deferred from yale, into umass amherst honors college, onto RD!
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Congrats on Umass Amherst! And best of luck with Yale. While it is rare, I know of people who got deferred and got in RD! Best of luck with the remaining decisions, and keep us posted! 
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Your list seems very reasonable, knowing of course that acceptance of even the strongest applicants at colleges that accept less than 15-20% is a roll of the dice.
But I’m prompted to respond because your post, which I’ve quoted, perfectly describes the approach to Creative Writing at Wesleyan. Their is no such major or minor at Wesleyan, but there is a writing certificate program which is designed to support students in all majors to develop proficiency in creative writing and/or non-fiction writing as they prefer.
There is certainly an established literary scene on the Wesleyan campus, not only for student publications but writing for film and stage as well, both of which also have a strong and long established presence. In addition, Wesleyan has sponsored a renowned Writer’s Conference each summer for the past 65 years for authors aspiring to be published, and also offers a series of one-day writer’s conferences during the academic year.
You may have had other important reasons not to include Wesleyan on your list, but I didn’t want to let the opportunity pass to mention it on the off chance that you were unaware of their program.
I am inclined to agree that Wesleyan would be a wonderful addition to your college list, especially considering that Vassar, a similar school in quite a few aspects, is already there. It would be a reach school, of course, but I would argue quite an attainable one for you. Also, Wesleyan is an open-curriculum school, which seems to be a theme in your college choices (Brown, Amherst, Vassar, Hamilton).
Swarthmore and Amherst had identical acceptance rates last admissions cycle (8%), while Hamilton hovered around 14%.
As an aspect to consider as you continue your research, it appears that relatively few students have chosen to study literature and other humanities at Swarthmore in recent years:
https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2021/12/02/students-faculty-weigh-in-amid-decline-in-english-majors-at-swarthmore/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20English%20majors%20made,according%20to%20the%20college’s%20data.
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Thanks for suggesting Wesleyan! It had been on my list at one point, but I’d taken it off because they don’t have a linguistics program (or linguistics classes under other departments either). I’ll definitely take another look though, because it does seem like a great fit otherwise!
Your thinking about Wesleyan makes total sense, given your interests and intended major. Sorry that I overlooked that lack at Wes. I’m frankly surprised that a college with a major anthropology department doesn’t address linguistics and/or the role of language somewhere within its offerings. You have an excellent range of schools you’re looking at otherwise, so best of luck with the process.
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yeah, I’ve honestly been a bit surprised that a lot of LACs don’t offer linguistics programs! wesleyan definitely would’ve made my list if they had at least some linguistics classes (since some other schools on my list don’t have full programs but have linguistics classes under other departments).
oh, thanks, this is a very interesting article! i suspect that’s a nationwide trend too
Yes, I can see that. Very disappointing. Especially since they have 2 professors on their faculty, each with her Ph.D. In Linguistics.
Best of luck.
@inflorescent, any updates to your college list for RD?
i did add UPenn after all, haha, despite saying earlier that i didn’t care about my legacy status. i realized that even though I’m not a big fan of the pre-professional vibe, UPenn still has very strong programs in my areas of interest (plus the Kelly Writers House apparently pays close attention to applicants who are creative writers, aside from just being a creative hub on campus), so i may as well give it a shot. i might also apply to Wellesley and Colby just because they have no application fees, so it can’t hurt.
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Penn is a good addition! I remember my good friend who applied during my admission cycle applying to Penn because of their notably strong creative writing program! She got into contact with that program, who promised to help her out in the admissions process, though unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get her fully in; she got waitlisted (though she ended being VERY fine, getting into 3 ivies and numerous other T20s and top LACs). Hopefully your wonderful application profile, in addition to your connection to creative writing and your legacy status, is enough! Definitely consider reaching out the program director to potentially get your foot in the door! Keeping paying attention to your feelings about the vibe for sure though; going to a school that you vibe with is incredibly important for your success and happiness.
Colby and Wellesley are both great schools! It definitely doesn’t hurt to apply, especially because it doesn’t take any money (I applied to Colby for the same reason, also because I live in Maine).
Ooh, yes, I’ve been looking into the Kelly Writers House “recruitment” process. I was just put in contact with the program director a day or so ago, so nothing has come of it yet, but it’s an amazing opportunity (it definitely makes me feel like the arts are valued on campus). Thanks so much for the advice!
Not to mention that Penn has an excellent Ling dep’t, and great foreign languages. I think that Penn is a great reach for you; hoping you get in there. Unfortunately, I don’t think that legacy status helps after the early round.
UMass Amherst has a fantastic linguistics dep’t, also good on foreign languages. The food is great, lots of new, good dorms. It’s pretty easy to take some classes at Amherst college. I’m assuming that if you’re not a MA resident, they gave you max Chancellor’s scholarship, which makes it pretty reasonable. It is far from the end of the world if you wind up going to UMass Amherst.
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Yep, I’m in-state for UMass Amherst, so it’ll be a very affordable option if that’s where I end up. And thanks for the confirmation about Penn—I’m starting to wonder why I ever initially removed it from my list, haha.
got into northeastern (NU Bound program though) with ~20k/year merit scholarship
hopefully the first of many good updates to come! 
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That’s great about the 20K merit at Northeastern. It does seem strange to me that they would offer you 20K/yr merit, and yet shunt you into their “Congratulations, but you’re not coming to campus” program. But hey, it’s better than a rejection, or NU Bound without any merit money!
yes, i was a little surprised, but a lot of people from my school who normally would get into NU’s main campus have been admitted for NU Bound, NU In, or waitlisted/rejected altogether, so i was already kind of prepared for the same to happen to me 