Since you’re open to schools that aren’t big, I’m going to start throwing out some names:
Emerson (MA): This Boston school has about 4200 undergrads and has definite niche. In fact, when you arrive at the home page the message says, “Ignite your passion for the arts, communication, and media at Emerson College.” So it’s very clear where its focus lies. There are some majors that could be of interest to you such as Writing, Literature & Publishing; Marketing Communication; and Business of Creative Enterprises. Their writing/literature/publishing page boasts of a number of alumni at well-known publishing houses, so although I believe in broad, generalist degrees (like plain old English), this does seem a place where you might be able to tap into a solid network to work towards the areas where you currently are thinking you want to head. But if you’re avoiding NYC because of the cost-of-living, Boston’s not that much better.
Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads at this school. Again, there’s no necessity to have a major with a specific name, but their existence is an easier way to show the breadth of the types of courses that are offered at this school. There are majors here in Advertising & Public Relations; Communication Arts; Communication Studies; Creative Writing; English Literature; Journalism & Digital Content; Marketing; Professional & Civic Writing; and Publishing & Editing. Susquehanna is also very generous in doling out merit aid.
Seeing that you like larger schools because you want a diverse and dense/urban environment, then you may want to consider:
- U. of Minnesota – Twin Cities
- U. of Pittsburgh (PA )
- Old Dominion (VA)
- George Mason (VA)
- Virginia Commonwealth
And…Tsbna just mentioned most of the latter ones!