Does this college exist?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>An LAC with an excellent creative writing program, or else just a great English program; great overall academics and fine arts (theatre, music, art); selective.</p>

<p>I'm sure it does, at least outside the Midwest. But that's where my search has been confined to, because I'm close to my family and we can't afford the gas/flying.</p>

<p>My grades are decent-to-good, ditto for my ACT - a 27, thanks to a 19 in Math, but a 33 and a 35 on the English portions (retake in Dec). I've done a lot of writing, have been published, etc, so I think my strength in this area could make up for less than stellar numbers.</p>

<p>So far all I've got is Knox and Wash U, a safety and a reach. Knox I don't exactly like, because it felt claustrophobically small when I visited, and as if it could potentially suck, but also that it could be ok, so I kept it. Wash U- I'm their ideal waitlist, I think, and I'm not sure how good their creative writing program is.</p>

<p>I know there are others, but I dislike them for various reasons (Beloit - too hippy-ish, in a reputedly terrible town; Carleton - they themselves describe their art facilities as "dilapidated" and "cramped"; Wheaton- snobby; Grinnell- too rural, not much writing; Ohio is pushing the distance, so no Kenyon or Oberlin.) I remain curious about U Chicago, because those essay questions rock, and the pretty, pretty buildings... But I've heard lots of bad things about undergrad life there. And again, I don't know how strong they are in fine arts/creative writing.</p>

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

2

<p>U of Iowa....</p>

3

<p>St. Olaf College.</p>

4

<p>Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Son has friends who are following the creative writing track there. Music conservatory, fine arts and drama programs. Lawrence is small but has close to 12% internationals which add to the overall make up of the school.</p>

5

<p>Perhaps Vassar? It may be a bit of a reach, but it's probably worth checking out...(especially if you like pretty buildings) ;)</p>

6

<p>A couple of other liberal arts colleges may meet your criteria. Lawrence is a good suggestion. I would also check out Cornell College, Monmouth College, and Kalamazoo College. Cornell offers is a very solid school and not as remote (location-wise) as Grinnell. Monmouth is, in my humble opinion, a very underrated school on these boards. Monmouth has excellent facilities, a beautiful campus, and gets virtually no mention on CC (I think the reason for that is that they tend to primarily attract midwestern kids). In terms of academic quality, I think that Kalamazoo is an excellent choice. </p>

<p>If you are looking for slightly bigger schools, Depauw or Miami may fit the bill. Both have very solid English Departments (though I am uncertain about their art departments). Both schools are heavily Greek and tend to attract a pretty conservative set of students.</p>

<p>If your big worry about Beloit is the number of hippies, then I urge you to take another look. Personally, I think that the most prevalent group roaming Beloit's campus is the Sci-Fi, Anime, role-playing gamer crowd. While there are hippies kicking about, in my opinion they don't at all dominate the landscape.</p>

<p>One of the traps that you should avoid is equating academic selectivity with educational quality or academic rigor. For example, Kalamazoo, Lawrence and Beloit may be less selective, numerically speaking, than Washington University or Carleton. However, I think that if you look at rates of admission into graduate programs or pre-professional schools (law, medical, business), they really are comperable. </p>

<p>Good luck with your search. If I were you, I would focus on schools that match your academic interests, where you feel comfortable, and where you feel like you can make a meaningful contribution. All of the schools mentioned in this thread can provide you with an academically challenging education. The big question that you need to answer is where will you feel comfortable. That, only you can really answer.</p>

7

<p>If you did not like Knox or Beloit you won't like Lawrence university. They attract about same type of student. Also many LAC located in small towns.</p>

8

<p>It's outside the midwest, but the one that fits every other one of your qualifications (and likely has better creative writing and certainly more offerings even than any of Ivies) is Bard.</p>

9

<p>Did someone mention Macalaster College in St. Paul? Excellent LAC. I don't know about their writing program, though I know of someone who went there for theater. Plus, the resources of Minneapolis right there.</p>

10

<p>Carleton???? If you think Beloit is too hippyish you have another thing coming if you go to Carleton, and just as rural as grinell. If you MUST go to Northfield, MN, PLEASE for the love of god go to St. Olaf.</p>

11

<p>Thanks a lot for the responses. </p>

<p>I think I'm applying to Knox, Beloit, Kenyon, Washington U, and a local NE school - no idea which one. That's 5, so I'm trying to find one or two more. Does anyone know anything about Lake Forest College (IL)? Their literary magazine wasn't the best, but they told me about a lot of opportunities to work in writing there and get paid (plus they have a writing scholarship). Also, can anyone recommend some NE schools for me?</p>

12

<p>If you are applying for financial aid, it would make sense to pick two schools that give a lot and that are good in your area of interest. I think that Knox, Kenyon, Macalaster, Kalamazoo, and Lake Forest are pretty good with aid. University of Chicago does not give out a lot of merit aid, but does give out need-based aid.</p>

13

<p>minneapolis=cool. macalester=hippies.</p>

14

<p>Lake Forest has a lovely campus outside Chicago and is a decent school. They are working to become more diverse, but have some work to go. Personally, if you are looking for another school in the Midwest which focuses on writing, I would seriously consider Kalamazoo, Hope and Earlham before Lake Forest. In my opinion, the students attracted to Kzoo, Hope and Earlham tend to be more academically oriented than the students at Lake Forest. Lets put it this way, I think that Kalamazoo, Hope and Earlham have more in common, academically speaking, with the other schools on your list than Lake Forest. This is not to say that you can't get a quality education at Lake Forest. Rightly or wrongly, I just get the sense that there is a greater percentage of students less focused on academics there. But hey, sometimes that is a good thing.</p>

<p>If you are attracted to Lake Forest, another school in that same range, academically speaking, is Hanover College. Hanover is a nice little school that offers great financial and merit aid. I sense Hanover is one of those places where if you are motivated, you can receive a wonderful education. However, if you would rather just slide by with a moderate amoung of effort, you won't be alone.</p>

<p>In terms of suggestions in the Northeast, I think that some places you should consider include Bard (Mini's suggestion), Marlboro, Skidmore and perhaps St. Lawrence. Marlboro is one of those schools that, like Kalamazoo, isn't well known to the general public, but has a great reputation with graduate schools and professional programs. Very small and a strong emphasis on writing. Knowing what I know now, if I were doing this college thing all over again, it is one place that I would strongly consider myself.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

15

<p>Why apply to Knox or Beloit if you do not feel the vibe right from the beginning?
You still have time to do more research. Your GC might have good suggestions.
It seems that you need more urban located school and/or bigger size to feel comfortable. Applying to school because you like their program and dislike rest of the college atmosphere seems to me waste of time and money.</p>

16

<p>U Chicago has a good writing program with professional writers in residence. But U Chicago is a very tough school, and all students must take a core curriculum. I think if you like city life, you will like life at U Chicago okay. U Chicago just doesn't have as many student-centered activities and parties as most colleges.</p>

17

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<p>I agree. Also, if you find Beloit too hipy-ish and you want a more mainstream population, have you looked at Augustana?</p>

18

<p>Take a look at Evergreen State.</p>

19

<p>I believe NE means Nebraska, hence "Ohio is pushing the distance." What can you do for the wo(man) in Nebraska? I scored a 33 on the geography section of the new SAT, but state abbreviations were by far the hardest part--oh yeah, and overcoming regional snobbery, that was pretty hard, too.</p>

20

<p>Macalester. </p>

<p>English is one of Mac's stongest majors. Hippies are a minority on campus, most people are just chill, liberal, not pushy, fun people. Not to say there arent hippies, but not as many as our reputation would have you believe. St. Paul/Minneapolis is a great area. Easy access to anywhere in the metro area. The theater program is strong as well. I'm in the symphony orchestra and the band, I love it. The Macalester Choir is a very serious audition-only elite group that has a wonderful reputation and travels .. i believe annually but it could be biannually.
Mac is very well known amongst grad schools, its a bragging point for the college.</p>