<p>I'm looking into UNC - Chapel Hill and I was wondering if anyone could tell me about their undergrad English/creative writing program. Eventually, my plan is to attend the Iowa Writers Workshop, but in the meantime I want to know what the best undergrad writing courses are.
So far, aside from Chap Hill, I'm looking at Iowa, Wisconsin, Oberlin, Kenyon, Cornell, Columbia, and Emory.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on any of those programs? Any other schools you have heard of with great english/creative writing programs?</p>
<p>I took a couple of creative writing classes my first year at UNC, both poetry. The most you can do with creative writing is a minor. The way it works (at least with the poetry track… I think it’s the same for fiction writing) is you take the first level writing class, then if you do well, your professor recommends you for the next one. Only a certain number can move up. After completing the second course, you have to submit a portfolio for review before taking the third level. After the third level (assuming you take one class per year) you take two senior seminars, which I think are honors. I don’t remember the specifics of these, but I think the first semester one is just a writing project and the second semester one is workshopping and editing. At the end of the year they have a reading of the senior CR students. I think the program is very fine tuned and can be what you make of it. The professors are amazing. Both the professors I had weren’t permanent professors… I guess they were only on a as-needed basis, but they were great. I’ve heard wonderful things about the full time CR professors too. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for a prestigious program, I’m not sure if UNC’s is widely recognized as an amazing one, but I think you can really refine your writing and get a lot of individual attention from some fantastic professors. </p>
<p>As for the English department (English is one of my majors at UNC), my experiences have been pretty good. It is definitely not a hugely demanding major. After the basic classes I think you only need 10. The requirements are 2 survey classes, one pre-romantic, one post. Then you can choose from a number of classes that fall under certain categories: one class pre-1600, two classes 1600-18something, and one class post 1900, then three electives from any area above level 200. All of my professors have been great and really passionate. Oh I just remembered one additional requirement- Shakespeare. My only complaint would be that the two required surveys and Shakespeare are kind of annoying because they can be large and sectioned with TA’s because every single English major has to take them. But once you get past those, the more specific classes that you get to chose to your tastes are great. </p>
<p>Hope this helps! If you have any other specific questions I’d be glad to answer</p>
<p>That actually helped a whole lot! I’d heard some good things about the program but nothing really specific. So would you say the undergrad creative writing minor is pretty hard to get in to? I know about some universities I’ve looked at, for instance, er, let’s say Iowa, it is very, very hard to get in to and very stressful, because the teachers are the prestigious grad school professors. So, rather than an english major with a concentration in c.w., it’s a english major with a possible minor in c.w.? Did I understand that right?</p>
<p>Erm, other questions…What would you say the social life at UNC is like? From what I’ve heard, Chapel Hill is a very diverse and alternative part of the “south”. I’m very liberal and into music/art and all that so what’s that scene like in Chapel Hill?</p>
<p>I am visiting campus in mid-July so I should at least get a good feel for the town, even though classes won’t be in session. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Yes, it would be an english major with a CW minor. Hmm… I wouldn’t say it is hard to get into. At least in my experience it was really easy to take the introductory poetry writing class, but I took the honors version and I was in the honors program. Honors students have the option of taking intro poetry or intro fiction to count as a basic english (101 or 102) requirement. But even if you’re not in the honors program, I don’t think it would be hard to get your foot in the door. I just looked at the class listings and there are still some seats open for intro creative writing classes, and everyone has registered for classes already except incoming freshmen. Once you’ve taken that introductory class and establish a good relationship with your professor, moving to level 2 is not difficult. I stopped after that by choice, but I could have submitted a portfolio for review to move on. This is probably where it gets a little more intense, but at this point you’ll probably be really close with a CW professor who can really help you with perfecting this step. A great thing about the program is the small classes. My level 2 poetry class only had 8 people, so it is really intimate and everyone is close. And even though everyone (well, mostly) is fighting to move on to the next level, it doesn’t feel competitive, just really comfortable. So, I wouldn’t be worried about not being able to get into the program. </p>
<p>Chapel Hill is a really refreshing place for an artsy liberal in the south. The majority of the student body is politically liberal and there are a ton of groups on campus that really cover everything you could think of. Carborro is the town right down the road from Chapel Hill that is really the little trendy gem. You can walk there (30 min walk) or take one of several buses and there’s a farmer’s market, a local/organic grocery store/co-op, art galleries, places for arts classes (check out The Arts Center Carborro online- I’ve taken a pottery class here- they have drama, music, everything), a great little concert place called Cat’s Cradle, and great little restaurants. Franklin Street that runs right along the northern edge of campus has some great little places too-an art gallery, shops, restaurants, etc. Around town there’s a Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and a bunch of little local shops that sell eco-friendly things. I’m a liberal, artsy, environmentalist and I love it here. I may be biased, but I think Chapel Hill is one of the best college towns. It is really quaint, but it is just packed full of amazing places and things to do.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill does sound pretty awesome! I’m stoked to visit this summer. For college towns/atmospheres I had been looking at places with that west coast/colorado vibe - you know, the small town with the hippie vibe a bit? (Northeast can feel a bit stiff sometimes I think.) Anyways, Chapel Hill sounds just like that but with better weather from what I hear. I love NC so that’s definitely a benefit. I’ll be sure to check out all those places you mentioned when I visit.</p>
<p>Eight people in a c.w. class?? That’s great! I like that it’s so small and I can form such a close bond with a teacher. I’ve taken writing classes at Vanderbilt as part of a summer program for talented youth before so I know (this sounds arrogant, ack, don’t mean it to at all!) that I have for the most part what it takes. My biggest worry with doing a minor/major like c.w. was with the portfolio based admission. However, it’s good to know that there is the possibility of getting close to that teacher and having their extra help throughout the program.</p>
<p>What about Greek Life? Super prevalent on campus, would you say? I won’t be going out for Greek Life as I’m definitely not into that scene whatsoever, but I’m curious about how it plays a role on campus. I’m not opposed to attending a school with a fairly large GL but if that is all that there is socially, that could be a problem. Thus far, UNC doesn’t sound that way though.</p>
<p>Yeah, Chapel Hill definitely has that vibe. It’s a small town but a big campus so it has a kind of eclectic feel with all kinds of different people from all over the place. </p>
<p>UNC is really good about small classes in higher levels. My intro poetry class was strictly capped at 20 I think and the next one probably is limited to 12 or 15 but it just happened to be smaller because it was at 5pm, which is a horrible time for a class, trust me. It sounds like you have some great experience so I wouldn’t be worried at all, even with the portfolio step. And it’s good to kind of be forced to get that portfolio together and refine your best pieces because you have to do that kind of thing eventually. </p>
<p>Ha Greek life at UNC… there are Greeks, and there are very non-Greeks. I think the statistic is something like 20% of students are involved in Greek life, but that includes the people in like pre-dental fraternities that are basically clubs. But yeah, there are the stereotypical frat boys in their polos and the sorority girls in their jogging shorts and cowboy boots (that’s what they wear here, it’s quite bizarre). I find it easy to ignore them though. But it’s also pretty amusing because the anti-Greek life people are plentiful and everyone pokes a little fun at them. There’s a column in the paper (The Daily Tar Heel) that comes out every Friday called the Kvetching Board and people submit little 1-liner funny complaints, and somehow half of them end up being pointed at GL. So don’t worry, you’ll feel more at home being a non-Greek than you would a Greek.</p>