Very helpful, thank you!
Thank you so much! Amazing☺️
Budget is not a primary consideration. She would like a place where she could participate in theater, without majoring in it, maybe do some costume or fashion design, with a friendly LGBTQ culture, and with kids like herself who play D & D and are of that ilk (a bit nerdy—Bard seemed to fit socially!) she’s open to city or countryside but not a big fan of Boston. A preference for a small close that’s friendly and close knit (though she’d consider larger). Customizable academic journey (we looked at Hampshire last summer and it seemed a bit run down and too loose, didn’t seem intellectual enough). She doesn’t want mandatory classes like math and science (no distribution requirements). Good support for learning differences (dyslexia) and a kind environment, with accessible and caring teachers.
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Sounds like she’d like the vibe at Knox and Beloit.
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In this case I would definitely advise checking out Muhlenberg. Great, large theatre program. My daughter is a double major Creative Writing and Theatre but all of the opportunities are also open to non-majors. My D is working in the costume shop now and loves it! Their English program is housed in the arts building and there is a nice synergy between the programs. My daughter’s creative writing interest is in scriptwriting as well as genre fiction so it is a great fit for her. Campus is very LGBTQ friendly and my D has joined the D&D club on campus too. It sounds like they have a lot of common interests! 
Muhlenberg is rolling out a new general education program this year. I haven’t seen a lot of details as it starts with this next incoming class, but it sounds like they are moving away from distribution requirements. However the current program is super flexible (lots of double counting and multiple options) and so it has worked well for my D, who was also looking at open curriculum schools.
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As a reach option, she might want to consider Smith which is in the same consortium as Hampshire, so able to take classes at Amherst, Mount Holyoke, UMass, and Hampshire. My understanding is that there are no distribution requirements there.
A likely admit that might want to be considered is Moravian. There is the Add-Venture program that is a selective program that students need to apply to as an incoming freshman, but if accepted, the distribution requirements are waived. (Here’s an article about it.) I’m unsure how robust the creative writing program is at Moravian, but it is also part of a consortium with Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, and Muhlenberg College, so she could supplement with creative writing options from the other schools.
Is she open to colleges outside of the northeast?
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Thank you! Yes, she’s open to colleges in other areas. We just haven’t made any trips to other areas yet but are starting to get a list together.
She may want to check out Kalamazoo as its distribution requirements (called the K-Plan) are quite minimal and it could be a fit for her.
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Another college to consider is Bryn Mawr in PA (in a suburb of Philadelphia). It has a creative writing program that US News ranks as #14 in what it labels the “Writing Disciplines”. Because it is a women’s college, it’s a bit of an easier admit than others on this list.
One of the advantages of BMC is that it’s part of a consortium with Haverford and Swarthmore and students enrolled in one of these colleges can enroll in courses in any of the others. Swarthmore also has a writing program that’s it well-regarded.
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Bryn Mawr is a great college…but a highly unlikely admit with a 3.3 GPA.
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I’m wondering if the GPA is highly unbalanced -like, lots of As in rigorous in English, Humanities, Social science, and Foreign Language, and Cs in Math/science…
Nevertheless, BMC is quite unlikely, but it can be a long shot (ED1??) IF OPs daughter likes BMC and wants to go through it, if the 3.3 is as ^.
Still, probably not what OP is looking for.
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No details of GPA were given. Just putting it out there that Bryn Mawr would be a big reach for the OP’s child.
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Which type of writing ? Unsure ?
Exactly! A’s and B+’s in everything that isn’t math or science. Worst grade is a C-, in computer programming. C’s in algebra and physics. Probably a solid B in chemistry at the end of this year. No C’s freshman year, the. She went into a slump sophomore year and has been trying to pull out of it this year but will probably still get a C+ in algebra. She has a documented math disability (dyscalculia) if that could be a mitigating factor?
Fiction. Speculative probably.
How much of a reach is too much when applying? We’ll be in Amherst when an extra day and might look at Mt. Holyoke, though when i type my daughter’s stats in, it’s calculated that she’d only have a 20% chance of admission.
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That is entirely a personal decision. IMO there is nothing wrong with applying to a couple of reach schools (assuming they appear affordable if that is a factor) as long as: 1) the applicant understands the college is a reach (and doesn’t set it out to be some kind of perfect dream school) and; 2) there are safety and match schools on the list that the applicant would love to attend.
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I wouldn’t pay too much attention to those stats calculators, especially for someone that’s a strong writer like your daughter probably is. If she also scores well on her verbal SAT, I would think about submitting it to some schools along with a brief explanation of her math disability in the “anything else you’d like to add” section of the common app.
I encouraged my daughter to apply to several safety schools early action, and after she was accepted into those, we added a bunch of reach schools. I feel like you’re not doing it right if you don’t get several rejections. Otherwise you’ll always wonder if you should have gone for more selective schools. A lot of the LACs don’t even charge an application fee so you might as well throw your hat in the ring! I do agree with the previous poster about not having a dream school. We talked about each school she applied to at length and found things that she loved about every school on her list. Very bad idea these days to get fixated on any particular school.
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Her guidance counselor can note that to explain the discrepancy between her ELA/Humanities classes and her STEM classes. You might only want to do this for schools that don’t require gen ed. requirements in math/science.
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Or you can check what the requirements cover. At some universities, it’s straight basics like in HS (intermediate algebra etc,) but at (many) others the professors have designed a math&science curriculum for students who do not need the subject as future specialists but as citizens in the 21st century who need to understand the world around them: they may offer classes such as Geometry in Art, Citizenship Math (voting, elections…), Science in movies, Environmental challenges, Food&Climate Change…
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