Undergraduate Creative Writing- Kenyon v. Vanderbilt

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,

    I am an incoming senior in high school and I am starting to narrow down my schools for when I apply in the Fall/Jan. I want to major in English and creative writing and are drawn to both schools and their respectable programs. Any preference and advice on what school I should focus my time on? I know the obvious differences between the schools-location, possible class size discrepancies, etc. but want to hear any input. Thanks!
2

I know very little about Vanderbilt, but Kenyon’s creative writing program is superb. Very different schools, but if you like both, I would urge you to simply apply to both. They are very competitive.

3

There are a couple of online lists you can browse:

– The 10 Best Colleges for Creative Writers (The Freelancer)
– The 10 Best American Colleges for Writers (USA Today)

Though the lists are independent, five colleges are included on both of them:

Emory
Hamilton
Johns Hopkins
MIT
NYU

4

Kenyon makes a big deal about their writing program. It’s definitely their strength as a school. However, Vanderbilt is higher ranked and carries more prestige (in name alone). Definitely apply to both. You never know…one might turn you down while the other accepts you…or they both might accept you. Who is to say?

But if you are looking for other top writing programs, I’ve heard good things about Oberlin.

5

Kenyon has a great creative writing program of course- John Green went there! I’ve heard it can be harder to get into some of the upper level courses in the department though. It’s a very humanities & social sciences focused school- great science programs and facilities but a very small percentage of students are science majors, so that can be good or bad for an English major (most popular major). In terms of arts, Kenyon has stronger theatre, and Oberlin (askbks123 mentioned their creative writing program) has stronger music of course.
One thing to note with Kenyon- their acceptance rate has dropped drastically in the past two years- from 38% in 2013 to 23.5% in 2015 after they dropped their supplement and The Fault in Our Stars became popular. Due to this, they’re quite yield sensitive, so visit, go to an info session, etc if at all possible.

6

Both schools are strong for writing. Another school that is strong in writing is Middlebury.

At Vanderbilt, Tony Earley teaches there and Vanderbilt has a very rich literary history with “The Fugitives” literary movement (which included notables like Robert Penn Warren).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitives_%28poets%29

7

Apply to both - they’re so selective that they’re both reaches, and for Kenyon make sure to demonstrate interest.

Other programs you should apply to: Columbia, Hamilton, Emory (automatic reaches), and, for safeties, Eckerd and Knox.

8

Thank you all for the help. I have looked into some of the top-tier programs that some of you have mentioned and while they are great, not sure if I am a city person, etc.

 I have realized that Kenyon may not be such a 'possible' anymore due to their increasingly selective admissions office. While I am above the stats for Kenyon and equal for Vanderbilt, I am afraid that the 'yield game' will leave those two at almost equal in difficultly when applying. Guess I will have to pay my dues and visit. 

         Think I am going to apply ED to Vanderbilt, but even then it is a chance game. 

         Anyone know about their 4+1 masters program for Creative Writing at Vandy? 

                            Thanks.