Consider the University of North Texas. It’s near Ft. Worth and it’s music program is world-class. It’s math, science and engineering programs are very good.
What about American University in Washington, D.C.?
Gonzaga looks like it would be a match. Admits 68% of applicants. Mid-50 for ACT is 25-29. 25% of students have a GPA of 3.25 and under.
Columbia College Chicago works well for creative people and it meets the city requirement. Open admissions but some of the programs are strong.
My daughter visited several LACs in Minnesota and opted to go to Concordia College. Their average ACT score is 25, so they are admitting quite a few kids with scores lower than that. If your daughter does have a score above 26 she is likely to get a nice merit award there. CC gave my daughter a very generous award (ACT of 31) and they have a really good four year grad rate. Those things were huge factors in the decision, but the main thing is that my daughter visited it and loved it. She returned for a second visit three months later and she loved it even more. She’s a month into her freshman year and is so happy she decided to go there. There is a very warm, nurturing feeling to that campus. We felt good about leaving her there last month. If you are in Minnesota, I really think it is worth your while to visit CC.
Auburn University - 2014 mid 50% ACT scores were 24 - 30 and 3.74 gpa - heard that went up for the 2015 freshman class but can’t find the numbers now. They are not very selective - 77% admittance rate. Lovely campus, great football (well, maybe not this year), great football atmosphere (always) and the friendliest people in the South!
@Fourthmom DD will most likely apply to Concordia (in Moorhead – is that the one you meant?) It is really cold there in the winter, but has a great choir and good theatre, and is nurturing, very much so. It is a popular school around here, and I have a young cousin there now, and she loves it, and she is a great kid, so that is definitely a plus. DD thinks that of the Minnesota (i.e., cold weather schools, LOL) schools, that would be her pick. Also, I have many close relatives that attended Concordia, along with a few that went to St. Olaf. Glad to hear your D is doing well. I’ve heard good things about Concordia lately. If she can bump up her test scores a bit or perhaps do well auditioning for a music (vocal) scholarship, it would become one of the more affordable options, too. I’ll have to get DD there soon for a visit, and see how it goes.
I really think she sounds like she would like Skidmore although it’s not in a city. Sarah Lawrence might also be a good fit.
I would definitely look at Loyola New Orleans.
Willamette has a Japan exchange type program with a designated dorm even. It is also a very artsy yet not granola campus.
I was just browsing the internet and looking at University of Puget Sound and saw their Pacific Rim Asian Studies Program and decided I want to do college over again and major in Asian Studies. A group of students spends 9 months in 8 countries – happens once every three years. Nice. I don’t know if it is something DD would get excited about, but I’m going to show it to her tomorrow.
We are planning to visit Loyola New Orleans very soon. DD really likes New Orleans, has been there on choir tours.I’ve not been – I’m looking forward to it – it has been coming up lately in different conversations with different people. Must be time to go there. And Willamette looks very interesting too.
People love UPS - it was too close to home for my kids but for the right kid it is a great place. They also have musical offerings
Two colleges, Oxford and eckerd, were already mentioned. I don’t have time now to see if several LACs in FL have Japanese, but take a look at Lynn U, which is next to Harrids conservatory. They are in Boca Raton. There are also several schools near Orlando, Rollins, Stetson.
My daughter is at Concordia in Moorhead. We’ve been in Minnesota all of our lives, so we just live with the cold. It’s what we know. My daughter toured St. Olaf and loved it. It’s an amazing school. We knew it would be a financial stretch and that was what got us to seek out a school that had some similarities, but not the high price. We then scheduled a visit to Concordia. My daughter loved the campus, people, pretty much everything. She was also looking forward to living in an area with a bigger population in an area new to her. We were just out there for family weekend and are so happy with her college choice. I feel like we’re getting a lot of bang for our buck.
I was surprised to not see UNC Wilmington mentioned by anyone. They have an Asian Studies major, average GPA for the current freshman class is a 4.1, average SAT is a 1200 (out of 1600). Definitely the type of school for anyone, but not hippy. Incredibly chill and laid-back, friendly atmosphere. Oh, and it’s warm and the beach is only ten minutes away. It’s in a Port City, so it’s pretty prime for that stuff. 
But seriously, she should definitely look at UNC Wilmington.
I am traveling, but when I checked in with H & DD, heard that Sept ACT scores have been received and showed an improvement–up four points from 23 last spring to 27 this time around. So, DD feels much better now about her test score part of this process. SAT is this Saturday, complete unknown, first time taking it for DD. She says first application is completed. So, she feels good about that. It is a rolling one, so we’ll get some feedback before too long, I imagine. Fingers crossed that it will be positive.
Great news and good luck!
Congratulations! it’s an impressive jump and it means many more schools are in play!
Eckerd is liberal, less than 10 min from downtown St. Petersburg. They have a theater major, Japanese minor, East Asian Studies major and is well known for biology. A new $32 million James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences is a “green building”. All other science, computer and math buildings were just renovated to “new”. They have the highest number of Hollings Scholars in the US, a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and a wonderful mentor/proffessor/student program. Research opportunities are encouraged in Freshman year. There is also a peer mentor assigned to Freshman. Wonderful study abroad opportunities. A local theater company now calls Eckerd its’ home. Very generous merit and financial aid. The city of St. Petersburg has wonderful museums, galleries, art studios, entertainment venues, shops, boutiques and restaurants. Lots of events and activities are always going on. Eckerd provides busses to “first friday” events and the local bus comes on campus.
Pitt is in play, astern made it sound like it is difficult to get in, but it really is not. State schools tend to look at gpa and test scores and that’s about it, they have too many applicants to look at much more than that. 27 act w a b+ avg or higher, she would get in , count on it.