My high school junior is a strong writer looking to focus on creative writing. She has a 3.3 GPA and hasn’t taken the SAT yet but it will likely be around 1220 (she struggles with math). She is interested in Bard, Bennington, and Sarah Lawrence. Are these a huge stretch? What other schools should we consider in the Northeast?
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@AustenNut Can you do your magic?
I don’t have much time right now, but these are some schools that I would look into more:
- Emerson
- Hampshire
- Susquehanna
- Ithaca
- SUNY Oswego
- SUNY Purchase
- SUNY Potsdam
- Loyola Maryland
- Arcadia
- Lebanon Valley
And yes, I definitely think your D would have a chance at Bard, Bennington, and Sarah Lawrence.
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I would think she’d have a good shot at Oberlin, which is test optional, and has an excellent creative writing program. It can’t be declared at the outset, you have to apply in after your first year, but it’s a well regarded department.
I think Oberlin would be a big reach with a 3.3 GPA and it is not in the Northeast.
The OP might look into Goucher in addition to @AustenNut suggestions.
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Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Bennington and Oberlin have very similar average GPA stats, so I’m not in agreement there. Obviously, geography is not in the OP’s wishlist, but for creative writing focus, it’s a top school, so that’s why I raised it.
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I just would not say there is a "good shot " of admission. It would be a big reach and the OP would need to consider geography. FWIW I’m a fan of Oberlin.
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OP here, thank you!
We would consider other parts of the country. It’s just that we’re going to be in New England soon to see colleges. Susquehanna and Goucher are on our way, so thank you for those suggestions! We’ll look into the others too.
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sewanee (in TN) can be a turn-off in terms of greek life and drinking culture (which is why i didn’t apply) but it hosts the sewanee young writers’ conference every summer and has a strong creative writing program from my understanding (also a really gorgeous hogwarts-y campus)! i have friends from creative writing camps who attend there and love it. your daughter’s GPA is low for them but 1220 is in the middle 50% for SAT.
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A different kind of school than the others mentioned, but the University of Iowa is very well-known for excellent writing programs, and this student would likely be admitted.
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If Susquehanna is on your way then I’ll recommend looking at Muhlenberg too. My D23 is a first year student there now. She was also looking for Creative Writing programs and many of the schools people have mentioned here were on her list.
Muhlenberg has a Creative Writing major that is different than their English Literature major - we saw many schools where Creative Writing was only a minor, or was just a concentration within a Literature major. They also offer many specific genres of creative writing without a lot of pre-requisites (we looked at several schools where students had to complete 1-3 requirements in the English dept before they could take a creative writing class). My D did not have to take any other English classes before jumping into a writing class -she’s taking Intro to Playwriting currently and loving it.
I recommend checking out the catalogs for any programs she’s considering to see what types of creative writing classes are offered, how soon a student can take them, and how many they can take towards the major requirements. That can also give you a sense of any specific focus of the department - do they lean more towards nonfiction, or arts writing, or genre fiction, etc… When you visit, ask about opportunities for students to showcase their works as well. Hope this is helpful.
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Maybe Endicott? I have a friend whose daughter loves it there, she’s an English major.
Oberlin is an amazing suggestion!
Also Drew University maybe.
Wheaton MA? While my son doesn’t want to go there right now, it is currently one of my favorites- just a great school and with similar stats my son got honors college, merit of $30+, plus a summer stipend.
Just saw you are going to be in New England soon- I would also recommend Merrimack- every single person who has gone there raves about it, son doesn’t like small colleges and wants big 10 grrrr. UNH, Totally agree with @AustenNut about Emerson- perfect suggestion. Suffolk University is right next to it but not sure about their creative writing program, just easy to walk over. And Clark University. My son with similar stats got into all of them and got merit at all except Emerson.
I also think she will be fine at Bard if you choose it, my son got in there- I have to be honest, I have no idea why we applied, I think it was my recollections of it as a kid- he is all math no art- biggest waste of an application fee ever. He has a 1280 SAT (700 math) and had a 3.36 at the time he applied. (His 3.36 is a little weird b/c it is weighted and the way the school weights an A in an AP class is a 4.0 so the highest you can get in college prep is a 3.7 which means when schools reweight GPAs it might go up to a 3.6/ 3.7. But regardless- similar stats on paper.
My son had a lot of good results so don’t be afraid to punch above her weight- as long as you have the safeties and secure targets. He has a competitive sport but its not recruitable (not NCAA) and most college campuses only have it as a club so I think to them its a regular EC.
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Okay, I have a little bit more time to explain why I selected the schools I did.
I often think there’s a correlation between the size of a department/major and its strength. Either a school is known for a particular field, so more people attend because of it, or students try out a class and then find the instructors really engaging and want to continue. Even if neither of the above ideas are true, it also means that there’s likely to be more electives offered and more certainty that the major will continue and not face elimination in future budget cuts.
So, for a quick filter, I looked at schools that had a creative writing major (which does not capture all the colleges that have a creative writing concentration within their English major) and looked for which colleges had the most, using this link which makes it easy to find the results for the class of 2022. That link will also allow you to narrow down by state or region of the country or undergraduate enrollment, etc. I then looked for schools that seemed to be small (or small to medium) as the schools you mentioned seemed to have that in common.
I went ahead and looked at College Navigator to pull the number of undergrads in 2023 in creative writing as well. Most of the schools had definite drops in the number of undergrads graduating in the field between last year and this year, though part of it is probably the demographic enrollment cliff that gets discussed in higher ed (smaller pool of students to maintain schools). I’ve sorted the schools by my guesses as to what your D’s chances might be at these schools.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Arcadia (PA ): About 1900 undergrads. 78% acceptance rate with no more than 26% submitting tests. 14 creative writing grads in '22 and 9 in '23 (along with 24 Master’s in creative writing).
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SUNY Oswego (NY): About 5900 undergrads. 83% acceptance rate with no more than 31% submitting tests. 26 creative writing grads in '22 and 24 in '23.
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SUNY Potsdam (NY): About 2100 undergrads. 83% acceptance rate with no more than 1% submitting tests. 19 creative writing grads in '22 and 8 in '23 (along with another 3 grads in Writing, General).
Likely (60-79%)
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Hampshire (MA): About 500 undergrads. 69% acceptance rate and it’s test blind. It’s part of a consortium with UMass, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Amherst so students can take classes at the other schools. 24 creative writing grads in 2022, but only 4 in 2023.
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Ithaca (NY): About 4600 undergrads. 75% acceptance rate with no more than 35% submitting tests. 35 creative writing grads in '22 and 25 in '23.
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Loyola Maryland: About 4k undergrads with an 83% acceptance rate and no more than 34% of students submitting their tests. 23 creative writing grads in '22 and 16 in '23.
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SUNY Purchase (NY): About 3100 undergrads. A 75% acceptance rate with no more than 13% submitting tests. 23 creative writing grads in '22 and 11 in '23.
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Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads. 77% acceptance rate with no more than 58% submitting their tests. 38 creative writing grads in '22 and 33 in '23.
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Lower Probability (20-39%)
- Emerson (MA): About 4200 undergrads. 43% acceptance rate with no more than 30% submitting a test. 124 grads in 2022, 90 in 2023.
Low Probability (less than 20%)
If you let us know more about your daughter’s interests and what she wants out of a college (as well as what the budget is), we can provide more targeted suggestions than creative writing schools in the northeast.
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I agree that a 3.3 will be a tough admit for Oberlin, especially test optional. From their 2021 data set
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I couldn’t find Sarah Lawrence published incoming freshman grades, but Bards are pretty similar to Oberlin (though Bard has a 60% acceptance rate and Oberlin is about 30%). Bennington would be a better match for a 3.3 GPA.
From Benningtons Common Data Set
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I think yes, she’ll have a shot at those schools.
You should look at some of the different ways to apply at Bard and see if you think any of there might allow your D to make a stronger impression that way than by submitting a traditional application. These alternatives were designed to create that opportunity for some.
Not that it’s essential, but any outlets she can find for publication or prizes could also help. Just mentioning this to build on the story of her strengths (and to worry less about “good enough”)
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Another thing to consider is affordability. I don’t think any of the schools listed guarantee to fully meet need (I could be wrong) and while many schools give merit money on this list - the amount is often correlates to GPA and scores (if submitted).
Please make sure the schools your child applies to are affordable, nothing worse than getting an acceptance to the school without enough money to attend.
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Is the 3.3 weighted or unweighted?
Does your daughter have a preference between a BA and a BFA? (The latter being far more intensive, whereas the former is more broad and leaves more room for electives, minors, double-majors, etc.) Admissions-wise, BFA programs may weight a portfolio more heavily.
I know you’re focusing on Northeast right now, but I’d also keep Asheville, NC in mind as a possible destination. Both UNCA and Warren Wilson would be worth looking at:
Both could be relatively affordable, as UNCA’s OOS COA is around $43K, and Warren Wilson is generous with merit.
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Hello! First time posting here. I also have a daughter interested in creative writing. Although it’s not in the northeast, we recently visited Beloit College in Wisconsin. They had a very interesting artist in residence program, a new student union that was built in the shell of an old abandoned powerplant, and an overall friendly vibe. She visited a creative writing class and met with one of the professors. She loved it all! If your daughter is interested in a very small LAC, we were super impressed by it.
My daughter’s stats are a bit higher than yours which might affect things, but they were super generous with merit aid as well.
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