Chance me for Creative Writing

Chance Me / Match Me!
, ,
1

I’m a high school student and unsure about what colleges I could realistically get into.

I help lead a student-run nonprofit, am a student athletic trainer, am involved in several school clubs, was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, attended a precollege creative writing program with Columbia University, babysit, work a job, and help lead small groups at my church.

I’ll have roughly 100 volunteer hours and a 4.5 weighted GPA by graduation. My ACT will be 30-34.

I want to study creative writing, and I’m looking at some Ivy Leagues and other selective schools. Yale is my top choice, followed by Columbia and Pepperdine. Is there any chance of me getting into those (financial aid and scholarships are definitely a need) or is that just way out of reach?

2

Columbia and Yale are both highly selective schools with very low acceptance rates. Certainly apply, but absolutely have some more Target and some sure things in your application list.

Pepperdine is likely a target school for you.

How much can your family contribute annually? You can run the net price calculators for colleges of interest to get some estimates. Right now, the NPCs are set for students starting college in 2023 fall…and that’s not you…so these would be estimates only.

How much can your parents pay annually for college?

What is your state of residence? Look at the public universities there too.

My free advice is…look at the characteristics of these colleges. And find others with similar qualities.

And until you have a real ACT or SAT score…you are just guessing.

What year in high school are you?

3 Likes
3

Hi - if this is your “real” first name, consider changing it to something generic.

Are you currently a Junior? What’s your unweighted GPA thus far - and do you know where you rank in your class? An ACT spread from 30 to 34 is too wide to consider.

Very top schools usually don’t need to offer scholarships to attract students, but will meet financial need. However, that can include subsidized loans, work-study, etc.

In general, more than 90% of students with top grades, top class rank and high SAT/ACT scores will not be accepted into Ivy League schools - not because of anything they lack, but because of the small number of first-year students for which there is space at all.
So those are not “realistic” for anyone!

You can certainly aim for those, by applying to one or two - but more important is to identify a good number of schools that have better acceptance rates, possibly offering merit aid, and that you would be happy to attend. Finally, add a few schools (like many great state schools) where you know you’ll be accepted and where attending will be affordable to your family.

2 Likes
4

When you start with - what are my chances of getting into college - I’d say 100%.

What you need to do is have your family run net price calculators of these schools - as they meet need (Yale, Columbia) and see what they show. You’ll have an idea of where you stand financially. If they are unaffordable, then take them off.

There are a lot of schools that offer great merit - large and mid size publics - and they could work with you budget wise assuming you can pay some.

Some of the LACs a step down - like Kenyon, Oberlin, Dennison, Macalester are great for your desires.

And U of Iowa is a powerhouse - easy to get into - not sure about the major.

Figure out your budget and via the NPC if it works for those schools you mentioned. Pepperdine won’t meet need - and seems to me an odd choice with the others. Why Pepperdine?

This is just two lists of many. You’ve accomplished a lot - congrats to you.

2022-2023 Colleges With Great Writing Programs | US News Best Colleges

2023 Best Creative Writing Schools (collegefactual.com)

5

In developing your greater list, consider Kenyon, as well as colleges from these articles:

2 Likes
6

I will follow up with my favorite list - it’s by a literary journal which has programs for high school writers, who they follow into colleges so they have a somewhat different view than the previous list. They also have additional colleges besides the 13 in the title.

Between the two articles there are a wide array of colleges, from small liberal arts colleges to large flagships and “elite” private universities. There are rural, suburban, and urban colleges, and acceptance rates vary from 85%+ to <5%, and anything in between.

3 Likes
7

I’m a junior in high school! I got a 30 ACT on my last real test, but I’ve been getting 30-34s on practice tests from old ACTS so that’s why I said that.
What other things should I be looking to add to my application to get into those schools?

8

Great advice, thank you! My current unweighted is 3.8 and my weighted is 4.3, but I plan on taking 7 APs next year.
I understand the ACT aspect. I received a 30 on my last ACT, and I’ll take it three more times this year. I’ve been filling out past ACTS and receiving scores in that range.

9

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that advice, and I’ll look at those schools. U of Iowa is actually on my list.
Pepperdine I chose because I find the campus beautiful and like the Christian aspect. They have a creative writing program and their study abroad program is good. They don’t meet need though…so I am applying in hopes of receiving scholarships from other organizations, but most likely won’t be able to attend.

10

Thank you I appreciate that!

11

Awesome thanks so much!

12

Even if you did everything possible including getting a perfect ACT score…there is no guarantee you will get accepted to Yale or Columbia. These are reach schools for just about anyone who applies. So…keep them on your list, but make sure you have some more realistic schools for acceptance on your application list. Remember…if you don’t get accepted, it likely will be because there just aren’t enough spots in each new freshman class for all the well qualified students who apply.

@compmom should this student consider adding Barnard to their list? I know it’s still reachy, but what do you think?

And again I ask…have you looked at the public universities in your state? If budget is a consideration, please start there. And check out their honors colleges as well.

13

There are some colleges that will require you to submit all of your ACT scores, not just your highest ones. If they see you’ve taken the ACT four times in one year, then they may end up discounting a higher score. Personally, I’d study more and then give it one more try, or at the very most two more (assuming that you’ve only taken the ACT once when you received your 30, which is a very good score!).

Most outside scholarships are small, generally $500-1500. You would need to be awarded a lot of scholarships considering that Pepperdine where tuition, room & board run over $80k/year.

For every school you’re considering, you and your family should run the Net Price Calculator to see if it will fall within budget. If not, and if the university does not provide merit aid, then you will need to eliminate the school as it won’t be affordable.

What is your budget, without taking out any loans? (The fed max is about $27k for the entirety of your college career, starting with about $5500 your first year.) If we have a better sense of your budget, then you might get some improved recommendations.

1 Like
14

Thanks for that advice. I have looked at the colleges in my state, but the majority have limited creative writing programs. I am looking at some colleges with higher acceptance rates like University of Iowa and Virginia Tech, that are still ranked well for creative writing. I’ll still apply to some safeties in my state however.

1 Like
15

Just make sure that the writing programs don’t have a different admissions threshold. For example, U of Iowa - it’s highly ranked in many places - does their program have a different level of admissability than the rest of the school? I don’t know but you should ask that question.

Also, there are strong programs with good merit - U of the South/Sewanee comes to mind.

Good luck.

16

@thumper1 er1 I have no special knowledge of Barnard but for someone interested in Columbia, I would, myself, choose Barnard. The best of all worlds. I would also consider Kenyon, as others have mentioned, Sarah Lawrence, Bennington…many other schools. Our state U has a lot of creative writing in its English major. I happen to love NYC so Barnard is a great choice for anyone who loves the city.

1 Like
17

The schools listed below offer strong creative writing offerings, have lower net prices than Pepperdine, and are likely to give you scholarships as well.

  • Agnes Scott (GA): About 1k undergrads at this women’s college. Extremely financially generous. Also part of a consortium of Atlanta schools where you can take classes at other universities (SCAD, Emory, Spelman, etc)

  • Belhaven (MS): About 1700 undergrads. According to the school’s blurb on Niche, “All programs are taught from a Christian worldview perspective and are guided by the mission to prepare students academically and spiritually.”

  • Hollins (VA): Women’s college of approx. 700 undergrads

  • Knox (IL): About 1200 undergrads

  • Loyola Maryland: About 3800 undergrads in Baltimore (a harbor town) and this is a Jesuit university. Part of a Baltimore consortium that allows students to take classes at other area universities like Johns Hopkins, Goucher, etc.

  • Millsaps (MS): About 600 undergrads

  • Pacific Lutheran (WA): About 2400 undergrads and Tacoma is by a number of inlets and the Puget Sound.

  • Pacific U. (OR): About 1700 undergrads. Net price isn’t quite as low as some of the others, but definitely better than Pepperdine.

  • Roanoke (VA): About 1900 undergrads

  • Seattle U (WA): About 4200 undergrads at this Jesuit institution. Again, not as low as the others, but a bit better than Pepperdine. And the Puget Sound is also accessible in Seattle. .

  • Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads

  • U. of Miami (FL): About 12k undergrads and the water possibilities here are nearly endless

  • U. of North Carolina - Wilmington: About 14k undergrads and the beach is very nearby, too.

  • U. of Redlands (CA): About 2600 undergrads with some beautiful views of its own from the campus.

These were some other schools that I considered with popular creative writing programs, but that may have a harder time being significantly financially better than Pepperdine, on a need-based basis alone. Merit aid opportunities, however, may make them much more affordable.

  • Chapman (CA): net price isn’t that different from Pepperdine

  • Eckerd (FL): Net price isn’t much different from Pepperdine, but it has an enviable location right by the beach

  • Roger Williams (RI): Location right by the water as well. Merit aid would likely be more generous here than at Pepperdine, but net prices aren’t significantly different than there.

  • Salve Regina (RI): Another school with a beautiful location by the water. Net price isn’t much different from Pepperdine, but perhaps merit aid would land this school in a better position for you.

  • Western Washington: I put this school here because it depends on whether you live in a WUE (western) state. If so, this school would be very competitively priced. If not, then you would need to consider what merit aid possibilities there are, as you are unlikely to get need-based funds. But lots of water around here, too.

18

Academic fit is important, but the social fit is also something you’ll want to check out. I’d venture to say that schools mentioned on this thread, for example Pepperdine and Barnard, may “feel” quite different to a student depending on the social factors that affect their sense of well-being. As you are a writer, perhaps consider communicating by email with students at various schools (will come easily to you given your skill set) to get a sense of fit. You could try starting with the email addresses of their literary magazines.

1 Like
19

Very different - for one, Pepperdine is very Christian…

20

An unweighted GPA of 3.8 is outstanding. Having a rigorous course schedule (APs) is important in the key subject areas - because selective colleges want to see that, but won’t necessarily care about whatever weighting scheme your school applies.

Do you have any indication where that puts you within your class (e.g. top xx%, or “decile”), in case your high school does rank?

I wonder if that might be a bit too ambitious in one year? There comes a point where additional AP classes don’t make an application any more interesting than what it already is.

You’ve gotten great advice already - so let me just elaborate on your question about Columbia University, specifically since you had tagged “Barnard” to your thread.

You’ll be able to apply to both traditional undergraduate colleges at the Columbia University: Columbia College and Barnard College. Each has their own admission process and will review applicants using their own distinct criteria, and of course, your application will be compared against a different applicant pool.

Specially given your interest in creative writing, Barnard is often valued for their English department (Fall 2023 Creative Writing Admission Lists | Barnard English) and you might decide to favor it over Columbia College, if admitted to both.

For those who submitted ACT scores, the top 25% of students admitted to Barnard had an English score of 35, composite of 34 - and the mid-range composite was between 32 and 34.

So in addition to your unweighted GPA, getting an ACT score of 32 and above would be an added factor in your favor.

Here’s where it gets tricky! Wayyyy out of reach - no, not from the few things known/projected.

However… Problem is, for 90% of exceptional women, with grades and test results like yourself, there simply isn’t enough room to accommodate them all as first-year students. So highly-selective colleges are a reach to everyone, regardless how good the application is.

If you are absolutely certain about any one “reach” school being the definite favorite, then applying to that school Early Decision can significantly improve one’s odds. Some colleges will admit a large share of the incoming class from the much smaller number of ED applicants (knowing that those students won’t explore other options), making the “real” RD acceptance rate that much lower.

1 Like