Then why not VCU which is the state’s most creative school - has a minor plus MFA?
He reached out to his AO at the University of Richmond almost 2 weeks ago now and so far no word from them! He’ll check his spam folder after marching band rehearsal today. That’s what I was thinking too - that the program might be so small that they may have removed it? If S26 doesn’t see an email, I am going to urge him to call. Thank you!
VCU is too urban for him unfortunately. He prefers suburban/rural - your typical college campus with green spaces.
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If looking at App state, he could check out Watauga Residential College (alongside the Honors college).
UNC Asheville would be a safety so not sure it’s more interesting than his current safeties but it’s been known as a very creative place located in an “artist colony”. They have Creative Writing as an English track and an Honors program. However I do think his list is well-balanced so an extra safety isn’t needed unless he likes the setting better (in fact, his adviser is right he may have a shot at Princeton) 
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Speaking of super-elites with strong creative writing and close to NoVA… is urban-ness also the reason he’s not lobbing an app at JHU?
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We suggested JHU and he shrugged his shoulders, much like when his counselor suggested Princeton. JHU, I’ve heard has a great creative writing program along with Brown, but their NPC puts them over our budget unfortunately.
More regional but Marshall is suburban, nice campus and cheap. And has the major.
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What difference does it make if they call it a major or a minor???
W&M requires 120 credits for graduation with 15 credits in the core. A History major requires 33 credits, an English major require 36. So, that leaves 48-51 credits for other courses. The fact that the Creative Writing minor requires only 20 credits doesn’t men that a student is limited to 20 credits. A dozen Creative Writing courses are offered. If a student took them all, he would have 36 credits in Creative Writing, which is the same number of credits as is required for an English major. There is a senior thesis required in Creative Writing. There is also a Creative Writing Honors Program, which includes an intensive year long project in the study of Creative Writing. It may not be called a major, but it seems to me that a student can do a lot of study in Creative Writing at William & Mary.
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I’m not familiar with in-state admissions because I am out of state, but both UVA and W&M are excellent excellent excellent schools for the price you will pay. There is a reason UVA can charge almost $80k with absolute zero merit aid and still fill a third of the school with out of state students. A W&M degree got Jon Stewart creative writing gigs.
Mary Washington has a strong history & political science program and seems to fit with his other choices. Dickinson, Gettysburg, Susquehanna all similar sizes and locations and all give aid. Carlisle more of a town than the other two.
Thank you so much for highlighting those aspects about W&M’s major requirements/major, minor credits/creative writing honors program. I appreciate how you allowed me to look at it from that perspective and made me dive into their programs. Thank you! I will communicate all this with my S26 to get him excited about W&M.
Thank you, @overlyinvolveddad @fiftyfifty1 . We are blessed with good in-state options here in VA. Very grateful for that.
I had no idea! Thanks for the info! Mary Washington, Dickinson, and Gettysburg were on his list. I’m not sure why he dropped them. Definitely worth re-visiting/re-considering as he finalizes his list. Susquehanna is on his list! Thank you so much!
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With respect to your son’s interest in creative writing, these sites are more descriptive than some others that might be available:
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Here is a random list of contemporary best selling and most acclaimed American writers and where they went to college. See if you can detect the pattern:
Margaret Atwood - Harvard
Michael Chabon - Pitt
Don DeLillo - Fordham University
Robert Dylan - Greenwich Village University
Jennifer Egan - Penn
Brian Evenson - Brigham Young University
Jonathan Safran Foer - Princeton
Jonathan Franzer - Swarthmore
John Irving - University of New Hampshire
Stephen King - University of Maine
Rachel Kushner - UC Berkeley
Juhmper Lahiri - Barnard
James Patterson - Manhattan University
Thomas Pynchon - Cornell
Nora Robert’s - School of Hard Knocks
George Saunders - Colorado School of Mines
Danielle Steel - NYU
R.L. Stine - Ohio State
Anne Tyler - Duke
Ocean Vuong - Brooklyn College
Alice Walker - Sarah Lawrence
Colson Whitehead - Harvard
Diane Williams - Penn
Karen Tei Yanashita - Carleton
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I know you mentioned a budget of under $50k, but your son totally sounds like a Hamilton kid. That place is filled with pleasant and collaborative learners and my son was engaged with both the history and writing departments and had a great experience. They are generous with need based aid, so it might be worth running the calculator just to see. The music scene there is great with tons of student lead ensembles in addition to a symphony orchestra and a brass choir. It has a vibrant campus life and is located in a beautiful part of NY State.
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Thank you. I appreciate seeing a mix of very selective to not-as-selective schools. It’s suggesting that it’s less about which school, but more about having many opportunities to write. That’s what I’m taking away from your list.
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Thanks for that suggestion! I will look at the NPC. I’ve heard many great things about Hamilton but not sure why S26 didn’t mention it. I will share this with him. Thank you!
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[quote=“TheMonaLisa, post:33, topic:3694222, full:true”] I appreciate seeing a mix of very selective to not-as-selective schools. It’s suggesting that it’s less about which school, but more about having many opportunities to write. That’s what I’m taking away from your list.
[/quote]
Exactly. You got it!
Plus, don’t underestimate the importance of life experience. You have to have something to write about.
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Honestly, one can write anywhere. I hope the student finds a mentor wherever they go, that inspires them.
I’m guessing the school name matters little - great writers come from everywhere.
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Update! S26 applied EA to the schools on this list that offer EA and so far applied RD to 2 of the schools on this list that only offer ED or RD. He was surprised to already have an acceptance from Susquehanna University which he wasn’t expecting until December! $52,500 merit/grants bringing the total COA to well below our budget, well below in-state public schools COA, so we are thrilled and grateful. We are visiting in a few weeks for their admitted students’ day. S26 is definitely considering Susquehanna, but he wants to see how it all plays out for the rest of the EA & RD schools.
Thanks for letting me share!
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Congrats. Did he submit a profile for Creative Writing ? It says you need to so hope he got the major. Make sure to set a meeting with the department, in addition to the regular stuff.
Hope he loves it!!
It takes the pressure off. Congrats to him.
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Tagging @MaineLonghorn who can give some insight into Susquehanna
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Congratulations to your son on his acceptance to Susquehanna with such an awesome financial package!
I was slammed with life when you originally started this thread, so I didn’t see this until now. Although EA and some RD applications have gone out, there are a couple of schools that I don’t think were mentioned that I think would be worth investigating, if your son is still interested in options:
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Ithaca (NY): About 4400 undergrads at this school located in what most acclaim to be a great college town on the Finger Lakes (6h3m from Fairfax, VA in current driving conditions). Students can also cross-register for classes at Cornell, located about a mile away. You can read about its writing major, which also seems to have strong links with writing internships. And here’s info on its history major. Although the application deadline for its biggest scholarship (full tuition) has passed, other named scholarships have deadlines for Dec. 1, and I suspect that your son would receive generous general merit aid here, too, even if he does not receive a named scholarship.
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SUNY Purchase: About 3200 undergrads at this school that really embodies the creative arts. You can read about its creative writing major (which requires a portfolio submission for admission). I’m linking its history program, too. The school is located about 30 miles away from NYC, so accessible but still having a more bucolic setting. It’s about 3h48m from Fairfax, VA in current driving conditions.
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Drew (NJ): About 1600 undergrads at this school that’s less than an hour from NYC. The campus and town have gotten positive feedback for being a cute small town with easy proximity to the Big Apple. It offers a concentration in creative writing within its English major, with various student publications and organizations of interest. The school also offers a semester where students will take classes in NYC two days a week, focusing on the media in NYC (including publishers). Here’s the link to its history major, too. I didn’t note any scholarship deadlines, but there are merit scholarships up to $27k that can stack with other scholarships (such as $3k for their Baldwin honors program and $1500 for arts). The campus is 4h24m from Fairfax, VA in current driving conditions.
It sounds like he’s got a great list of schools that he’s applied to already anyway, and I’m looking forward to hearing how the rest of his college selection process goes!
ETA: Did nobody mention Oberlin? About 3k undergrads at a school that is 6h24m from Fairfax, VA in current driving conditions. Very strong in your son’s areas of interest as well. It recently joined Colleges That Change Lives, so you can read its profile from there. It’s marketing material, but I think CTCL profiles tend to do a good job in giving a sense of a school: Oberlin College – Colleges That Change Lives
The first three schools I mentioned would be likely/extremely likely admits, while Oberlin would probably be a toss-up (40-59%)).
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