Which LACs are best for an an aspiring writer?

[Denlah]

<p>Hey everyone! Sorry that I stopped actively replying, school started back and my six APs (Art History in particular) hit me hard. Thanks everyone for your awesome suggestions.</p>

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@Ephman

Regarding financial aid, I would apply to as many schools as you can which interest you, and worry about financial aid after you are accepted. Schools which may rank lower on best value lists may still end up giving you a really great offer – financial aid is idiosyncratic and unpredictable, even from applicant to applicant. Plus, a school may be inclined to match a financial aid offer, particular if they really want you and your better offer is from a higher-ranked institution. So more acceptances may = more leverage in the end.

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<p>One step ahead of you! My friends and family swear I’m crazy, but once I whittled my shortlist down to fifteen schools, I froze it and said I was applying to all of them. Will it cost me $500 more than if I was applying to 7 schools? Yes. Will it save me more than $500 in the long run? Probably.</p>

<p>Also thanks for your specific recommendations. Both Williams and Kenyon did make my fifteen-college list. So did a few universities, namely Emory (great writing program), Vanderbilt (in my state, beautiful campus, I love Nashville), and a few Ivies (great academics and financial aid).</p>

<p>I’m still open to suggestions, but the LACs currently on my shortlist are Amherst, Grinnell, Hamilton, Kenyon, Pomona, Swarthmore, Vassar, and Williams. Everyone’s recommendations on this thread proved massively helpful in giving me leads on these schools. My thanks go out to all.</p>

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@warblersrule

In addition to Bard, many other less selective LACs have excellent writing programs, including Knox, Denison, Warren Wilson, Hollins (N/A for the OP), Beloit, U Redlands, etc. They’re well outside the OP’s preferred USNWR top 20, but merit aid sufficient to cover most of the COA is usually found at colleges with stats (well) below one’s own.

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<p>I may add one merit-aid-granting financial safety if you guys are adamant that I need it, but I have been under the impression that my merit aid at less selective schools would be approximately equivalent to my financial aid from top LACs. Please correct me if this is not the case. My current financial safety is a public university in my state, which I will get a full ride to, though I’d certainly prefer Bard is I could attend for <$12,500/year.</p>

<p>For the record, the main reason I gravitate towards top schools is not prestige nor even academics. It’s the students. My friend group here is very small because most people can’t relate to me. If I go to a school where 75% of students have ACT scores of 28+, I’ll fit in well. I want my college years to be happy. :)</p>

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@ucbalumnus

You should run the net price calculators on each college’s web site to get estimates specific to your family’s financial situation

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<p>My parents are divorced and I don’t live with either of them; this has made running the financial aid calculators prohibitively difficult. Plus, such calculations would return less accurate results anyway, as intparent noted:</p>

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@intparent

It can be less accurate if your parents are divorced, if you or your parents have trusts, or if your parents have a small business.

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<p>My assumption that I will get an average grant is based on the fact that my mom and stepdad gross roughly $95000/year but have negative assets, while my dad and stepmom will probably not be expected to contribute because they gross about $35000/year and have two small children. It’s a rough but reasonable estimate given the socioeconomic profiles of those receiving grants at these schools.</p>

<p>Thanks again to all who posted; even if I didn’t respond to you individually, I still found your feedback helpful! :)</p>