are now limited, as students can only access $200K in professional federal loans, and $257.5K aggregate lifetime limit of federal loans.
Some med schools and some states are now in the lending game, but not all. The private lending market may be an option too, but that tends to be $$$. Your D will have to stay on top of this, as this area will continue to be dynamic.
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And the federally funded loans are the only ones eligible for forgiveness. Total med school costs could well exceed $100,000 a year if your student actually attends in the future.
Have you considered University of New Mexico, or University of Washington.
@WayOutWestMom can tell us where skiing is near enough to UNM.
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The ivy-level schools on OP’s list are too reachy with those AP scores and “mid” SAT
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I think it’s overhype. Of course, private and / or highly selective send more - because those are the top and wealthiest kids to begin with.
It doesn’t mean those same kids attending a less selective or not as wealthy school couldn’t have completed the path - and the study does note that there are other paths.
A 4.0 with 12 APs and a 1500 is more likely than a 3.0 and 1200 to make it to med school, to even have exposure to know what it takes - regardless of where they go. Just like wealthy students will be ahead of the curve exposure wise to a pre medical education than the less wealthy.
Like many things in life, it’s often very much related to your home and upbringing.
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I came here to say St. Olaf, too! I know 2 tippy top students (top of class, NMF etc.) who turned down T20 acceptances to attend St. Olaf on big merit, and are now thriving in young adulthood, attending Ivys for grad school, fully funded.
And of course St. Olaf is only minutes away from the famed Buck Hill, which has arguably produced more Olympians per foot of vertical drop than any other ski resort in the world 
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Regarding skiing, USC, UCLA, and UCSD aren’t close to snow. Getting to snow would require either an all day road trip or weekends away. That’s tough to combine with other extracurriculars (ex. dance rehearsals) and premed courses.