<p>I’m pretty sure that Barnard has a good creative writing/English program, because I find myself reading a lot of books, flipping to the author page, and seeing that the author went to Barnard.</p>
<p>All right, not a LOT. Just a surprising few. 
Soo…just wondering what the creative writing program is exactly like, the professors, the classes, etc. (more than you can find out online).</p>
<p>Thank you!!</p>
<p>I’d love to hear about this too. I’m deciding whether to go Barnard and am interested in English and Creative Writing.</p>
<p>Ditto on the above! Trying to find information on the creative writing concentration is difficult.</p>
<p>I can tell you that D2 took at least one creative writing course there, and enjoyed it.
The class was limited and selective enrollment, she had to submit writing samples to get in. She said the quality of the work from the people in the class was pretty high. In the end she wrote a reasonably long short story. I could easily see how works started in a course like this could be developed into published works, which has happened before, IIRC.
[The</a> New York Times > Log In](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/nyregion/19education.html?_r=4]The”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/nyregion/19education.html?_r=4)</p>
<p>She also took “regular” English courses, and liked them.</p>
<p>I found it interesting that my son has read two books by Barnard alums over the course of his high school English program- The Glass Castle and The Namesake.</p>
<p>BTW, that New York Times link is to an article titled, “At Barnard, One Generation of Writers Nurtures the Next”.</p>
<p>maybe this link will work better:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/nyregion/19education.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/nyregion/19education.html</a></p>
<p>I’ll take this on. Barnard’s creative writing department is tops in my opinion, and I’m a published writer. My D is not a writer, so she didn’t take courses, but her roommate was a creative writing major so I watched from a close distance.</p>
<p>Another of D’s friends majored in creative writing at Hamilton so I have a point of comparison.</p>
<p>Barnard: Chair of the English department is a multiple prize winning novelist – Mary Gordon. Hamilton: No.</p>
<p>Barnard: All creative writing majors must major in English. Creative Writing is a concentration. Hamilton: No.</p>
<p>I think this is important because reading and analyzing reading is the basis of a good and good writing.</p>
<p>Barnard: Writers are taken seriously. There are MANY readings throughout the year of beginning talent. Hamilton: No.</p>
<p>Barnard: Must petition to get into courses. Hamilton: No.</p>
<p>The last is a pain if you’re not chosen, but great if you are, but the level of writing is then consistently high.</p>
<p>DD had two friends with the major, one a journalist, one a novelist. Each on occasion was denied a course because the teacher chose someone else, but each was able to gather enough courses to graduate with the major. It’s something you should be aware of though. You must be good! But if not, you can work toward that. My D had the head of the creative writing program for her frosh seminar who wanted to work with her so her writing would improve for the program, but DD wants to be a lawyer so she didn’t pursue it.</p>
<p>More writers have come out of Barnard’s program I think than any other program save Iowa (Writers Workshop.) The list is staggering. Money dad mentioned two. Edwidge Dandicant, another Pulitzer Prize winner is also a recent graduate.</p>
<p>And the writing atmosphere is so strong that even the faculty from other disciplines write novels – Rebecca Goldstein – THE MIND BODY PROBLEM; another is LESSONS I CALAMITY PHYSICS.</p>
<p>All these girls inspired me to finish a novel now being considered by an agent. A dear friend from HS went to Barnard. She ended up a professional writer. I didn’t. I ended up with a PhD as an academic. Just a picture of the kind of support the program gives.</p>
<p>While I think the creative writing program is strong, I understand that it is difficult for freshmen and sophomores to get into writing seminars regardless of their ability. Since they need to have a body of work completed for review into the concentration by the end of the junior year, this could present a problem.</p>
<p>I’ve no idea how difficult it was, but FWIW D2 got in as 1st semester sophomore . She is a good writer though.</p>
<p>depends on the class. My D has been able to get into some of the classes but has found that certain seminars she really wants are very limited. Second semester juniors might have a chance in some years, but at least one of these seminars ended up being composed only of seniors. The quality of d’s writing is not the issue.</p>
<p>I’ve never taken any creative writing classes but I can tell you that Barnard has an excellent reputation for it and that many people who want to do creative writing seek out Barnard for this reason. If you want to do creative writing, Barnard is an amazing place to do so.</p>