Hi! I’m a rising senior, and I’ve mostly narrowed down my list. I received great news yesterday when ACT scores came out, making several of my target schools even better bets. My parents are encouraging me to apply to one more big reach. (Maybe not ivy league big, but still something selective) Cost is not much of a concern for now.
Things I’m looking for in a college:
Undergraduate population: 2,000 to 10,000
Good English and creative writing programs
Preferably in the southeast
Small average class size and little to no lecture classes
Greek life
Good post-graduate career options
In/near a city or town
My strongest stats:
34 ACT (36 Eng, 36 Read, 33 Math, 29 Sci)
4.0 uw GPA/4.35 w GPA
around 200 service hours
leadership in seven clubs (mostly secretary, one president; includes SGA secretary as junior and on student body)
founded a club for writers and leads meetings
written a full novel series and working on getting published
VERY involved with theater all four years (attended conferences; placed in competitions; held leadership on and off stage)
Part time jobs held for at least three years
Editor and contributor to school’s inaugural literature and arts magazine
a few low-commitment clubs
one season each of varsity soccer and basketball
My two current reach schools are Wake Forest and Washington and Lee. Of those, I really like Wake Forest and always have. Washington and Lee is also lovely, but is around number eight on my list of twelve schools.
Other (non-reach) schools that I adore are TCU, Samford University, Furman, and Wofford.
I know I’m not going to have a shot at ivies or others in that rank since I haven’t cured cancer or been in the Olympics yet (half-joking), but I’m interested to research other selective schools that I may not have thought of before since I felt my good but not amazing ACT held me back. Hope y’all are having a nice day!
This article is 9 years old. One of the selling points about Emory is…
“ Who? Salman Rushdie joined Emory’s faculty in 2007”
Unfortunately Mr Rushdie was attacked and severely injured in 2022 and is no longer teaching.
And this…
Where? Atlanta, Georgia, also home to Ludacris, the wordsmith responsible for such poetic firestorms as “Now tell me who’s your housekeeper / and what you keep in your house?”
Ludacris hasn’t released an album since 2015 but somewhat dubious even if timely to think or relate his city of residence as a reason to attend Emory. Not sure I understand the point.
What in the link about Emory do you find most compelling or relevant for OP? Do you think anything else might have changed in close to a decade?
FYI OP I think Emory is likely an excellent choice but question the usefulness of the aforementioned link and suggest a more current review for your benefit.
One more point. While you’re a great student and a 34 is exceptional, it’s also common on most campuses. You mentioned near a city and W&L, while awesome…isn’t. Similar to my suggestion of Sewanee. I assume you are chasing Johnson ?? Perfectly reasonable - as did mine. And it is a stunning campus.
You noted good career options. English and creative writing are one of those majors that are fantastic but don’t necessarily compute to career ready.
Rather than say - these are my favorites - but if outcomes are that important to you - I’d reach out to each school’s career department or academic department - and find out the outcomes of these students. Are they employed ? If so where, doing what - so you can see if it’s related to the major ? Did they have a second major carry them ? Are they in grad school ? If so studying what ?
You’ve got a great list, an eclectic list of schools - I’m guessing based on rank, location or other areas.
But given the major and not sure what types of opportunities you are seeking - but I’d dig deeper ? Who has EC opportunities - places for you to write on campus ? Who is placing and what are those kids doing?
Your list might be great as is but given the major and likely underemployment it will often lead to, I’d dig a step deeper.
Ps - Samford is extremely religious and Wofford somewhat. Are you ok with that ? They, especially Samford, really stand out vs the others.
Here is my opinion. Very often your college major is not directly tied to your future career. If you want to major in creative writing, and English…go ahead and do so. While you are in college, you may find other things that pique your interest as well.
Anyway…I vote for adding Davidson and Emory to your list.
Thank you! I was not a fan of Tulane, Vanderbilt, or Duke, but I am starting to think about Emory again! (I unfortunately had to disqualify Richmond because of a severe spider phobia. I liked some of the things I learned about it but couldn’t get past the mascot.)
Thank you! I did visit Davidson briefly but did not feel as though I was a good fit personality wise with the other students. A couple of the others are definitely being considered now!
You’ve been given some great schools to consider. I have nothing to add, but will say that as I was reading your list (until I got to the last item), I was thinking Sewanee (U. of the South) as a suggestion, which @tsbna44 has already mentioned. It’s not a super-reach school, but it seems to hit a lot of the items on your wishlist.
@thumper1 is right about the future and most end up in jobs they didn’t even know exists. But this is the sort of info I was getting at. It’s from 2021 and earlier but might give you an idea from Wake where English grads end up.
Other schools should have similar. It won’t open to major. When you open scroll way down and you can set to major.
I am chasing Johnson. If I don’t earn it, then W&L wasn’t one of my very top picks anyway, so I’m not too concerned. Even though W&L isn’t near anything huge, I loved the town of Lexington and thought it was interesting that VMI was also literally next door.
I’ve also definitely investigated the writing scenes on campus and in the surrounding areas and been pleased with most of my findings. Luckily, I am not placing all of my eggs in one basket with novel writing but am planning to find a more stable career where writing is ab important skill.
I’m also more than okay with the religious affiliations. I am Baptist myself and hope to have a supportive faith environment. I’m not strictly searching for Christian schools, but they aren’t a con for me.
Thank you for you lengthy and thoughtful response!
You should have a good shot at Wake Forest if you can apply ED. The average ACT score for the 2023-24 class was 33, so you would be at the top of the midrange. The English department at Wake is small, but very good. D21 was able to double major in English and Business Enterprise Management. She had a wonderful experience there and got a good job before graduation where she could apply both majors.
Wake also has a rolling ED admission process. Applications can be made as early as August and the first decisions are handed out in early October, giving denied students the option of up to two more ED applications.
Thank you for the response! While I think everyone in my family would love me to go to Wake, applying ED is not possible. We all have great love for the school, though! It was my number one for about three years.
Even though W&L isn’t near anything huge, I loved the town of Lexington and thought it was interesting that VMI was also literally next door.