Can someone please help me find the right college?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone reading...and thank you...
First and foremost, I would like to major in Creative Writing and minor in Political Science.
I was wondering if anybody knew a good school in the U.S. in which to do this...? I was thinking of majoring in English with a focus/emphasis/concentration on creative writing but I heard that this may sap the creative juices from me. I do crave structure but also don't want too much...ah what a struggle it is for a Libra to find balance :-/. Celestial bodies aside, does anyone have any suggestions?
I would LOVE to go somewhere warm(west or south preferably) all year 'round. I live in New Jersey and am not a big fan of the weather...especially the dreaded snow.haha.But yeah, I was really hoping to find a great school in Florida, California, or Texas. I know that may restrict suggestion options a bit, but please...only use those states as secondary criteria. I obviously want the best education I can get (or afford for that matter), but warm areas/weather seem to inspire me.
I aim to become a wealthy and famous author, musician, and ultimately; politician....so yea...
1.What schools are good for a major in creative writing and a minor in political science(ba/bfa)?
2.What schools are good for a major in creative writing and a minor in political science that are located in a state with a warm-hot climate?
3.What schools are good for a major in creative writing and a minor in political science are located in California, Florida, or Texas?
4.Which of these schools is the easiest to get into?
5.Which school is the cheapest?</p>

<p>also...
Does anyone have experience majoring in majoring in English with a concentration on creative writing? Do you regret it or feel it made you a better writer? I am primarily interested in writing fiction novels and honing my poetry/lyrical craft. As a songwriter, I feel classes in poetry can help immensely.<br>
Any other advise/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Rhet, Before anyone can give you suggestions, you’ll need to shift toward your structured persona and provide some statistics, i.e. grades and scores. Any ECs other than writing? Any diversity factors: race, ethnic background, first in family to graduate. Gender. </p>

<p>As a general statement I’d say that it will be fairly easy to double major in creative writing or English and political science on the BA level. If the school offers a BFA it may be more complicated, but still doable.</p>

<p>I’d also say that it’s fairly common to construct a creative writing concentration within an English department. All academically rigorous have published writers on the faculty – fiction and non-fiction writers, poets. Some have been associated with the school for sometime, some are visiting and tend to move around from school to school.</p>

<p>Your first step, however, should be to clarify your finances. Most private colleges cost $50 to $60,000 a year. Some offer need based aid, some offer merit aid. Learn what you may be eligible for before you go any further in the list making process.</p>

3

<p>Trinity University
Austin College</p>

<p>I don’t know how much aid you would get</p>

4

<p>Which school is the cheapest</p>

<p>That depends on…</p>

<p>Do you qualify for the need-based aid that you’d need?</p>

<p>how much will your parents pay?</p>

<p>What is your GPA?</p>

<p>What are your test scores? SAT and/or ACT (include SAT breakdown).</p>

<p>What is your home state?</p>

5

<p>I don’t know why English would suck the creative juices from me. As a writer myself, I find that my inspiration is only <em>increased</em> when I read and analyze literature. There’s a lot to be learned from the styles and conventions used by other writers. I found my own voice and style by reading lots and lots of books as a child. After all, one of the best ways to increase your writing skills is to read a lot.</p>

<p>I’d also like to note that you don’t have to minor in political science to be a politician, and most politicians don’t. Political science is the scientific study of political systems. What politicians need to have are great public speaking skills, other communication skills, charisma and a desire to serve others. Other than that, you can major in anything; a lot of politicians are actually businessmen.</p>

<p>What kind of school are you looking for? Large public flagship, small liberal arts college, something in between?</p>

<p>I searched for colleges with a creative writing area in warm areas (the South, Southwest, and California). Here are the ones in the states you asked for (Florida, Texas, CA)</p>

<p>*Biola University (a Christian university in La Miranda, CA)
*a range of Cal States (Fresno, Long Beach, Northridge, Sacramento, San Bernardino)
*Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, FL)
*Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL)
Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, CA)
Mills College (Oakland, CA - women’s SLAC)
Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)
Pitzer College (Claremont, CA)
San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)
San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA)
Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)
UC-Irvine (Irvine, CA)
UC-Riverside (Riverside, CA)
University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)
University of Houston (Houston, TX)
University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL)
University of North Texas
University of San Francisco
University of South Florida
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin</p>

<p>Here are some other ones in other warm areas:</p>

<p>Agnes Scott College (a small liberal arts college for women in Decatur, GA)
Berea College (a work college in Berea, KY)
Coast Carolina University (Conway, SC)
Converse College (Spartanburg, SC)
Elon University (Elon, NC)
Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
Georgia College & State University (Milledgeville, GA)
Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA)
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA)
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL - this school has lots of scholarships for OOS students)
University of Georgia (Athens, GA - the major is actually an English major with an intense focus in creative writing)
University of Mississippi
University of North Carolina (Greensboro and Wilmington campuses)
University of South Carolina
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University (TN)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech</p>

6

<p>Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. I thought it’d be a month before I got even one answer! To satisfy some of your questions(and in reply to some of your most appreciated commentary)…
momrath:
1.I am a caucasian male of mostly Russian, Hungarian, German, and Polish origin (I have a TINY bit of South African in me…which I presumed meant I had British in me, but I am, interestingly enough, finding that that part of me may be of ‘native’ origin…it is however, such a small percentage already that i really don’t believe it’d make a differense or is even worth mentioning. Ya never know though, right?)
2.I do not have my S.A.T scores on hand. They are filed away somewhere in my house though. OFf the top of my head I recall scoring high in the two english categories but relatively low in math.
ps.I must add I hate math…well not math itself, but having to learn/use advanced math…I don’t intend to use mathematics past balancing a checkbook ha. I did however pass the required math courses to get my associates degree at my local community college…</p>

<ol>
<li> I obtained my associates degree at Ocean County College in New Jersey(Where I have lived for my entire life), and graduated with a gpa of 3.2-3.5 (can’t remember the exact # but i know it definitely was in that range)
4.Financially, we aren’t doing so great. I am pretty confident that I can get a good amount of need-based aid or merit aid. I was accepted by FAFSA and went to OCC for free basically. BUT…I’d prefer not to attend a school charging more than 30-40k unless i can obtain such crucial aid.</li>
<li><p>Do you feel it would be a better decision to double-major? i thought about it for quite some time and decided that it would be better to get my BA or BFA and then decide what to do for my Masters after experiencing both polisci and cw.</p>

<pre><code> All in all I would like to find a school not THAT concerned with SATs/ACTs but i KNOW that is wishful thinking. If you could, however, recommend a few schools that are big on writing samples or acceptance essays etc. it’d be appreciated. If not, thats okay too :slight_smile:
</code></pre>

<p>thank you for the suggestions barrk123 and I hope I already answered your questions mom2collegekids…I will post my definitive scores and gpas ASAP but please try to use the information i have provided in the meantime. If it is too little for anyone to use, please stand by for more specific information.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Juillet:
1.I do not know why it would suck the creative juices from you specifically…BUT I have read on many posts that people feel as though the rigorous and constant breaking down of other people’s work without any focus on the aesthetic or abstract sociological value of any given piece, can tend to be generally draining. The only thing I am truley concerned with is RESEARCH PAPERS! BAHHH I HATE THEM! They don’t just sap the creative juices from me…but my very life haha. I cannot tell everyone here how much i despise research papers…and just so everyone also knows…i do DO my work. I’ve never gotten lower than a B or B+ on a paper in my life but other then the report i did on “A Modest Proposal”, I found myself entirely too bored…even doing the paper on “A Modest Proposal” made me never want to read it again.
2.I COMPLETELY agree with what you said about reading making you a better writing. I believe the rule of thumb is to read 5x as much as you write.
3.I appreciate your input on the Polisci thing, although I feel that it would still be good to have a solid background in the study of politics before completely immersing myself…or WHILE completely immersing myself,in the subject. I loved Public Speaking at OCC. I will definitely look into more relative or advanced courses in public speaking as well as business in order to hone my ‘political’ side.
4. I do not care if the college itself is large or small as long as the area it is in is vibrant or scenic enough to be inspiring. I can thrive in a suburban or urban area more than a rural area, I feel. I am, however, not opposed to the ladder.
5.Do the colleges you listed have Creative Writing majors, English majors with concentrations in CW, or both? Also, do the colleges you listed have solid political science programs? I’ve been looking into cali and so far the best options seem to be UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and USC. I cannot seem to find out which UC has a creative writing major as well as a strong polisci program though :-/
6. what is “a range of Cal States”?
Thank you all so much for your suggestions. Keep them coming please!</p>

7

<p>I would definitely recommend looking into the program at Pitzer. They have a wonderful faculty themselves, and benefit from the resources of the Claremont consortium, 5 undergraduate institutions with contiguous campuses in one square mile. I believe their major is English with a Creative Writing track, but it’s fairly heavy on the writing rather than the English. I graduated with a self-designed Creative Writing major from the women’s college within the consortium, and I found Claremont a great place to be writing. Each of the schools either has notable faculty, or brings in notable faculty for a semester at a time. I focused on fiction so off the top of my head: Jonathon Lethem, Jamaica Kincaid, Helena Maria Viramontes, Nina Revoyr and a number of others have taught at the consortium while I was there, including David Foster Wallace up until his death. Even though this school is out of yous 30-40k range, it’s a private school and so tends to offer much in the way of fin. aid. They have a ton of interesting Poli Sci classes too. </p>

<p>You might also look at schools with MFA creative writing programs and see how undergraduate students benefit from the concentration of renowned authors on faculty. UC Irvine might be an example of this. I know UCI has a strong Poli. Sci. department. </p>

<p>And on a side note, I agree whole heartedly in that I would not have flourished as a straight English major. ALL my writing classes included many readings, but the writing was what I needed to balance those things out and to funnel critical thinking about the readings into my own creative output. I love to read, but reading on a deadline and with essays looming is hell for me because I prefer to read slowly.</p>

8

<p>Have you also looked into Chapman University in Orange, CA? They offer a major in Creative Writing and a minor in Political Science. Just like USC, Chapman is a private university. Check their net cost calculator to see how much aid.<br>
[Degree</a> Programs | Chapman University](<a href=“Page Not Found | Chapman University”>Degrees & Programs | Chapman University)</p>

<p>[Net</a> Cost Calculator | Chapman University](<a href=“http://www.chapman.edu/students/tuition-and-aid/financial-aid/net-cost-calculator/index.aspx]Net”>Chapman University (redirect))</p>