<p>Hi,
This is my first time posting on this site, so i'm sorry if i'm doing this wrong, but I would love to hear your opinions on these colleges and my chances of getting in. Additionally, It would be great if you had any other college suggestions similar to the ones listed. I understand that I don't have a killer GPA, but I'm not trying to get into any ivies either. I'm planning on applying to Bard, Emerson, and SL as reach schools. </p>
<p>-I'm a HS jr. interested in studying writing. I want to be a screenwriter for television, but I would prefer not to major in screenwriting.
-I will have about a 3.1 unweighted GPA by the end of this year.
-I took 1 AP and 1 Honors class freshman year; 1 AP and 2 honors sophomore, and no AP/honors jr year, but a double period college credit video production class
-I'm planning on taking 2 APs, 1 honor, and another double period college credit class SR year
-I would prefer a college with a very liberal setting and a great writing program.</p>
<p>If you want a great writing program and a liberal setting, I suggest Hamilton College. That would also be a reach college for you, though. Another great reach would be Colorado College, a small LAC in an urban area in Colorado (I can’t remember which one) that has a writing-intensive program.</p>
<p>Where are you in-state? Your name is SeattleTeen. If you are a WA resident, Western Washington University offers an English major with a creative writing emphasis that’s probably a safety for you. Seattle University offers an English major with a creative writing minor and a film studies minor; it’s a private university whose students are also above-average when it comes to grades and test scores despite the high acceptance rate. University of Puget Sound is also another small LAC in Tacoma that offers a writing-intensive program and could be a match/safety for you; it’s another one of those schools with misleadingly high acceptance rate (its students are also above-average when it comes to grades and test scores!)</p>
<p>Ithaca College has a writing-intensive program that may interest you and also may be a match for you (just based on grades; can’t be 100% sure without test scores). Marquette University is another small LAC with a writing-intensive English/literature major and could be a match for you. Muhlenberg could be a high-match school that also has a writing-intensive/writing across the curriculum program that might interest you. If you like the idea of a Great Books program (like at St. John’s), you may also be interested in the very tiny Shimer College in Chicago.</p>
<p>Several of the CUNY schools also have writing-intensive sequences (York, Brooklyn, and Lehman all came up during a search on this) and are pretty affordable for out of state students, although the living expenses are likely to be more.</p>
<p>I would recommend you investigate Bard’s ‘alternative’ admissions paths. I believe the acceptance rate is a bit higher (perhaps because applicants are self-selected, I don’t really know) in their interesting Immediate Decision Plan program (IDP). They also have a new plan where you don’t file a normal application (ie no grades.test scores) but just submit a paper (or something like that- I don’t know the details…) Both may be worth looking into if your stats are a bit light for normal regular decision. Know, though, that they don’t have a huge endowment, so financial aid isn’t great… (then again, I don’t think any of the schools in your list have great FA.)</p>
<p>What are your test scores, if any? If you have strong SATs (esp in writing if that is your interest) and maybe the SAT2 Literature test, that might help bolster a lower GPA.</p>
<p>Consider Hampshire College, too. Very liberal setting, and a bit less selective than Sarah Lawrence and Bard. Not sure what their writing program is like but I believe one of the recent Academy Award screenwriters may have been an alum.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’ve already read this here… and I know it’s not what students are usually thinking about when they start making an initial college list, but the money aspect DOES help narrow your list, unless your family is easily full-pay. When my D started looking, we ran the Net Price Calculators for the schools, and that quickly winnowed things down. At that point she could start looking closer at other aspects of the schools. It’s pretty easy to do if you have an account on Collegeboard web site. In you sign into the NPC for any scchool (rather than as “guest”) you can save all the financial information you input, and you won’t have to re-enter it for each school :)</p>
<p>I realize I forgot to mention this, but I got a 179 0n the PSAT (which is apparently supposed to reflect SAT scores so I guess 1790) and i’m taking SAT classes so I i’m hoping to up my score by 200 points. I took just the writing section of the SAT and got 750 and just the critical reading section and got 650. If I could get 600 in math I would have a 2000, but alas… math is my downfall, so that may not happen.
I took the SAT subject test for world history and got 770.
THANKS so much @staceyneil and @juillet for your help!</p>
<p>From the website: The Bard Entrance Examination offers a new way to apply to Bard that bypasses existing standardized tests and admission processes, leveling the playing field among applicants worldwide. The examination enables motivated students to gain admission through an essay test, engaging applicants in a process that more closely mirrors actual college coursework. The examination is composed of essay questions in three categories: Social Science, History, and Philosophy; Arts and Literature; and Science and Mathematics. </p>
<p>The Bard Entrance Examination is an online essay test open to high school juniors and seniors. Completion of the test is equivalent to an application for admission. Candidates who score B+ or higher will receive an offer of admission.</p>
<p>A super safety (but maybe not a financial safety): Columbia College Chicago (a lot like Emerson).
Check out the Story Workshop Method, plus film/TV and Semester in LA, there. </p>