<p>I am wondering if anyone can give feedback on this list of schools for my son. He is interested in creative writing, screenwriting, film, and literature. He is a somewhat offbeat student who has done a lot of his coursework through independent study with advisors. ie, Spanish is literary translation, things like that. He's done no AP work but was approved by his high school to take courses at the University of Connecticut --generally reserved for top students, and will have 18 college credits in all when he finishes high school. Half of his high school credits (aside from college credits) are honors. </p>
<p>Profile is: </p>
<p>unweighted GPA of about 3.8 --will have completed 4 years each of the 5 core academic subjects, mostly in honors, not AP.
ACT 33
winner of a number of writing awards, school and city-wide --including first prize for fiction in a city competition and best poem of the year.
Part of an award-winning theater ensemble (through the school) that focuses on performance, directing, and writing original material. (He has had an original play performed, directed another, and had lead roles.) With this ensemble, he has volunteered to travel to schools around the state performing an anti-drug play and also went to the New England Drama Festival as a winner.
Accepted U of Iowa Young Writers Studio (grade 10) and NYU dramatic writing (grade 11), both competitive programs.</p>
<p>This list is apparently too long --goes from high to low-- largely because we are confused as to where he will fit. Which would you eliminate as superfluous --would you leave it all? Thanks.</p>
<pre><code>* Amherst
* Bard
* Bennington
* Boston University (legacy)
* Brown (his brother goes there)
* Dartmouth
* Emerson
* Hampshire
* Ithaca
* Middlebury
* NYU Tisch, dramatic writing (he was here for the summer, has great recs from them)
* Sarah Lawrence (he took two courses here)
* U Connecticut (ultimate safety --they can't reject him, right?)
* U Southern Calif -screenwriting
* Vassar
* Wesleyan
</code></pre>
<p>Sounds like a perfect Sarah Lawrence student to me, if he doesn't get into Tisch. Bard as a backup. (I know nothing about USC.) Lots of great, great schools on the list, of course, but he is going to want lots of individualized study from day one, mentoring, contacts, and a curriculum that will wrap around him, not the other way around, and ways to establish off campus contacts. (That's why Bard is the backup - location - though he might love the student body, and the individualized learning plans.)</p>
<p>yes, but what should we eliminate? I dread the thought of all these applications --is it necessary to apply to all? If not, what should go? Is he covered for reach, match, safety --I guess so.</p>
<p>If it were me (but I don't know your kid), I'd eliminate the really remote ones, and those with heavier distribution requirements (they are all great schools but some of them - Dartmouth vs. Hampshire - very different from each other. And then he has to figure out whether the "well-rounded" liberal arts approach is what he wants - as opposed to something targeted specifically toward him. </p>
<p>I can't imagine he wouldn't notice the differences on his visits. If he liked Sarah Lawrence generally speaking, he'd probably enjoy the schools in the same orbit - Bard, Bennington, Hampshire. If he liked NYU, he'd probably like USC and Boston U.</p>
<p>Middlebury and Dartmouth (and Ithaca) are quite remote, and offer an excellent, well-rounded education - but is that what he is looking for? Amherst the same, though it has great advantages in the 5-College Consortium, with large numbers of writers/poets, etc. coming through. But would he really be happy at any of these?</p>
<p>Brown, Vassar, and Wesleyan are similar, but a little edgier. (You know Brown, I would assume.)</p>
<p>It's difficult to say which schools should be dropped without knowing more about your son and his preferences. One thought from looking at his list is that he seems torn between smaller liberal arts schools and universities, and between schools with more traditional curriculums and schools with kind of free-ranging curriculums. The social climate at the schools on his list also varies considerably. He might start by thinking a bit more about whether one type of school would be a better fit for him.</p>
<p>That said, without knowing your son, I think I'd be tempted to eliminate Amherst and Dartmouth if he is truly interested in creative writing. They have fine English departments but the other schools on his list have stronger creative writing programs. Ithaca is good for journalism/communications but that's a different ball of wax than creative writing. They do have a film major but the focus is on film production, not screenwriting. I'd drop it unless there is some compelling reason he loves it. </p>
<p>But again, this isn't really something anyone can decide but your son (with input from you perhaps). </p>
<p>Finally, if I'm not mistaken, most of the schools on his list use the common application which will make applying easier. If you can afford the application fees, and he is not yet ready to narrow the list down (some kids just aren't ready to do so until later in the year), there's nothing wrong with applying to 10 colleges.</p>
<p>Re: large schools, NYU and USC have great screenwriting programs. BU has a screenwriting program. That is the reason for the larger schools. The screenwriting programs at NYU and USC require special admission and are very intimate. Boston University, since he is a legacy, I think is probably a safety --for all I know it will be the best school he gets into that enables him to study screenwriting. Dartmouth has a screenwriting minor. Sarah Lawrence, while it's very open, doesn't have much screenwriting and neither does Brown or Wesleyan. This explains the scatter. In the end he will have to decide what he wants most.</p>
<p>Well, you know a good "middle of the road" approach would be to look hard at Bard. It has the best overall writing faculty of all those you have listed, a major in film and electronic arts that includes screenwriting, a strong liberal arts curriculum, and a very heavy emphasis on mentoring and individualized study. Students are edgy, and liberal, and artsy (though the college has been trying to build up its science offerings, and is especially strong in environmental science.)</p>
<p>AND it might help you with the application question. They do this "immediate decision" thing beginning November 4th - you go up in the morning, and they give you a decision by the end of the day. If he likes it at all, he will then have an acceptance (if accepted) in his hip pocket, and then can decide what the other schools have that Bard doesn't, and build his final application list accordingly. If he really likes Bard, he wouldn't really need Hampshire or Bennington (or Sarah Lawrence, except that it is close to the city), or he might decide he wants something more traditional (Middlebury, Amherst, Dartmouth), or in a city, or whatever. It could serve as a pivot around which to move.</p>
<p>(By the way, Bard is a school really on the move - they have almost quadrupled their endowment in the past decade, added a Gehry-designed performing arts center, and started a conservatory with faculty that immediately puts it at or ahead of the level of Oberlin. It is very exciting to watch.)</p>
<p>my son would be a better fit at schools that are a bit edgier, more free-ranging in curriculum, and more as opposed to less liberal. I see we can remove Middlebury, Ithaca, and Amherst. re: NYU and USC, he won't go if he doesn't get into the screenwriting programs, he's applying specifically to them. USC screenwriting is extremely difficult to get into --they take 25 freshmen, I believe.</p>
<p>Anyway this leaves 13 on the list. I think if I can get one or two more off it will be fine --just want to make sure there are safeties on there that he can live with other than UCONN.</p>
<p>regarding Bard immediate decision, how does it work if you need financial aid? But yes, this is a great idea. I know about Bard --it is really a top choice for him.</p>
<p>Clueless (you have to ask 'em) - my d. got an excellent financial aid award from them (both merit and needbased), and liked the school a lot, but ended up choosing Smith.</p>
<p>Actually, Wesleyan has one of the finest Film Studies programs in the country. If S is just interested in writing screenplays, without any grounding in English, history, American Studies, or just plain film theory, there are correspondence courses for that; but, I'm assuming he wants the whole package; at some point, depending on his major (at Wesleyan you can design your own) he should be able to do as much writing as he pleases, but, with a genuine liberal arts background behind him.</p>
<p>The Bard IDP program is not binding - they give you a decision, but the student doesn't have to decide until May 1st,so financial aid is the same as with RD. If your son is in the top 5% of his class, he can also apply for a Bard scholarship that would match his tuition to whatever his in-state university would be -- in other words, Bard for the same price as UConn. I think about 40 of these scholarships are granted each year. (Bard was one of my daughter's intended schools up until very recently - she was even planning to fly out from the west coast for the IDP application, she has now dropped it from her list, but the reasons are 100% due to geography. I've got mixed feelings, I think Bard might have been a good college for her, but I think she'd go stir-crazy at a small college in a rural environment, probably within the first 10 minutes.)</p>
<p>yes, Wesleyan has a fantastic film program --the best-- that is why he is applying. I am not sure how much screenwriting it has. But then I agree with you in principle, one can do screenwriting in grad school and undergrad is better left, perhaps, for a broader sweep.</p>
<p>We may have crossed replies while I was trying to edit the above. There are a lot questions about how the industry works and specifically what your son wants out of the whole process that have to be answered, too. I'm working on the assumption that he eventually wants his stuff produced; and if he can get four good scripts under his belt by graduation, his next step would be to start shopping them around; that's practically a full time job. So, going to grad school in order to write some more doesn't sound quite like what he needs either. I think once he gets into the right undergraduate school, there will be ample opportunities for him to write, and more importantly--to network.</p>
<p>Dartmouth/Middlebury not "quirky" (neither is Amherst, but it has 5 colleges)
Bennington/Hampshire too tiny & remote
Ithaca too remote</p>
<p>Remote can be good-- but for theatre it is nice to have a more vibrant scene... </p>
<p>And sorry all you Trojans out there-- but IMHO the way you've described your S he's too mature and independent to feel great fit at USC.</p>
<p>That leaves you 10 schools with Emerson, U Conn & BU as "safer." I agree, do the instant EA at Bard-- if he is admitted, and likes Bard, you will save time worrying about other safeties.</p>
<p>BTW I was a reasonably successful screenwriter (in pre-mom days) and I was an English Lit concentrator at Brown. IMO the schools on the list closest to Brown are Vassar & Wesleyan. </p>
<p>You DO NOT need to major in film to be a screenwriter. You need to read, read, read, read lots of high-quality writing; live, live, live a life full of interesting and diverse experiences; and write, write, write.</p>
<p>It is a fun job if it fits the person. Mostly you have to be fine spending a lot of time alone and motivating yourself (which it seems he can do, from your post.)</p>
<p>Thanks. Based on this feedback we have changed the list --only thing here contrary to advice is keeping USC, because it's screenwriting program really is #1 and son wants it. Yes, we will do the Bard thing as early as possible --if he's in there, we can remove four of the 11 schools now on this list for the final round:</p>
<pre><code>* Amherst
* Bard
* Boston U
* Brown
* Emerson
* NYU Tisch
* Sarah Lawrence
<p>No UCLA? In Ca everyone assumes it's synonymous with going into the business, largely I guess because the business is so relationship-based. But other than that, I know the guy responsible for Buffy the vampire Slayer came from Wesleyan:).</p>
<p>Sorry to add something at this point, and it isn't even on your list, but my son's friend, who I think has similar interests in screen writing and film, is going to Northwestern. I don't have any personal knowledge of the program, so just ignore this post if it doesn't fit the bill.</p>