@TheMonaLisa - sometimes students have trouble adjusting to college life, and the eating issue can be part of that adjustment, not necessarily the quality of the food. Some kids might miss home cooking and miss home in general, so may have trouble with college dining. It may or may not have anything to do directly with the food options. Most students don’t expect to get gourmet dining options in college, but they will survive.
Building a College List for Creative Writing/History Major [VA resident, 3.9 GPA, 1420+? SAT, <$50k]
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Congratulations to your son for accepting the idea of safeties and likelies. It can be very difficult for students who care about their intellectual environment.
About food, something you can check online in September 1) variety on a single day and 2) cycles (monthly cycles, ie., you get the same exact offerings once a month are okay, less than that can be a problem, and more than that is good). Eating in the dining hall is also educational: are students talking to each other in small groups or are most of them on their own eating with their phone?
Some kids are happy with a rotating cycle of pizza/burger/fried chicken/cereals on repeat, others really want the occasional fresh fruit salad or mango slices and steamed brocoli on rice with sezchuan beef 
..and I think the second group should be encouraged in that practice 
Again, not a reason to eliminate a college but a way to differentiate once acceptances are in. For the VA colleges it’ll be easy to check. Lots of colleges actually have very good offerings - often depending on provider (one is known as excellent and one as terrible/fast&junkfood).
If your son’s ideal school is Kenyon, I would add a couple more LACs similar to it and I agree URichmond would not work (very preprofessional).
BTW, have you all watched the film Liberal Arts? About 3 people who each wish they were another age than their own: a Kenyon professor who wishes he weren’t retiring, a Kenyon alum who wishes he were still 20 and in college, a Kenyon student who wishes she were finally grown up because 18-20year old guys seem so immature to her and she “can’t wait for her life to start”.
It distills what liberal arts can be to students who embrace the concept but fair warning in its exploration of, essentially, growing up and aging, includes difficult/cringey moments.
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I think parents today think of dining halls as wonderful all you can eat buffets, and forget it’s still mass dining. I think the students learn what works for them, and what doesn’t, and some hacks. I’ve heard parents complain of having to pay $1000 a month for door dash, their kids are playing them. Dining hall vs. Popeyes? Popeyes for the win.
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Yes - the key is making sure there’s a rotation. If there’s some variety beside fried food/pizza, kids will figure it out.
Also, many universities have “points” or “UnivNameBucks” that allow students to purchase name-brand items at specific vendors (local restaurant, on campus counter ..).
I agree paying for Doordash etc. is pushing it (unless their college has the very bad vendor).
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All of my kids colleges had “points” and “dollars” with cute named, I never even bothered to figure out what was what because they were all slightly different.
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Anyone familiar with the creative writing programs at Ithaca College, College of Wooster, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Wesleyan (CT), Skidmore? S26 said these are some feeder schools to MFA Creative Writing programs. He wants to get an MFA…that’s the plan for now, anyway.
Please stay focused on the task at hand. Budget. If they work, great but what if not. Plans change. At 17 they don’t know.
MFAs come in all disciplines - creative writing being one. And guess what - I looked up the top MFA for writing programs.
Go to the top schools -and yes you’ll find Columbia and Gtown in their writing program. You’ll also find F&M, New School, Mills, Otterbein, UCF, Taylor, Whittier, and more.
Plenty worked for years first and did their undergrad in different disciplines. So it’s not necessarily a continuum.
If your student is accomplished and has solid work experience, he won’t be denied because of the school attended. Yes some likely feed more - Sewanee is another meets need school well known.
We all love our kids. If one works - great.
But I don’t think it’s linear - and don’t forget - salaries - not so good.
Sorry to keep harping on that but you have a budget.
You may have misunderstood my post. My son is reconsidering some schools people have posted here for undergrad creative writing, like Ithaca, College of Wooster, Sarah Lawrence, and Skidmore.To add to his list. I think Wesleyan and Vassar are reaches for him, now that I’ve looked them up. These schools are known to produce a good number of students who graduate and pursue an MFA in CW later. My son was intrigued by that which is why he’s reconsidering them. He says he’ll pursue an MFA for now. Who knows. Plans could change but it doesn’t hurt to add them if they fit the budget.
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Wasn’t sure if you ran the NPCs and they hit budget is all - just want to make sure you have your eye on that one. That’s my personal thing - budget containment 
Sorry.
All are great schools of course.
I found it interesting that people were studying things like Politics or Env Science and then getting an MFA in creative writing. I’d have thought they’d come from English.
I was also surprised most seemed to have worked for some years - like an MBA.
Of those you mention, yes Vassar and Wesleyan are toughest with Skidmore next. Ithaca and Wooster are safe and should come with merit. At Wooster, I believe all do mentored research - so if that’s an interest.
Good luck.
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No worries! Thank you! Interestingly, I ran the NPC for Wesleyan and we qualified for a grant bringing COA to 49k and if my son does student work, it’ll bring it down to around 46k. But the NPC was for 2024-25. I’m looking forward to when the NPCs are adjusted for the 2026-27 so we can get a better financial picture.
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I , too, have heard good things about GMU Creative Writing.
A reminder, if he attends in state for undergrad, you can save $ for MFA.
I see in news some changes / caps on amount or even cancellation of programs are coming to federal loans for grad school.
Many pre- med, pre- professional students are reminded to include costs of grad school in budget for deciding undergrad, and I recommend you do, too.
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Wesleyan has a huge English dept and the Creative Writing program is a concentration within it. The list of Wesleyan alum who have gone on to eye-popping success in the writing field is as along as your arm: Robert Ludlum, Robin Cook, Sebastian Junger, Amy Bloom, Akiva Goldsman, Daniel Handler (aka “Lemony Snicket”), and Kenneth Lonergan, to name a few.
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You can assume 5% direct COA increase each year. But, at a school that meets full need, like Wesleyan, need based financial aid will keep pace with the direct cost increases. (Of course if a family’s income/asset picture changes, that may impact financial aid too)
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Add all the theatrical successes to your list- Lin Manual Miranda is an all around impresario and actor-- but his storytelling ability is what got him noticed.
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I had no idea that he went to Wesleyan!
@Mwfan1921 - that’s a good guide, thank you.
@circuitrider - thanks for sharing! Very good to know!
@Hippobirdy - you make a very good point about considering the costs of grad school. I know kids evolve and change their minds, but that’s a great recommendation. I’ve heard about the recent news regarding federal loans, possible cancellation of programs at some schools. This highlights the importance of doing research on each school one is considering - overall financial health, program strength/size. Thank you for your insight.
I’ve also heard many great things about GMU’s creative writing program - a BFA. GMU is very underrated and unfortunately not looked at favorably among students from northern VA because it’s too close to home, it is still trying to shed its reputation of being a commuter school, and it’s considered a backup for most students here who didn’t get into UVA/Va Tech/W&M/JMU.
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The other thing is - I looked at several sources - for an MFA with creative writing, the average salary is - source dependent $62k (came up most often) to $65k. Many are freelancers. So yes cost matter. But many don’t go right through and many don’t have a BFA.
At UVA in the career #s they showed one creative writing undegrad, no salary.
For every name a school publishes - and most will have well known folks - most aren’t those names. It’s like my college - Syracuse and journalism. Yes, we have great ones and they tell you the same great ones over and over - but most aren’t.
Pursue the dream but plan for all scenarios.
Here’s some GMU alum you can maybe reach out to or have the school set you up a meeting. It’s not a bad thing to do at any school actually - to get a feel. Or look some up on LinkedIn and ask for an informational interview about the program - any program.
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