Funky Writer Son - Need Suggestions

Parents Forum
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<p>My son is all over the map... very smart, very intellectual, extremely creative; reasonably good test scores; 'meh' GPA- but in a hard IB program. Poor in math/science. He has ADD but takes no medication and the accommodations he gets are minimal (front row seating, etc).</p>

<p>SAT 2000 (680 CR 650 M 670 W) took once SAT 2 ~600 in Bio & ~600 World Hist (4 on AP)
ACT 29 composite (Eng 33, Math 25, Reading 33, Sci 25, Eng/Writing 31)
GPA 3.5 weighted
IB/honors/ CC & UC classes
great essays</p>

<p>Interested in majoring in Creative Writing. Took a College course in writing short stories at UC and loved it. Loves Philosophy, Politics, English.</p>

<p>I think he'd thrive at an open curriculum LAC or small University as he's really better off in classes in which he has a deep interest in the subject matter and personal interactions with professors. (His UC writing class was 8 kids.)</p>

<p>Thinking Vassar, Wes, Kenyon, Bard, Sarah Lawrence.</p>

<p>I'm looking for similar schools which might be likelier: Emerson,_______? </p>

<p>Is NYU out of the question? Is Hopkins out of the question?</p>

<p>He will also apply to UCs, probably Riverside for Creative writing undergrad major, UCSC, and maybe take a flyer at UCLA or UCB.</p>

<p>He'd be happy anywhere in the US or even Canada. He's white, and does not qualify for FA. He's into music and Art and would probably prefer an urban environment but it's not at all required.</p>

<p>Any suggestions we might have overlooked? Any schools hungry for indie-writer kids from Calif????</p>

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<p>Maybe also look into Ct. College. I think they have a writing program and it is also an excellent school. Best of luck!</p>

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<p>I've been wondering about the College of Creative Studies lit program at UCSB. Most of the CCS info here is about the physics program. Maybe someone else knows more?
College</a> of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara - Literature</p>

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<p>Grinnell might be worth looking into.</p>

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<p>Reed is more controlled curriculum, rather than open, but our daughter with learning issues did better there than she thought she would at a school with looser structure.
very good connections with not just profs, but all staff.</p>

<p>She also co-led an ADD support group while she was there & had an organizational coach.</p>

<p>Reed</a> College Creative Writing: Info</p>

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<p>Thanks for these ideas. </p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>Your list of Vassar, Bard, Kenyon, Sarah Lawrence & Wesleyan is great. Consider Oberlin & Grinnell as well. Colorado College & Cornell College may be appropriate if concentrating on one course per term is helpful to your son.</p>

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<p>Goucher has an excellent writing program.</p>

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<p>Fairhaven College at Western Washington- WWU is big but Fairhaven is small. It sounds like an interesting program. I know several SB kids who are happy and thriving at Western.
Fairhaven- small classes, lots of discussion, critical thinking and I think no grades.</p>

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<p>I agree to check out the College of Creative Studies at UCSB. Its like a small college within the university where students can design their own program, have small classes and much more interaction with professors. Son is a math/philosophy major at Cal (which he loves by the way) but thought seriously about CCS.</p>

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<p>I think Wesleyan, Grinnell, Oberlin, and Hopkins may be a pretty big stretch with a 3.5 weighted GPA. Is his unweighted GPA below 3.0?</p>

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<p>Hiram is cool. Not a suburb but not far east of Cleveland, Ohio. They would love a Californian - they need more out of state students. It would be a safety and the Lindsay Crane Center there has a specialty in creative non-fiction. Hiram has an academic year system that the kids really enjoy, too. 3-1-3-1, the "Hiram Plan"</p>

<p>Lindsay-Crane</a> Center for Writing & Literature | Distinction</p>

<p>The</a> Hiram Plan</p>

<p>Hiram definitely meets his criteria of "small university" and "personal interactions with professors."</p>

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<p>Hunt, his UW is lower, maybe justa hair under 3.0. His ADD is lethal re missed homework and poor planning. Very hard program, most challenging at his HS, but the grades are a problem. OTOH, his creative writing prof at the UC offered to write him a college rec-- so when it's a class he adores his performance is much better...</p>

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<p>goucher was my first thought</p>

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<p>Beloit, Lawrence, Macalester, St Olaf, Gustav Adolphson, Kenyon, Lewis & Clark, Reed</p>

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<p>I think you mean Gustavus Adolphus the college, not Gustav Adolphson the fisherman.

[quote]
In 1876, named Gustavus Adolphus College to honor Swedish king Gustav II Adolf (1594-1632)

[/quote]

Could be a possibility...
Senior</a> Seminar on Creative Nonfiction | Department of English - Gustavus Adolphus College</p>

<p><a href="Sorry,%20I%20made%20up%20the%20part%20about%20Gustav%20Adolphson%20being%20a%20fisherman...">i</a>*</p>

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<p>I agree that the grades and test scores seem low for many of these places, but if he has a high-quality writing portfolio, that can go a long way. Writing is something where an admissions committee can judge the product itself on their own (or can ask the writing faculty to judge for them), rather than relying on other people's evaluations of it, in the form of grades, tests, and recommendations. So those things become less important in evaluating an applicant's potential.</p>

<p>How about Hampshire? I don't know how the ADD issues would play with its loose structure, but it seems like a good choice for lots of creative students.</p>

<p>A young relative just graduated from Western Washington University with a BA/BFA in creative writing and dance. It worked extremely well for her, in a way that other institutions (including one on the OP's list) didn't. She is more focused on the dance side, and has gotten some great and surprising career opportunities through the program there.</p>

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<p>Warren Wilson, outside of Asheville, NC
Strong creative writing program, very cool school!</p>

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<p>Hampshire came to my mind, too. Worth looking into, though I agree with JHS that the relative lack of structure might be a problem. If you haven't already, looking into the Colleges that Change Lives. Some of those might be good for him. Warren Wilson has an amazing MFA writing program so I'm guessing their undergrad program might also be great. Do a google search for undergratuate writing programs and see what you come up with.</p>

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<p>Hampshire came to my mind, too. Worth looking into, though I agree with JHS that the relative lack of structure might be a problem. If you haven't already, look into the Colleges that Change Lives. Some of those might be good for him. Good idea to check out Warren Wilson. Also, do a google search for undergratuate writing programs and see what you come up with. I think his stats are low for Wesleyan and JHU. He might have a shot at Bard; they like creative types.</p>