U Vermont has housing scarcity issues? Ugh, that makes me nervous.
Just to give you an idea, at Smith, say, per the latest NCES College Navigator data, out of 622 graduating primary majors, 11 were performing arts–4 Music, 3 Dance, 4 Theater. Obviously this can vary up and down, there can be secondary majors in these areas, Smith has minors in all three areas, and so on. But this is handy data to use for comparative purposes.
OK, then Muhlenberg had 529 total graduating primary majors, out of which 119 were performing arts, 9 Music, 17 Dance, and 93 Theater.
That’s a lot more than Smith!
Of course, 119 of 529 is only about 22.5%. But it again doesn’t include secondary majors or minors (Muhlenberg has minors for Dance and Music, but not Theater).
Does this mean performing arts kids “dominate” Muhlenberg? That depends what that means to you. But by way of analogy, the number of kids with a primary major in performing arts at Muhlenberg is similar to the number of kids who do varsity athletics at a lot of LACs (although at some LACs it can be even higher). And again more kids at these LACs will be involved in athletics in other ways.
And some people do feel like some LACs can be rather sporty for their tastes. So it is a valid question.
But also maybe the answer is that would actually be great for her, for performing arts to be as big at her college as varsity sports are at many other colleges.
Interesting question for sure.
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I don’t think performing arts “dominates” at Muhlenberg. Just that skipping a party because you have an orchestra rehearsal…or spending Sunday afternoon at the Barnes in Philadelphia instead of hanging in the dorm for an online poker competition are perfectly acceptable (and you’ll have friends who want to join you) ways of spending your leisure time.
There are subcultures at every college. The arts enthusiasts are one of those subcultures at Muhlenberg, which makes it a fun place for kids who may not be arty themselves…but just don’t want a campus dedicated to sports and frats.
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You and your daughter may be aiming too low, although that depends upon your priorities.
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academically 100% - but OP noted this in post one:
Finances: We’re a full-pay family looking for merit aid, and our budget for direct costs is about $60,000.
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