Where should I apply?

College Search & Selection
1

Stats:

AP Tests: 3 - Chemistry; 4 - English, European History, Biology; 5 - US History
ACT: 33
SAT: 1430
SAT Subject Tests: 670 - US History; 680 - Chemistry; 790 - Math II
GPA: 4.2, ranked second in class of about 300

National Merit Semifinalist – applying for finalist

Main Extracurricular Activities:

Competitive dance at a studio through Junior Year
Second Place at State Science Olympiad, Regional Awards
Third Place at State FCCLA
All-State Music since Freshman year, other honor bands and orchestras as well
Volunteering with rescue dogs, service dogs, Church classes, elderly book outreach – hundreds of hours overall
National Honor Society
Junior Classical League – Latin awards Freshmen and Junior year on National Latin Exam
Speech/ Debate Freshmen Year
Philanthropy and Youth, 4 years, leader Junior and Senior Year, on Leadership Team for entire organization Senior year
**May not put all in application

About me:

Live in Fargo, ND
Upper middle class Caucasian female

THE LIST

Reach Schools (and any Ivy Leagues or top ten colleges I should add?)

Northwestern
Georgetown
Stanford (Maybe?)

Target Schools

University of Minnesota
University of Iowa
St. Olaf
Carroll College

Safety Schools

Concordia
University of North Dakota

I am looking for a school with a good English and Creative Writing program, as, ideally, I would like to become an author. I know this is a difficult field to get into, however, so my back up plan would be to become an English professor, editor, or writer for a business or organization. Would going to a “brand name” school be beneficial for an English major? I would like to get out of undergrad without much debt, as I would like to go to graduate school. However, I am likely to get little financial aid because of my parents financial status.

Is this a good list? Should I adjust it? Also, any insight into schools that are good for writing would be wonderful! I have considered adding schools like Hamilton and Kenyon College to the list, but I have not as they are so expensive and it seems like they offer little merit aid typically.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

2

Have you checked the NPC for Hamilton? The school would be potentially perfect for your interests. In terms of merit scholarship recognition at Kenyon – and access to their excellent English department – your top 1% standing in your class would be likely to distinguish you.

3

Your current reach schools might encounter some serious rivals when viewed in the full context of your goals and achievements. Considered regionally, Kenyon might be the preferred school to Northwestern; Pomona/CMC/Pitzer seem competitive with Stanford; and your choice of Williams, Amherst, Hamilton, Vassar, Wesleyan or Smith/MHC would challenge the even excellent offerings at Georgetown.

Denison might be a good alternative target school. If you would be OK with one-course-at-a-time scheduling, Colorado College could work as well.

The above said, your chances of being accepted at a full range of colleges appear good, and you should not feel limited in this sense compared to other applicants.

4

It appears you might have several excellent options should you modify your search to include LACs that offer merit scholarships. I recommend the following:

Bryn Mawr
Kenyon (mentioned)
Mount Holyoke (mentioned)
Oberlin
Smith (mentioned)

These schools all offer merit scholarships and have strong English departments. They would prepare you well for graduate school.

5

Other good options are Grinell and Reed

6

Scrap the 2 out-of-state publics if you wish to save money. If you’re off to grad school anyway, UND should suffice.

If you want to add a couple more religiously affiliated schools, check out Carthage College (WI; Lutheran) and Centre College (KY; Presbyterian). They both offer full ride and full tuition awards for which you’d be competitive. (The head of the Brown Fellows program at Centre is an English prof.)

Drake University (IA) offers full ride awards, too, just down the road from you.

Denison, as mentioned earlier, might be ok for merit aid.

For English/Creative Writing, where one-on-one time is precious, consider a LAC or two for your reaches (smaller classes from the get-go). Amherst College is top shelf.

7

<<<<
However, I am likely to get little financial aid because of my parents financial status
<<<<

What are your parents saying? How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.

8

You should be looking at schools such as Yale, Princeton, Brown and Tufts and top LACs such as Williams, Middlebury, Hamilton and Kenyon. Being from ND is a big asset as the top schools like to have all 50 states represented.

9

It sounds like the OP is full pay, yet her folks can only throw down, what, I’m guessing $30-40K per year? So she needs lower tuition schools or significant merit aid ($20K+). Tippy-top schools won’t be giving her merit. I suggest applying to a couple of them, though, just to have that option to go for broke, so to speak. I suggested Amherst because that’s probably the top program I’d choose to gain the close attention and rigour that you need in English/Creative Writing. Several others exist.

Yes, she might as well take advantage of her ND residency, but usually the top schools have 50-state representation, anyway. It’s the lower tier, merit aid possibilities that could really use a student from the sticks. Better mileage there.

I think it’s prudent for any well-rounded, 33+ ACT, near-perfect GPA student – especially like the OP who shows concern for not flattening her family financially – to apply for a few big merit possibilities. When parents are grinding their teeth in late April over costs, it’s sure nice to have a full-tuition award or full-ride in the bag (if so fortunate). If you want to convince Ma & Pa that Amherst or Yale is where you need to be, at that point, go for it. It’s all about having options, then hammering it out as a family to come to the best decision.

10

OP should get the Presidential from Olaf, which is $25K per year.

She should get the costs for Creighton down to about $28K with merit, and should get into the Honors Program as well.

Denison, Dickinson, Trinity University, Rhodes all would give good merit, getting the cost down to about $30K per year, possibly less.

Nice options, and Good Luck!

11

If the Claremont Colleges are on your radar (as merc81 suggested above), you should consider Scripps as an alternative to Pomona and CMC. It is the most highly regarded women’s college on the West Coast, and your test scores better align with it than with Pomona, while your interests better align with it than with CMC (which has a strong Econ/PoliSci focus). One of my daughter’s best friends is very happy as a sophomore philosophy major at Scripps.

If you are willing to travel south, you might consider Sewanee, which has many similarities with Kenyon. Both are well known for their strengths in English and Creative Writing, though Kenyon currently has a higher national profile and is more difficult to gain admission to.

Finally, I agree with other posters that your residency in ND might well prove an admissions advantage at more selective schools that are eager to maintain a broad geographical representation among their enrollees. This might be particularly true of elite LACs (which tend to have somewhat less national draw than do elite universities), so don’t be afraid to aim high and roll the dice at a few top programs.

12

Creative writing? Imagine Ransom Riggs and John Green in your creative writing classes. Kinda makes me wonder what I’ve done with my life since graduating next to Ransom in 2001.

A bais Kenyon Grad originally from down I94 in Minnesota.

13

You should definitely apply to Kenyon.

14

@collegemom2kids my parents currently have $50000 saved. They said they could pitch in more if need be. From what they have said, they could pay $20-25 grand a year, but it would be a bit of a stretch.

Thank you all for the commentary! I will definitely be looked into quite a few of these schools!

15

Someone said to drop Iowa and MN, but they have a reciprical deal with ND, right? You would pay in state rates? Iowa is known for their grad school (writing), but I bet the undergrad Eng dept is pretty good. Worth checking out.

16

^^^ Yes, U of M-TC would be ~$6,000 more per year than ND. I’m not seeing an agreement between ND-Iowa.

17

@citymama9 @Dunboyne There is reciprocity with the U of M, but there is not reciprocity with U Iowa. I am looking into Iowa primarily because of their writing program, which is one of the best in the nation from what my research indicates. It would be more expensive paying out of state tuition, but I think I would be able to get close to full-tuition in scholarships. It is definitely one of my top choices currently!