@Booajo - we’d ideally like to bring COA down to 45K or less. So these days, 20K+ in merit. We have a couple of publics in mind that would come in lower.
Phew, lots of choices then. Our goal was 25k, which we did get a lot of places, but most of the schools listed up this thread would not get you to 25k or less. (That is the cost of our very good flagship so seemed like a reasonable target.)
My D will be heading to Pitt with full tuition scholarship so it did work for her.
Yes, if only Pitt had a dance program… Congrats to your daughter!!!
Of course, coming in at less would be better still. We shall see!
Ithaca
I’ll be following this thread with much interest since my D sounds like a younger version of OP’s in many respects, although she is open to women’s colleges and CA schools. I totally get that when you have a serious dancer and a serious student, summer college visits may be your only real option. “Nutcracker” rehearsals alone run from August to December, nights and weekends, and when she’s not dancing, she’s studying.
@mamaedefamilia, best of luck to you on your tour. I hope you’ll share your impression of the schools you visit, especially your daughter’s evaluation of the strength of the dance programs. That will be really helpful to us in terms of ruling schools in or out.
@Curiosa, thanks for your response. Don’t worry, I’ll be reporting live from our merit tour in July.
Yes, after nearly a decade of Nutcracker seasons, I can truly say that I have a “special snowflake” as she’s danced in Snow three times. 
Dancers are impressive creatures; the dedication and time management skills to juggle ballet and school are truly daunting.
USC recently invested in a state-of-the-art dance/theater performance space, if your daughter is looking towards California.
I know you don’t want the south, but Florida Southern College is great
I went to SC, and she liked it when we visited last summer, so that’s high on the list. It’s 3 or 4 times as expensive as it was when I went there, though, so they’d really have to come through on the merit aid (and of course it’s not a given that she’d get in, legacy or no). Plus I’m not certain how open they’ll be to letting non-majors take the advanced dance classes. But we have time to investigate, she’s just wrapping up her freshman year.
Last summer we checked out west coast schools, this summer I’m hoping to take her to PA for a week to look at Muhlenberg and Bryn Mawr, among others. Maybe our paths will cross. 
I know that your daughter isn’t looking for urban campuses, but UChicago seems to fit the bill for other preferences. Many students are intellectual and quirky, and there isn’t large greek scene. They have a student run classical ballet company with free community classes. Since it is an artsy school, I’m sure they have modern dance. The downside is that they give terrible aid as it is mostly based on FASFA and expect you to suspend 401k payments while D is in college.
Can a college really expect you stop saving for retirement if your kid is in college? Really?
^No. At least they would never say that out loud. UChicago is also not known for good merit.
@Clairlise Chicago was under consideration for quite a while for all of the reasons that you suggest. I did some behind the scenes research with folks I know who have connections there. Aside from the urban environment, I think the intellectual vibe would be a bit too intense for her. It might intensify her “all work, no play” tendencies and I’d like to see her have some fun once in a while. The chances of merit aid are also pretty slim and Chicago’s bumping up close to 70K per year.
@mamaedefamilia My daughter (junior) is a dancer, too. She’s probably majoring in earth or physical science of some sort. I would love to see your final list of schools that are good for dancers if you could share.
@AroundHere We ended up visiting Oberlin, Kenyon, St. Olaf, Macalester, and Wash U. All have dance programs, mostly contemporary-based that had enough depth to satisfy her. There are also ballet companies within walking distance of the Oberlin and Mac campuses. We did not visit, but believe are worth considering: Dickinson (CPYB is close by), Muhlenberg (very strong in musical theater and medical sciences), and Case Western. We only got to see the dance facilities at St Olaf - they have three nice-sized studios and graduate about 8 dance majors per year, pretty respectable for a school of its size.
Just to be clear, she’s not likely to major or minor in dance but wants to be able to continue to perform at a reasonably high level and she favors LACs and small universities. Hope this helps!
^ Thought I’d point out that the ballet company near Macalester just this month lost the building that they had rented for many years. They have moved - still within Saint Paul, but not in the campus neighborhood anymore.
@mamaedefamilia Thanks. Wash U would be a dream school for DD - it is likely unaffordable. Her interests are earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences,
@AroundHear- your DD should check out USC- It has a great Earth Sciences program, The Southern California Earthquake Center is centered at USC, there are unlimited opportunities for doing research there, and it has the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. USC also encourages students to major and minor in different areas.
MY DS went to USC and is now finishing his PhD in Geoplysics [Seismology] at Caltech, which is THE best U for EPS[ earth planetary sciences]. And if her PSAT scores put her NMSF status, she would receive an automatic 1/2 tuition Scholarship at USC- IF she is accepted , that is.
@CheddarcheeseMN Thanks for the info on the SP ballet location. I remember reading on their site that they had a second location about 1.5-2 miles from Mac. Maybe they will consolidate there.
@AroundHere As @menloparkmom has mentioned, USC does have a strong dance program and a new state of the art facility. The NMF merit money also makes it potentially attractive.
Arizona is also very strong in planetary science, and has a highly regarded dance program. You have to audition even just to minor, though.
Sorry I am so late to this thread. Did you consider Emory or Elon? Not sure about merit but Elon is a bargain and both have nice dance opportunities. Good Luck!