<p>I’m finishing my first year at UCSB with around a 3.0 GPA. I had a 2300 SAT score coming out of high school (800 math and verbal, 700 writing). I had a ton of college and AP credits so I spent my first year here mostly taking upper division courses in a few areas I thought I’d be interested in and I really found a passion for creative writing. Unfortunately, UCSB has really limited courses in that field (no minor and/or concentration in English). </p>
<p>I’m very seriously pondering applying to transfer to another school. I’ve done a lot of research but it’s been a long time since I’ve applied to a college and I don’t really know how the transfer process works. </p>
<p>My questions basically are:</p>
<li>Are there any colleges that would consider looking at a portfolio of creative writing as part of the transfer application process?</li>
<li>What kind of schools should I be considering if I have a college GPA of 3.0-3.3 and a SAT score of 2300? My only significant post-hs extracurricular is that I will be an RA next year.</li>
</ol>
<p>You have solid reasons for transferring obviously. You should probably spend the most time perfecting your essays and I think you can send an "Arts Supplement" in with things of that sort. You can call and see if that applies to Creative Writing.</p>
<p>Uh, Obviously your GPA is kind of low so you probably want to find a way to talk about the upper division classes that you took. Hopefully they factor in Strength of schedule like the BCS.</p>
<p>Would you want to transfer to a private? What about smaller LAC's like Pomona, Carleton, Occidental? </p>
<p>What kind of school are you looking for exactly?</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses! I feel a bit exhausted with the middle-sized school-- UCSB really is a great place, but sometimes I wish the school was either larger and more diverse (like UCLA, UNC, UMich) or smaller and more dedicated to the humanities (like a LAC). </p>
<p>I initially just plugged in "top creative writing programs" into Google but the results ranged from small public schools like UC Riverside to Columbia to small LACs like Knox. Considering my GPA is low I didn't want to go blindly applying everywhere (especially somewhere like Yale :D).</p>
<p>I've mostly just been trying to narrow that range down. It's been difficult so any response helps!</p>
<p>PS. just to flesh out my situation a little bit more-- I really want to be able to submit a portfolio because I think it'd be the most valuable aspect of any application I submit.</p>
<p>Are there schools maybe comparable or less stringent in terms of selectivity to Columbia I should look into? While I would love entering that echelon of schooling and am confident that I'd be able to succeed in it I'm not sure I have a decent chance of making it.</p>
<p>Well are you applying for spring semester or next fall? How much do you think you could possibly raise your gpa? 3.3ish? 3.4ish? I think with the right reasons its possible to pull off a top 20 with a nice creative writing program? Idk. </p>
<p>Less selective LAC's though like Occidental? Colby? Try Wesleyan?</p>
<p>I'd be applying for a semester post-fall. I think a 3.3 is definitely within reach-- I'll definitely look into the schools you've mentioned. I really didn't explore LACs or schools like Brandeis coming out of hs; definitely something I regret.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help. I've shot an email to Columbia asking them about the portfolio thing; hopefully that goes well. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Seconding the LACs, especially Bennington and Bread Loaf at Middlebury. A lot of people from my high school were very strong creative writing types and attended. Middlebury's competitive though, so I'd recommend Bennington.</p>
<p>I just wanted to let you know that even though you might get into Columbia, Lebron will never win a championship. It'll be the Lakes twice or three times. Boston might steal one in the next couple of years. Then the Hornets and Utah. Then Beasley will get traded to the Sonics and him and Durant will win a couple. </p>
<p>Kk that last one is a fantasy but yeah, Lebron's gonna end up like a 50 year old spinster. Ringless and unhappy.</p>