Hey guys! I’m trying to figure out what colleges I want to apply to in the fall. I want to pursue a creative writing major and I want to go to a very liberal college. I like weird and quirky. I am really into music and want a local music scene. I cannot want to go to a rural setting, I have seasonal depression and seeing a lot bare winter trees aggravate it. Money is a bit of an issue, my parent’s income is 50k a year. I’m considering the new school, Sarah Lawrence, Boston university, VCU (safety school), and university of Georgia. If you all have insights to these schools I would appreciate it IMMENSELY! Thanks! 
Have you tried running the net price calculator on each college’s web site to see if it is likely to be affordable?
Regarding creative writing specifically, you can read about Sarah Lawrence and the New School among these two online articles:
The 10 Best Colleges for Creative Writers / The Freelancer
The 25 Most Literary Colleges in America / Flavowire
These two colleges offer either immediate or convenient access to all that New York City offers. If you can make them affordable, they could be great options for you.
I would look towards Sarah Lawrence more.
I visited the New School because it was one my prospects too, but I didn’t feel comfortable there. But hey thats just me!
The tour guide went even as far to say that the major I wanted to go into (Creative Writing also) wasn’t going to help me much and that I was going to keep my coffee shop job until an opportunity arose. But even that in itself is something you shouldnt consider. Do what you love! I know I am !
However Sarah Lawrence is one of the most expensive colleges in the United States. BU is in a Liberal climate, but UG is not so much. The more south you get the more conservative.
BU or SL are your best bets, imo.
Since you need financial aid your best bet is to apply to a range of schools and see where you get accepted and which ones you can afford. I agree that running the net price calculator for each school makes sense.
The New School is in Manhattan and Sarah Lawrence is in the suburbs so think about which type of location you would prefer.
Sarah Lawrence is overpriced, but worth it since is small and good!
If money is an issue, don’t bet on SLC or the New School - both are well-known for being expensive with subpar financial aid. Boston U may or may not give you good aid. Also this depends on your stats - where can you get in?
I was going to suggest University of Georgia for the music scene, but I wouldn’t say it’s very liberal. Vanderbilt has a great creative writing program, and a 4 + 1 program that allows you to get a BA/MA in creative writing. It’s also located in Music City - Nashville. (Although Nashville is known for country, other types of music flourish there too.) Emory is a suggestion - it’s not SUPER liberal, but liberal enough, and Emory has a good creative writing program. Atlanta also has an excellent music scene.
Hamilton College is very well known for its writing program and it does have a quirky nature, but it is quite rural - in Clinton, NY, a small village. I was also going to suggest Oberlin College for similar reasons, but Oberlin is pretty rural-ish, although it is only 35 miles from Cleveland.
You may also be interested in Reed (very liberal, quirky). Hampshire College is a quirky, super-liberal college; the Five Colleges are in small towns but the areas are thriving and probably have good music scenes. Another quirky liberal college is Pitzer, one of the Claremont Colleges; it’s not that far from Los Angeles, which would have good music. Very competitive, though. Evergreen State College is a very liberal, weird college in Olympia, WA, but it’s a public college so I’m not sure how much financial aid you’d get. New College of Florida is a similar concept, on the beach in Sarasota, Florida, not too far from Tampa. Another suggestion is Emerson College, a small LAC in Boston which is focused on communication and the arts. Colorado College is another small, liberal LAC known for a good creative writing program; I’m not sure what Colorado Springs’ music scene looks like.
Johns Hopkins has a prestigious writing program called The Writing Seminars, although I don’t know anything about Baltimore’s music scene. Princeton supposedly has a great creative writing program as well, but small-town NJ isn’t exactly known for good music. NYC and Philadelphia are within reach, though.
Southwestern University is a small LAC that’s about 40 minutes from Austin, which is also reputed to have an excellent local music scene. The University of Puget Sound is a small LAC right outside of Seattle, and Seattle has a great local music scene as well.
a lot of quirky, small school is covered in the thread I started for my son’s college search, probably worth reading the whole thread,we received a lot of great suggestions:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1687953-quirky-school-list-p1.html
Sarah Lawrence is not generous, but it doesn’t hurt to apply and see if they would be willing to fund you. Sometimes miracles happen. Maybe consider schools in the west coast? Pomona, Pitzer are nice, even though they are really competitive. Weather is not an issue unless you hate the heat.
Like other posters, I would recommend that you look into other schools as well, especially those that are more generous or offer good financial aid.
LACs in or near cities/towns: Swarthmore, Macalester, Reed, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Vassar, the Claremont colleges, Smith, Wesleyan, Barnard, Occidental, Trinity College, etc.
I highly recommend Scripps College for you.
OP says in her other thread that she is a (northern) VA resident and her stats are 3.8 GPA, 1820 SAT. Put that together with needs significant FA and I think most of the suggestions so far need to be re-visited.
From her other post (which was asking about UT-Austin), not interested in state flagship (UVa), b/c too preppy.
If that is as serious as you are indicating, rule out any college north of, say, North Carolina on the east coast.
New College of FL is very affordable, even for out-of-state students. They offer an automatic $15k merit scholarship, and their tuition is lower than most public colleges for non-residents to begin with. They usually meet need, furthermore, and take great pride in the relatively low debt burden most students graduate with. I’m not sure how great the local live music scene is. There are a lot of beach bars with cover bands playing the usual stuff, but I think St. Pete has a small scene downtown. NCF students perform a lot of original music, also. Nothing helps SAD more than a walk on the beach in December or January.
Well OP ought to retake the SAT and get a better score. Alternatively OP can still apply to the test-optional schools.
I second New College of Florida. While their out of state student $15,000 aid is no longer automatic (if you apply by a certain fate and accept their offer by a certain date), they do hand out money to OOS students easily. Also look at Hendrix College. I like Bryn Mawr and Haverford but you would have to bring up your test scores significantly.
Thanks for the support everyone! I do plan on retaking the SAT in October, and I won’t apply ED to anywhere so the November test may also be an option. Again thanks ton! I’ve updated my list to include a well thought out list of safeties, match, and reaches.