<p>U of Iowa's writing programs are not safeties. That is something you need to research when applying to schools--if certain departments are more selective than the school in general.</p>
<p>What are your SATs and other test scores? What courses have you been taking? A private school like yours is likely to have good college counseling and record keeping as to where kids with certain stats from there are getting into college. They can give you some suggestions. </p>
<p>I always advocate looking for a very good likely/safety school first that meets your needs. A suggestion is Goucher. Great location, beautiful school, strong writing program. My son's close friend is there on a generous merit award. He is a published writer already, and after considering a number of schools, many more selective, chose to go there.</p>
<p>Oberlin came to my mind until you said that you wanted a urban environment. If you must have an urban environment, I recommend Macalester, NYU, and UChicago.</p>
<p>Wait..unless you apply SEPERATELY for the Writing programs (which, in retrospect to my post seem highly likely now...),,University of Iowa is definitely a safety. Basically everyone with the right requirements gets in.</p>
<p>Iowa City = definitely not urban, but has a nice little downtown area (I live here and JUST got back from eating there, so I should know ;)), the mall is decent and the outlet mall is a 30 minute drive. Oh, and a LOT of party-ness. hahah, I don't know if that's a plus or a minus for you.</p>
<p>There are a few. Macalester, as people mentioned. Occidental (where Obama started :D) is another one, in LA. I forget how the writing is at Oxy, and I never really looked at the gov, but you should look into it if you're interested in an Ubran LAC.</p>
<p>Did anyone mention St. John's College, somewhere in Maryland or VA? My niece LOVED that college--she was there for a Telluride experience one summer.</p>