<p>My son is interested in attending a college for Creative Writing major, his dream college is Columbia. Does anyone know any others of top-ranked college for Creative Writing? Thanks.</p>
<p>My son is a Junior student now and so far his GPA is 4.0, SAT I 2270(CR760, M710, W800/80-11), SAT II World History 79, Biology 750, Chemistry 750, Chinese 790.</p>
<p>Thanks for any helps!!!</p>
<p>Brown, I believe.</p>
<p>Thanks, we never realized that Brown’s Creative Writing is so good. How about Chicago U and Sworthmore? Which of three is better?</p>
<p>This has been discussed ad nauseam. ANY college people would suggest on this thread can be found in one of these threads or others:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/565759-best-creative-writing-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/565759-best-creative-writing-programs.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/510717-undergraduate-creative-writing.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/510717-undergraduate-creative-writing.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/531078-best-universities-creative-writing.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/531078-best-universities-creative-writing.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/511792-most-known-best-creative-writing-program.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/511792-most-known-best-creative-writing-program.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/531078-best-universities-creative-writing.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/531078-best-universities-creative-writing.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/362166-best-creative-writing-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/362166-best-creative-writing-schools.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/195992-undergrad-creative-writing-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/195992-undergrad-creative-writing-programs.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/120937-english-creative-writing-major.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/120937-english-creative-writing-major.html</a></p>
<p>By far most of the best undergraduate writing programs are found at LACs – Bard, Kenyon, Oberlin, Hollins (N/A for your son), Sarah Lawrence, Emerson, Warren Wilson, and the like. </p>
<p>Among universities, Hopkins, Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, NYU, UVA, and others have great programs.</p>
<p>It is very help!!! Thanks, IBclass06.</p>
<p>University of Iowa.</p>
<p>
Hardly. Iowa’s reputation in creative writing is almost entirely centered around its MFA program.</p>
<p>Although it has recently developed an undergraduate program, it has prerequisites, and admission to the program is certainly not guaranteed. It’s only open to juniors and seniors, in any case.</p>
<p>Brown does not have a creative writing program for undergraduates. Also, its creative writing program is highly experimental/avant garde. </p>
<p>Hopkins, NYU, BU, Cornell, Kenyon, Oberlin, Columbia, and many of the ones mentioned above.</p>
<p>There’s an undergrad writing major on the Brown website known as “literary arts”. But it looks good- creative writing workshops combined with reading classes.</p>
<p>Hamilton College</p>
<p>Kenyon College!</p>
<p>IBclass06:</p>
<p>Sorry, friend, but to say that Iowa only “recently developed” an undergrad creative writing program, or that the only show going is the MFA program, is simply misinformed.</p>
<p>In 1979 (were you even born then?), I transfered from an Ivy to study creative writing at Iowa. I did so at the recommendation of two young English professors (both aspiring writers), which was where one sought advice on such matters back in the dark days before CC. </p>
<p>Even back then, Iowa had a well established, and well reputed, undergrad creative writing program. Same as today, you could take creative writing workshop classes (about 8 to 12 per class) without prerequisites as a freshman and sophomore. These were taught by writers and degree candidates from the MFA program. My first fiction writing class as a sophomore was “taught” (I use the term loosely) by Bob Shacochis, who was an MFA candidate at the time. The next level was the “undergraduate writers workshop” classes, which were taught by the same writers who taught the MFA program - in my day (for fiction), Clark Blaise, Barry Hannah, James McPhereson, Jack Leggett, and Mark Costello. Entrance to the undergraduate writers workshop, then as now, was competive, based on your submission of a manuscript. Which was a good thing, in my view, cause all they cared about was whether you could write; GPA, recommendations, SAT scores, high moral character, all didn’t count for squat, and wouldn’t get you accepted. Iowa City was flooded with visiting writers who gave readings and other events. I spent three years there, got a BA in English with Emphasis in Creative Writing, and had the time of my life. </p>
<p>I’m not completely sure what’s going on in Iowa nowadays, and I noticed on Iowa’s web site they now offer something called the “new” “Undergraduate Creative Writing Track” (which is perhaps what threw you off) but frankly it doesn’t look any different than the program I did 30 years ago. My guess is they are simply repackaging and formalizing it for newer times, probably in light of heavy undergraduate demand. </p>
<p>Without doubt, the MFA program got most of the attention, but the presence of Writers Workshop without question was a benefit to the undergrads insofar as we got to take classes from the MFA teachers and degree candidates, and, more importantly, got to hang out with and befriend them. I’m a big fan of LACs, but honestly I don’t think any of them can replicate the undergrad creative writing saturation I had at Iowa. My son is looking at colleges right now, but is not interested in creative writing; if he were, I’d tell him to forget about the Bards, and Kenyons, and Oberlins of the world and to head to where the tall corn grows. But to each his own.</p>
<p>Sorry to ramble on at length, but your comment that Iowa only recently developed undergrad creative writing threw me for a loop. Or perhaps I just hallucinated my experience there. Three years drinking at the Fox Head must’ve taken its toll.</p>
<p>
I’d say that depends on a good many things. </p>
<p>a) Finances – Depending on one’s financial situation and state residency, some of those LACs could well be cheaper. The COA at Iowa is $34,812 a year for OOS students, and while I don’t know how generous Iowa is, publics generally are not as competitive with financial aid as privates are.</p>
<p>b) Student body – With 21000 undergrads and 31000 total students, Iowa is a lot larger than most of the schools on this thread. The student body as a whole is less intelligent than those of other suggestions, although it may have an equal amount of highly intelligent students in raw numbers.</p>
<p>c) Academics – Many of the other suggestions (Brown, Hopkins, NYU, etc.) are almost universally excellent. Iowa is not. Should someone decide creative writing is not for him/her, (s)he is probably better situated at the former.</p>
<p>a) Finances. $34,812 at Iowa OOS as compared to $53,000 for Bard or Sarah Lawrence. If I’m investing in the vagaries of a creative writing career, this is a no brainer.</p>
<p>b) Student Body. Well, I went to an Ivy before Iowa and another Ivy (for law school) after Iowa, and I found plenty of stupid and brilliant people at all three schools in just about equal proportions. In any event, your comment reminds me of the Woody Allen line that goes something like, “Gee, you sure know a lot of brilliant people. You ought to try hanging out with stupid people sometimes; you might learn something.”</p>
<p>c) Academics. Sorry, but the premise of the thread is best college for creative writing. But yeah, if you want to study physics, go to MIT or Harvey Mudd. If you want to be a writer, go to Iowa. (Then again, James Van Allen taught at Iowa for years and years…).</p>
<p>BTW, regarding finances, the OP’s son’s stats ought to get him serious merit money at a place like Iowa. Those stats won’t get him into the undergrad writers workshop, though; only his manuscript can accomplish that.</p>
<p>Holy Cross</p>
<p>Sewanee: The University of the South (TN)</p>
<p>If you wanna discuss the pros and cons of Iowa, start a new thread and leave this one. Buh-bye.
Now… :
UNC Chapel Hill
Syracuse
Middlebury
Bennington
Sarah Lawrence
Columbia
Carnegie-Mellon
Cornell
Duke
University of Virginia
That good?</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins’ writing semiar program was ranked #2 by USNWR</p>