University of Utah

[MKBmom]

Congratulations to your DD pavlova!  

[MKBmom]

For those who have gotten in this year (or in previous years) is a decision deadline given?  If so when is that?

[tprice]

The deadline on the form mine received was May 1. All of the programs that we are looking at have the same deadline. For us the decision is a balancing act - waiting to hear from one more on scholarship money vs. housing applications!

[dancemaven]

Unless things have changed, I believe all universities have a universal May 1 deadline for accepting or declining the offered spot.  At that point, the universities turn to their wait listed students who are still waiting and hoping for a spot . . . .

[tprice]

Utah sends a letter with the acceptance for you to return telling them weather you plan to attend the dance program or not. My understanding is that they are taking people off of the waitlist as they get declines. 

[dancingjet]

tprice that is what happened last year too. While May 1st is the universal deadline for college decisions, the school of dance would like to hear if an accepted student is not planning on attending so they can move down their list and get their class settled sooner. 

[sheahuang]

Since scholarship letters were sent at the end of March, it is quite possible that a lot of "shifting" would occur the first week or 2 of April.

[dancingjet]

Since the year is winding down now I thought I'd add one final update for anyone reading this thread down the road. DD is glad she's at the U. She was able to perform in Utah Ballet I and II as well as the Gala, so she had a lot of performing experiences this year. Both of her end-of-term conferences went well and she received both compliments as well as constructive criticism. Her professors try to give her suggestions for what to do/how to address something rather than just telling her she needs to work on x, y, z. She was very busy during the school year between BFA classes, gen ed classes, homework, and rehearsals. She did not receive any departmental scholarships when she was accepted to the program last year, but this year she applied again and received two!

If anyone has questions going forward I'd be happy to try and answer. People here were generous with information when DD was searching for a college program and I hope to pay it forward.

[cclw]

Thank you so much for this. Although for a number of reasons the University of Utah is not currently on my daughter's list of possible colleges, we are always delighted to see college reviews here. It's so helpful when people write, and the college section seems to get much less attention than some other areas. 

[Anniecat]

My daughter is a rising senior in high school and will be starting the college application process this summer/fall. I see that the University of Utah has a summer audition on July 6 for the ballet BFA program. Does anyone have any pros and cons about auditioning so early. It would be so nice to get one done now while she is out of school for the summer since we have several others to do in the fall and winter. 

I was also wondering if there are any current students attending who are successfully double majoring. Reading through all these posts, it seems that was challenging in the past but I haven’t seen it mentioned recently. 

Any other feedback about the U of U Ballet major is appreciated as well. Thank you!

[dancingjet]

I can't think of a reason not to audition early assuming your daughter is in shape, not injured, etc! That's one less weekend to plan for November or February.

I believe one of my daughter's good friends is double-majoring, possibly in something related to health/nutrition (I can't remember). I'll ask her. I think if you come in with a fair number of units already (AP tests, dual enrollment, etc.) then it makes it easier. But as has been discussed, fitting classes into/around the BFA schedule is not always easy, particularly if your dancer is cast in something and has rehearsals on top of the regular class schedule.

[Lady Elle]

Anniecat,  one reason to audition early would be to allow for the opportunity to do a second auditin if the first doesn't go well.  My daughter auditioned during the summer intensive at Ballet West and it was a very very "off" day.  So she auditioned again in February (which was possibly the last audition date) and was accepted.  

[Anniecat]

Thank you dancingjet and Lady Elle! All good reasons to audition early! It looks like a trip to SLC will be a part of our summer plans. 

[KatMcNally]

Anniecat-

DD is a senior at the U.  She has many classmates who are double majors - psychology, English, communications, Strategic Communications, and nutrition.  She also said there are accounting, biology, and physics double majors.  Double majors can be done.  That being said it is not easy and may take longer than 4 years.  DD did not enter with any AP or college credit and will graduate in 4 years with double major. (BFA Ballet/BS Psychology).  Every semester she has taken 17-21 credits (vs the standard 12-16).  She has also taken summer classes all three summers.  So with planning it is possible.  Science majors are more challenging because of lab requirements but again it is possible.  DD's long term plan includes working in healthcare after dance career so she has taken several of the premed type classes as well.  The U offers a lot of classes in the summer.  So you can take a lab class without being constrained by the dance schedule.  The dance schedule is challenging -- they have technique and electives in the 8-3:30 block (there are breaks between the classes. - sometimes you get lucky and can squeeze in a non-dance class in this block).  The rehearsal block is 3:30 - 6:30 which takes up the rest of the day.  There are evening classes which DD took occasionally but this made for a long day (8a -9:30 p) for her.  Dancers are only required to have 4 performance credits and are not required to audition for every show.  DD said some of her science major friends will opt not to perform for a semester or two to work on the second major.  DD also said they can perform for pieces that do not use the rehearsal block like student showcase (both ballet and modern) and graduate show (MFA ballet and modern).  There is also character ensemble and some other community dance opportunities.  Bottom line with good planning and a lot of hardwork it can be done.

[dancingjet]

I wanted to add that DD has opted to take 3 classes online so far, including one of her summer session classes, and that has made scheduling easier for her. She enjoys her in-person classes more but in terms of taking care of some credits, she’s been glad to have the online option. She has also sought out courses that satisfy more than one requirement and has done that twice now. That creates a bit of room in her schedule for pursuing a minor.