<p>My daughter has been accepted at Smith. I think it's a great fit for her except for concerns about the strength of the English Department, which is her intended major. Any thoughts on the English department? Would it be a hassle to take classes at Amherst, which has a great reputation as a place for aspiring writers?</p>
<p>Is she interested in creative writing, then, and not just English?</p>
<p>Smith's English department is probably the strongest humanities department on campus IMO (I'm grouping Government in with social sciences for the purposes of this post). It's one of our biggest majors, so there are always lots of classes with good profs, and I've always had excellent experiences in all of my English classes. They were all very challenging (and I consider myself an "English person"), and probably the most grade deflated classes I've ever taken, but they've all been worthwhile. </p>
<p>If creative writing is more her thing, I admit there are some holes in Smith's planning. There are lots of 100 level creative writing classes and lots of 300 level creative writing seminars, but not a lot offered in between. Also, we don't offer a creative writing major (as I'm sure you know). But like journalism, it's not necessarily better to major in creative writing if you want to be a writer. </p>
<p>I really think though, that if your daughter is an English major, she will likely find more than enough in the department to satisfy her without taking classes at Amherst.</p>
<p>"Would it be a hassle to take classes at Amherst, which has a great reputation as a place for aspiring writers?"</p>
<p>Amherst's English department, sadly, is not what it used to be. It is still very, very good, but likely no better than Smith's, and the Poetry Center at Smith is far more active than its Amherst's counterpart.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts</p>
<p>For writing, Smith is stronger in poetry than in fiction. Amherst used to have a great reputation for creative writing (more in the fiction realm), but right now, UMass may have the best reputation of the five colleges, primarily because of their MFA program.</p>
<p>My d almost decided against Smith because of the lack of a creative writing minor, but then decided (correctly, I might add) that she didn't need to major in writing to "become a writer." Right now, as a first year, she's taking advanced short story writing, which is her first creative writing class there, and there won't be anything left for her to take at Smith. </p>
<p>Taking classes at the other schools is possible, but they aren't close enough together to make scheduling a no-brainer. The student has to carefully orchestrate everything to make sure she has enough time to get back and forth. I understand that it's easier for students who have their own cars.</p>
<p>PM me if you want to know more.</p>
<p>I consider the English department here to be one of the best and strongest at Smith. I haven't taken an English/Creative Writing class at the other four colleges, but after looking at course offerings for Hampshire, Amherst and MoHo, I think I can safetly say that Smith has the broadest offerings of the three. Umass's course catalog is a little hard for me to decipher sometimes, so I can't agree or disagree about them having the best reputation in CW, but I understand that their MFA program is rigorous (James Tate is art of the poetry faculty there with Dara Wier). </p>
<p>One thing I have to say about taking Creative Writing classes in the Valley, specifically. I'm getting ready to try and take Intermediate Poetry Writing at Hampshire. A lot of fiction/poetry classes are by Instructor Permission only here and, although I'm not sure what other school's policies, Smith requires its students to get a signature from the professor before their application to register can even move foreward. CW/Fiction classes are also typically very small, thereby not even guaranteeing that you will get in even if you do get the instructor's permission. Therefore, setting up classes here in CW if you don't have a car, or if you are taking a class at "farther away" schools like Umass or Amherst, is sometimes a pain in the ass. </p>
<p>Also, I'm not sure if this applies to fiction writing classes, but I think that if you take them at another college, you must take two poetry classes to gain a "Literature" credit towards Latin Honours.</p>