<p>Just adding on Beloit. Although I have never visited, I have read that it may have the students she is looking for and it is close to a metro area. Have no idea about their writing department.</p>
<p>ps
like all other careers, connections and networking matter as much as talent. When you narrow the search, look for a department where the profs are published in the type of writing that engages her, so that they can mentor her on the getting published end of the field, and if they develop student-prof relationships, they can bring her to parties, book events, readings etc.</p>
<p>sliversas: Good thoughts, and they had already occurred to me. In fact, I’ve arranged to get her a job waitressing so she can learn the ropes for doing that if she goes to live in a place like NYC without going to college right away. Or ever, for that matter. Nursing? Maybe. Nuclear physics? <em>snort</em> Clearly, you don’t know my daughter <em>grin</em> Frankly, if she doesn’t write, she’s most likely to go the musical theater actress route.</p>
<p>Ergo, the waitress training thing.</p>
<p>Shimer College, maybe. It’s a <em>tiny</em> school of 150 kids, right in downtown Chicago. It’s a Great Books school, so the classes are entirely reading source material, discussing it in small groups, and writing about it. The people there are enormously quirky, ridiculously academically engaged, and many of them are flat-out brilliant. Most kids would hate it, but those who find the school appealing thrive there. Diversity within the student body would be the only drawback-- there isn’t much of that.</p>
<p>silversas: Thanks for the advice about publishing and profs. She’s quite lucky to have an agent at this point, and the agent says she has some publishers waiting to read the finished novel after reading the first few chapters. Naturally, she writes YA fiction, which is hot at the moment, and her prose is … well … it’s beyond most of us. Honestly, our main concern is the old adage that writing teachers can make bad writers good, good writers good, and brilliant writers good ;-).</p>
<p>partyhat: Now, Shimer is one I hadn’t thought of, and I believe that, if it’s like it used to be, she could finish out high school there. Thanks!</p>
<p>I say University of Michigan, pretty diverse. Great writing program, decent sized school filled with quirky artsy types.</p>
<p>"I actually had a conversation with a faculty member there about the difference between graduate schools of ancient studies at Chicago and Penn. He said, “Penn faculty laughs sometimes.” "</p>
<p>Hmmm. Unless things have changed alot, the B school (and I think the Econ dept) at UC is very different. Not that that helps your D, just got me thinking.</p>
<p>U of Chicago…<br>
One note, many very top kids “shouldering most of the burden of her team assignments” and continue doing so at college. But that is where they get their leadership skills, not frustration, that is how they get hand picked by profs for SI positions. I would suggest to look at everything positively, and she will be all set. Be accepting, as a lot of very smart and hard working kids just want to have fun with friends, they might be the biggest goofs, not showing off too much their intelligence so to speak.</p>
<p>Hey I have a writing D too 
And she’s deep in the process of looking at schools. Have you looked at the list of AWP writing programs? They have a list of 400+ undergraduate writing programs you can access at: [The</a> Guide: AWP’s Guide to Writing Programs](<a href=“http://guide.awpwriter.org/]The”>http://guide.awpwriter.org/)</p>
<p>Right now Oberlin is high on her list but we haven’t visited. She took MIT off of her list because of the requisite science & math classes, but is really intrigued by Stanford. As well as Emerson (although my concern is that the student body might not be as strong as other schools; however their writing program is known for producing the Emerson “Mafia” which is strong in networking.)</p>
<p>Has she done any summer writing programs such as at Sewanee, Kenyon or Iowa?</p>
<p>Exeter, where JK Rowling went to college as a major in French…</p>
<p>Frankly, ANY and ALL above will do for your DD, it matters when she publishes a knocker(or rocker)… and don’t forget to send one to everyone who have responded. Me included. :)</p>
<p>As the parent of a Brandeis alum, I strongly encourage you to look at Brandeis. It has an excellent English department, flexible curriculum, close to Boston, diverse community, commitment to social justice, academic excellence, merit money, study abroad and so much more.</p>
<p>oh BTW, one vote for Chicago…</p>
<p>As a proud parents of Chicago…</p>
<p>Stanford would also be a good fit for her, but it does not have the “urban” feel of MIT/H/Chicago. More suburban/outdoors in feel-8000+ acres. Great writing program though and lots of interesting, smart students to write about!</p>
<p>Smith, Sarah Lawrence, Lewis & Clark?</p>
<p>University of Michigan is a good idea, though I’m afraid she’s going to think Ann Arbor is a bit too much like the college town where she was born and raised. </p>
<p>RobD: Thanks for the list! I’ll definitely review it.</p>
<p>Thanks again to all other respondents.</p>
<p>I’ll throw out UT-Austin Plan II Honors. Great city. Diverse. Smart, quirky kids. Excellent liberal arts education: [Plan</a> II Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/plan2/about/]Plan”>http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/plan2/about/)</p>
<p>Plan II, however, does not look just for geniuses. From the link:</p>
<p>" … admission to Plan II is not based on scores and grades alone; other criteria include a lively spirit of intellectual adventure; a genuine desire for a broad education in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences; and the capacity for imagination and originality."</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is a great place to live, I would take it over Chicago or any other bigger place. It is not just a college town either.</p>
<p>Am I under the wrong impression that life experience is more important than schooling for producing a great writer? I understand that OP’s D is looking for both.</p>
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<p>U of Iowa has a very renowned writing program, but it’s at the graduate level, not the undergraduate level.</p>