Hi,
I’m a senior in high school and I’ve been looking for a college with a strong English program that’s within an hour of Manhattan. I have a 3.5 UW and a 1430 on the new SAT. I’ve looked at a lot of schools, but many are expensive private schools that would be unlikely to give me aid or are mostly visual/performing arts schools that also have a writing program (I want to avoid having to transfer if I decide to change my major). Does anyone have any great schools to suggest?
Thank you 
Virtually every college and university has English majors (unless it’s a specialized technical school, trade school, art school, etc.) If you’re talking about need-based aid, then if your family income is below a certain level (maybe ~$200K or so depending on the school and your circumstances), you are more likely to get it from an expensive, selective private school than from an out-of-state public institution or lower-ranked, less well-endowed private school. To find out which schools result in the lowest net costs, you may need to spend time with their online Net Price Calculators.
What’s your budget and in what state do you live? The best places to start might include public universities in your home state. The SUNY schools? UConn? Rutgers? Again, depending on your family’s financial circumstances, you might get a lower net cost at a private school such as Lafayette College. Connecticut College also might work but is farther away. Vassar gives good need-based aid but is more selective. Sarah Lawrence or Eugene Lang would be closer and less selective but their n-b aid is not as good.
The obvious choices are mostly extreme reaches.
Why within one hour of Manhattan? Of what state are you a resident? Are you looking for a creative writing program, or a regular literature-based English degree? It’s unclear from your post.
You might want to take a look at SUNY Purchase, Fordham, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, and Drew. Run the NPCs. Barnard (if you are female) and Vassar would be reaches. Is it safe to assume that you have already considered NYU? It looks like Brooklyn College has a strong English department.
Are you from NY? If so take advantage of in-state SUNY pricing - Purchase, Geneseo, Bing.
I was going to suggest Drew. It is an expensive private but not a reach for you and you would most likely get merit.
Thank you everyone for responding
I’m a Washington state resident, but I visited NYC once and I really liked the city. I’m applying to NYU as my reach, but I was hoping to find another school that I’d be more likely to get into in case that doesn’t work out. I like Sarah Lawrence and I’ve talked to the admissions counselor from there, but I’m afraid because I wouldn’t be likely to get merit aid and I don’t qualify for need aid.
I’m actually undecided, but I’m pretty sure I want to study English either to become a writer or a high school teacher. If I decide to study something else, it would probably be Journalism or a science. That’s why I’m concerned that if I go to a school that focuses on visual/performing arts I’d end up transferring.
NYU is not known for having good financial aid. Make sure you have some good safeties you will definitely get into, can afford, and would be HAPPY to attend.
Look into CUNY- Hunter/Brooklyn/Lehman, Fordham, SUNY Stony Brook & Purchase, Sarah Lawrence, Bard.
I don not think that liking NYC on a single visit is a good enough reason to spend a lot of money to go there as an undergrad, especially if you have the option of the University of Washington. (Which is supposed to have a pretty strong English dept at the grad level, BTW.) Certainly not to schools like Drew.
You haven’t said whether you are male or female, but your chances at Sarah Lawrence and Vassar would be strengthened if you are male. If you are female, give Barnard a shot.
NYC is very expensive, even for students. There’s always grad school.