<p>So long as you're in it for the debate, I'll keep going.</p>
<p>It does not have to be your primary focus by any means. I've written three books, but writing's never been my primary focus. My focus has been on school, friends, family, life. I'm going to school next year to study Biology and go pre-Med. I'm doing that because it interests me. I know how to write. I do not know how to preform surgery. I would consider a minor in creative writing if the school I'm going to offers one, just because I love the practice. I love being in a group of writers. It's not the lessons that will make me any better. It's the practice and the feedback from other people whether they be fellow students or professors. </p>
<p>My question is, what job? What job that does not completely drain your soul? Sure you can wait tables until midnight. Maybe you can make enough to get by for yourself. But what happens if you want to get married? Or have a family planned or not? You have to work more hours, simple as that. When do you have the time to write? When do you have the time to think about writing?
Liberal arts schools give you a background in everything. Creative writing gives you a background in one thing. That doesn't have anything to do with my arguement.</p>
<p>No offense, but I didn't think you'd understand it. You don't seem to know how to evaluate the logistics behind your own thoughts. And honestly, I don't see promise in exploring the idea with you. While you're earning you undergrad degree, please...PLEASE take some classes in philosophy and then revist this argument. </p>
<p>What have your three books (published or unpublished?) done for the literary world? Do your books resist New Criticism or adhere to it? I'm beginning to realize that you aren't well-enough read in literature nor literary criticism to know. It is disturbing that you feel you're much too good to learn from creative writing lessons-- I agrue that your writing probably isn't the gold you imagine.</p>
<p>On that note, there is no need to continue here. </p>
<p>hello, can i have the best <not really,=“” but=“” near=“” to=“” it=“”> colleges in the midwest? I live in cincinnati, oh and i want to take a major of creative writing or/and journalism. I want it near my home. Thanks! :)</not></p>
<p>My degree is in Creative Writing and although it is true that it is harder to market yourself, it is not a useless degree as ginab591 indicates. My degree has helped me get jobs in corporate communications and journalism. As to teaching English – even a degree in English won’t allow you to teach English K-12 in most states – for that you need an Education degree.</p>
<p>All those schools sound great but the cost is a problem. With the economy as bad as it is i cant afford to get into those kind of schools. My parents want me to go to suny or cuny schools but the best schools are private and cost up to 40,00 dollars or more. what schools can i get into?</p>
<p>Crystal,
Dont count those kind of schools out until you take a look at what your “EFC” is going to be for financial aid purposes. A good place to get a feel for that is FinAid.org . </p>
<p>My daughter looked a several small mid to higher end schools. Our EFC was about $8,000 if I remember right. Coe College in Iowa, which is a ‘sleeper’ school and has a highly regarded program (One of the Iowa Writers Workshop founders was a Coe graduate) had a ‘list price’ of about $35,000, but after all was said and done, they offered about a $25,000 scholarship to her. She was a 3.9 GPA, 28 ACT student with a proven writing record. St Olaf is another that came back with a scholarship that put out final cost down around $20,000. She chose to go to our large state college which also has a great reputation in Creative Writing, and cost about $15,000 out of pocket a year…similar to many of the small privates.</p>
<p>I guess I am just saying keep your options open until you really know your financial situation for sure. Many people assume they will have to pay full price at the small privates.</p>
<p>I think this is a great list, one small note:
JHU is Johns Hopkins University, the name does not have an apostrophe nor is it “John Hopkins”. This seems unimportant, but watch out, the students here get pretty worked up about it!</p>
<p>Just to add on to the argument for a creative writing degree, there is a lot you can do with it if you know how to market yourself. At JHU (where I will be a Writing Seminars/Poli-Sci major in the fall) writing majors are required to take a language, history, philosophy, english, three additional classes outside of the major and all of the required writing courses (this is on top of the distributional requirements of the school where a humanities major needs to take some math and/or science courses and social science courses). So by graduating as a writing sems major from Hopkins, I’ll have taken a broad spectrum of courses, know a second language and be a very strong thinker and writer. While you may make more money as an engineer or a doctor, my skill set is just as needed for companies. Places always need people with strong writing and thinking skills for advertising, PR and marketing. A creative writing major can get work at magazines and newspapers and because many of the programs are small, you can make some amazing connections that you wouldn’t get in your 200 person science class. The world still needs creative thinkers. A creative writing major isn’t just about writing fiction or poetry, it’s about pushing your brain to think creatively and solve problems, something that is very useful in the real world. If all you think about is practicality, then you’ll be unhappy. And on the flip side, there is need for practicality. I started my search as a potential poli-sci/communications major, but realized that the writing seminars program at JHU might teach me better skills for what I wanted to do. </p>
<p>And on another note, someone was talking about not being able to afford a big school. Just so you know, often times a namier school will have a larger endowment which means more financial aid. Look for schools that only offer grants (don’t have to pay them back) or gives out very little in student loans. Don’t rule out options until you’ve done your research because you would be surprised.</p>
<p>I came upon this thread while researching creative writing programs for my niece. Because this discussion comes up prominently in the search engines, I couldn’t resist registering to add a note about MFA programs and their value. </p>
<p>First, if you have ever studied literature youll notice that great writers often worked with a group of peers. Look at the confessional poets Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, and Ann Sexton (Plath and Hughes were students of Robert Lowell) or even at the interrelationships between the great writers TS Eliot, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce. WB Yeats started the Rhymers Club early in his career, etc. There is something about salons, workshops, and the sharing of ideas with other writers that can spark creativity and inspiration, while forcing you to look upon your own works with a critical eye. Creative writing programs (especially MFA programs) offer that sort of collegiality and community.</p>
<p>Second, creative writing degrees are not quite as useless and some seem to think. I got my MFA (UM 1988) not because I expected the degree to garner me a high-paying position, but because I was a poet and a writerfate made me what I am, and I had to pursue that goal. But as others in this thread have noted, many industries have need of poets and writers. And not just for marketing, PR, communications, journalism, and other seemingly related areas, but for all the truly creative work that goes into the fabric of modern civilization. For example, after teaching writing at a few colleges I started what is now a 20-year career in high-tech, beginning with PR, marketing, and tech writing, but soon managing engineering initiatives for Fortune 500 tech companies and starting companies of my own, using my creative skills as a strong foundation for innovation. For well over a decade I have been a technology executive earning a good 6-figure salary. So a writing degree can certainly pay off, if you manage your career right, make good connections, and play to your talents. Just look at companies like Apple and Google and youll see evidence of the work of creative types. Who do you think dreams up all that magic?</p>