Aspiring writer, 35 ACT. Which colleges are right for me?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hello everyone. Long-time reader, first-time poster; thanks for taking the time to help me out. In short, I'm a high school senior who has yet to decide which colleges to apply to. I came here to seek human input rather than the arbitrary lists and homogeneous statistics I see on websites. I have a lot of questions, but if you can only answer one or even give general advice, I would appreciate it.</p>

<p>About me:
- I want to write. Probably novels/poetry/humor, not journalism. This might mean that I'll end up becoming a professor, so it's very likely that I'll go to graduate school.
- I'm thinking about majoring in English. (Feel free to suggest other majors.)
- Test scores: 35 ACT, 5 in all four APs I've taken. I will take six more APs next year.
- GPA: 4.0. My school doesn't have a weighted system, but take notice of the ten APs.
- Extracurricular: President of chess club Freshman and Sophomore year but otherwise sparse until Junior year, when I was joined seven or eight clubs. Service clubs, Quiz Bowl, NHS, etc. No sports.
- Volunteerism: Usually around 50 to 70 hours a year.
- Home state: Tennessee
- Socioeconomic status: Lower-middle class. Mom is a teacher, dad and step-dad work in factories, step-mom is a stay-at-home-mom.
- I'm male and want to go to a coed school.</p>

<p>Broadly, I want to go to a college that offers an excellent education for my intended career goals. My family can't contribute much and I don't want to go into debt, so if I get into an expensive school it must offer good need-based financial aid. I'm used to living in a small town, but a college located in a bigger city will probably be okay for me as long as I can affordably live on campus.</p>

<p>Universities I'm considering:
- Ivy League: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia. Do any of these stand out for my purposes? Should I be considering the four other Ivies as well? Or should I not reach for the Ivy League?
* Other top 20: Emory, Vanderbilt. Emory is supposed to be good for writers, and Vandy is only a couple hours away. All other things being equal, which of these two would suit me better given my goals and financial needs?</p>

<p>Liberal Arts colleges I'm considering:
- ???
(I definitely need further guidance here. Liberal Arts colleges all seem so similar that I can't zero in on specific ones. I know that Williams and Amherst are near the top, and Hamilton is strong in writing. What about those? Would a liberal arts college be better than a university for what I want?)</p>

<p>I will also apply to a safety school. Have I aimed too high with what I've listed above?</p>

<p>In general, I'm wondering what steps I should take to pull in good-fit colleges that I didn't list, while also narrowing down my options. I want a few reach schools and a few very good fits that I'm extremely likely to get into. Remember, good financial aid programs are a must. All suggestions, feedback, or tips will be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>What is your estimated family contribution ? You look pretty good for Vanderbilt. You should give it a serious consideration since you are a Tennessee resident.</p>

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<p>I hate to be the one to say this, but your criteria can probably be met by any one of the top 100 ranked colleges and universities. Off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen schools you haven’t mentioned yet, including JHU and Wesleyan: [Welcome</a>, Writing Certificate - Wesleyan University](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/writing/certificate/index.html]Welcome”>Welcome, Writing Certificate - Wesleyan University)</p>

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<p>@Xtreme Power - I don’t know how to calculate my estimated family contribution because my parents are divorced. What are the rules for that? My mom is my custodial parent, but I’ve actually lived with my grandfather for the last three years. I also receive child support from my dad. I am my mom’s only dependent, but my dad has two young children and a stay-at-home wife.</p>

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<p>Sarah Lawrence in NY is really good for writing but it’s also really expensive</p>

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<p>Thanks for your honesty. I know a lot of schools may <em>meet</em> my requirements, but surely some are better fits than others? What other questions should I ask to narrow my options down?</p>

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<p>If you’re going to apply to Emory, also apply to its scholars program: [Emory</a> Scholars | Emory College of Arts and Sciences Admission](<a href=“http://www.emory.edu/admission/financial_aid/merit_scholarships/emory_scholars.html]Emory”>Admission | Emory University | Atlanta GA)</p>

<p>It’s highly selective, but someone with a 35ACT is a viable contender for it, although acceptance is obviously not guaranteed.</p>

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<p>Denlah, First, get a handle on the financials. Most likely you will qualify for enough need based aid to make a private college workable. Ask your parents (both of them) to use an on-line calculator to get an idea of how much need based aid you would be eligible for. It will vary from school to school, but that will at least give you a starting point. </p>

<p>If the projected need based aid works for you then you can proceed with a wide list. If, on the other hand, you require merit aid, then you must concentrate on schools that offer it. Some of the schools on your list do (Emory for example). Most do not (the Ivy League and the most selective LACs).</p>

<p>I’m going to have to agree with circuitrider: there are dozens of colleges/universities that would be a good fit for your life goals. Classwork at academically rigorous colleges is all about expressing yourself verbally. Most (all?) selective colleges have healthy creative writing programs – often part of the English department – with respected authors on the faculty. Honestly, I can’t think of a single academically rigorous college that ISN’T “good for writers.”</p>

<p>A good place to start might be to look at the English department to see what writers are on the faculty – either permanent or visiting. Or search a few of your favorite writers and see where they teach. Look at the creative writing courses on offer. Do they offer a major, a concentration?</p>

<p>Small liberal arts colleges have distinctive personalities. In order to determine which would be the best fit for you, we have to know what you like. If you can’t afford to visit, then spend some time on line and with college advice books to get an idea of the differences. </p>

<p>This is very rough and not foolproof, but once you do some research you should be able to identify some general groupings. If you like Swarthmore, you may like Reed, Wesleyan, Haverford, Grinnell, Bard. If you like Williams & Amherst you may like Hamilton, Kenyon, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Carleton.</p>

<p>My son is a Williams grad and I can tell you that writing, both creative and factual, is a focus of the curriculum. Writers on faculty are Andrea Barrett, Jim Shepard, Karen Shepard, plus others visiting. You would find similar credentials at other academically rigorous LACs.</p>

<p>You can zero in by thinking about what you’d like: e.g. urban/suburban/rural, artsy/sporty/political. Once you find a college that sounds good, you can find others with the same personality in varying levels of selectivity. I wouldn’t say that LACs are better than large or medium universities, just different. Smaller classes, close knit social groups, nurturing relationships with professors, good track record on graduate schools. </p>

<p>If you’re going for selective colleges, you need to work on how to present your extracurriculars. If you write now, you’ll want to think about how to best present that in your application – in essays, recommendation, examples of your work, perhaps a writing resume/package that focusses your involvement.</p>

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<p>Whenhen, thanks for your lead on the Emory Scholars Program. That will be useful if I decide to go there!</p>

<p>Momrath, thank you for your extensive analysis of my situation. I’ll be sure to craft my presentation of myself and extracurricular involvement carefully, and I’ll work on a writing resume as well. I had a published piece win second place in a state contest recently, so I’ll be sure to include it.</p>

<p>I have trouble contrasting English departments of various schools. Deciding which team of writers I would work best for me has always seemed like deciding which foreign delicacy I’d like to try. They all look good, but I wouldn’t know what I’d like best unless I tried each of them. What should I do about that?</p>

<p>Thank you for the information on groupings and financial aid. I think I can receive decent aid packages from the well-endowed schools, but my living situations prevent me from using an EFC calculator easily. If you’re willing to provide further guidance on that front, I discuss my circumstances on this thread: <a href=“Financial aid help: Divorced parents. - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Financial aid help: Divorced parents. - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>Den, I think the truth is that at academically rigorous colleges and universities the English departments really are all good. English, like biology, history, economics and other popular majors, is the mainstay of a liberal arts education, either at a small LAC or a medium or large university.</p>

<p>Some points of differentiation would be whether they offer a major or concentration in creative writing (which may or may not be of interest to you) and the intensity of political activism which influences how seemingly unrelated courses are taught.</p>

<p>Most importantly think about class size and student body personality as these affect the learning dynamic. Apply to as many super-selectives and reaches as you have the energy for. Worry about differences after you get your acceptances and financial packages.</p>

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<p>Den…you’re not lower middle class. Your mom and stepdad are your custodial parents and they make $90k per year. That’s the high end of middle class.</p>

<p>Since the top schools that you’ve expressed interest in on other threads will require the financial info from ALL parents, you need to ask your parents how much they’ll contribute. </p>

<p>Your financial situation doesn’t sound great because your other posts sound like your dad can’t contribute, and your stepdad won’t contribute…so how much will your mom contribute? </p>

<p>The Net Price Calculators do NOT work well for those with divorced parents. </p>

<p>It’s ok to apply to some of these top schools and see what happens, but you need to protect yourself by applying to some schools that will give you HUGE merit for your stats. Those can be your back up schools.</p>

<p>How did you do on your PSAT? Are you a likely NMSF?</p>

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<p>Northwestern’s writing program is well-known, especially for creative writing.
[Major</a> in Writing - Undergraduate - English Department - Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences: Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.english.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/writing-major/major_in_writing.html]Major”>http://www.english.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/writing-major/major_in_writing.html)</p>

<p>It’s also very generous to low-income students and is actively trying to increase its Pell grant recipients.</p>

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<p>You’re right, but the numbers don’t match up well with the situation. My mom’s salary as a teacher wasn’t enough to support us (she worked a part-time job before remarrying), and my stepdad had some debt. So $90K may seem like upper-middle class, but that doesn’t represent lifestyle or our actual ability to pay.</p>

<p>Though I concede that colleges look only at the numbers.</p>

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<p>Yes, thank you (and several other posters) for helping me realize this. I will make sure to apply to good financial safeties, though I think I have a very good shot and Vanderbilt and Emory. Realistically, I realize that the Ivy League is a very far reach for me. My scores are solid, but with my ECs it’s a crapshoot. I didn’t go into great detail on this thread so they aren’t as bad as they look, but neither are they outstanding. </p>

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<p>I think my PSAT was 224, so that makes me a likely NMSF for Tennessee.</p>

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<p>You would likely get some good (but not great) merit $ from Kenyon which has an awesome writing program. Here are some thread to peruse for merit $:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The NMF one is a little dated but will direct you to schools that value National Merit students.</p>

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<p>How far I have come in these last seven months. This thread was my first on the CC boards, as evidenced by my utter lack of direction. But as my first it was, perhaps, my most important. My thanks go out to all of those who had the patience to direct me, for it is you who set me off on a path that has had a truly amazing ending.</p>

<p>With your help I found some awesome colleges and universities to apply to. After visiting many of them just last week, Princeton emerged as my clear top choice. Two days ago I was shocked and humbled to learn that I have been offered a spot in their Class of 2018. I have not received their aid award yet, but Williams College, for one, has offered me unbelievably affordable aid. I have little doubt that my aid at Princeton, too, will be extraordinary. The University has the highest per-student endowment of any school in America and is renowned for its generosity.</p>

<p>I have also received wonderful offers from Pomona, Vassar, and the University of Pennsylvania. @mom2collegekids will be pleased to know that I received an offer of a full merit scholarship from my state flagship, and additionally I was offered one of fifteen seats in its most prestigious scholars program. (It was actually the governor’s dad who called me to say I got in. Way cool.) And I did become a National Merit Finalist.</p>

<p>@Erin’s_Dad should know that I visited Kenyon in October and absolutely fell in love with it. The trees were dressed in gorgeous orange and yellow, and the whole college just glowed with magic. I interviewed while I was up there and made my interest very clear, but unfortunately Kenyon has Tuft’s Syndrome something awful. They waitlisted me. I had the same luck with Grinnell, but that’s okay. I’m going to my first choice college and it is absolutely the perfect place for me.</p>

<p>Future readers of this thread should absorb all the advice I was given, for I now can see that it was really spot-on. Momrath hit the nail on the head when she said to “apply to as many super-selectives and reaches as you have the energy for.” Really, do this. I have a friend who’s a frosh at Princeton who was rejected from Yale, but my Yale tour guide was a Princeton reject. Admissions boards are finicky, and it could be that the reach you never thought you stood a shot at will be the school that smiles upon you.</p>

<p>But also make sure you have a financial safety like mom2collegekids stresses, and then have plenty of good fits. As a last bit of advice, I strongly urge seniors to dig up the world of liberal arts colleges. They are, indubitably, the greatest overlooked gems in the college world. I loved them all more than I loved the universities I visited. Princeton was the soul exception to this rule, but I loved it for all the reasons I loved LACs–the focus on undergraduates, the quaint town, the gorgeous campus unbroken by streets.</p>

<p>Thanks again to all of you who have shown genuine care through your unwavering kindness and assistance. I am so grateful for it.</p>

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<p>Deniah funny you should mention Grinnell - family connections with Grinnell and Drake too. Currently my nephew is a college prof (in history, not in Iowa).</p>

<p>You picked up all the info you needed very quickly - so your test scores translate into your practical use of your abilities to analyze and sift through the college search and application process with diligence. Glad you were able to get your applications in where you needed them to go.</p>

<p>Also glad you were able to do it all as well as you did, and line up the college visits (during your school spring break?) Sorting out the final financial picture to attend, but glad you have found some great choices.</p>

<p>Best wishes to you as you move on to some great adventures in education. Glad CC parents and students were able to assist you. </p>

<p>Didn’t have the internet when I went to college (back then main frame computers at tech schools and large universities…the dark ages…we ran fortran programs using cards with the mainframe…lol). The communication tools certainly has changed many things in our lives - like the college search and application process.</p>

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<p>Congrats OP! Glad you got into so many competitive and prestigious schools - you can’t go wrong with any of them.</p>

<p>Love the emphasis on SLACs :smiley: I attended a small selective liberal arts college as well, and it transformed my life in such a great way.</p>

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<p>Start with some research through your main writing-student “professional” association: <a href=“https://www.awpwriter.org/”>https://www.awpwriter.org/&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>EDIT: I did it again. Posted to the 2013 side of this thread. Sigh. </p>