creative writing fife college

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Sir Ian Rankin awards creative writing scholarships to Fife College students

One of the world’s renowned crime writers, Sir Ian Rankin, has awarded special writing scholarships to three students from Fife College.

Popular for his fictional character Rebus, Sir Ian generously supports the annual creative writing scholarship which this year was awarded to students Stephanie Philbin, Murron Carscadden and Eileen Walls.

Offered through Adam Smith Scholarships, part of Fife College, the Ian Rankin Scholarship is open to all full-time students, giving all students with a creative flair the opportunity to submit a piece of writing and have their work read and judged by the celebrated author.

This year’s winning students each received £600, a signed copy of his latest book, A Heart Full of Headstones, and the chance to meet Ian at a special presentation lunch event held at the College’s Kirkcaldy Campus training restaurant, The Academy.

A donor of the College’s scholarship programme since 2005, Ian has supported 55 students, giving up his time to read and critique the written entries and providing feedback on the winners, as well as attending the presentations in person each year.

This year’s recipients were also joined by previous winners, Chloe Robertson, Malcolm Ross, Daniel Savage and Sonia MacPhee, who unfortunately did not get the opportunity to meet Ian previously due to Covid when presentations had to be held online.

Sir Ian Rankin said:

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of this year’s scholarship entries. There was fantastic quality and range, along with the confident use of various techniques. All entrants used their imaginations and writing skills to good effect.” “It was lovely to get the chance to meet this year’s award winners, and previous winners, in person too. I hope their scholarships inspire them to great things and I wish them all the very best for the future.”

HND Counselling student, Eileen Walls, from Dunfermline said:

“I was absolutely delighted to hear that I had been awarded an Ian Rankin Scholarship. Writing poetry has always been one of my greatest loves in life. To have my work read and critiqued by such a creative mind has been a real honour and a wonderful boost to my confidence.”

Intermediate Certificate: Pathway to Further Study student Stephanie Philbin, from Kirkcaldy, said:

“I felt shocked and excited to be awarded this scholarship. The money will be used for items to help me prepare for university next year.”

Lyn Gold, Scholarship and Alumni Engagement Lead at Fife College, said:

“We were thrilled that Ian was able to join us to award his scholarships at The Academy in our Kirkcaldy Campus this year. To have a world-renowned writer like Ian continue to support our students really is amazing.”

“He always takes great interest in the students’ work and generously gives up his time to review and judge their creative writing, which is a hugely valuable experience for them all.

“Ian has been offering this scholarship for 18 years now, inspiring over 50 students in that time. We are so grateful for his ongoing support which we know makes such a difference to our students.”

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To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA .

Creative writing, degree and foundation-level creative writing distance learning courses.

The study of creative writing supports the discovery of your own voice as a writer.

It can help you on your way to become an effective writing practitioner, in your favourite literary form. Whether it’s poetry, scriptwriting, novels, life writing, short fiction, or even writing for children, our range of online creative writing courses can open up the possibilities for you to enhance your writing style and choices.

What are online creative writing university courses?

Online creative writing courses offer you exactly the same programme of study you would enjoy attending an in-person college or university. This includes the support of dedicated experts in the field of creative writing to mentor you throughout your course as well as the benefit of a group of online peers to share the experience with.

If you’re interested in becoming a professional writer or simply looking to pursue your passion for creative writing while continuing to work or manage your caring or parental responsibilities – distance learning creative writing courses provide the flexibility you need.

Study at one of the UK’s few specialist online arts colleges

OCA’s creative offer students the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s or foundation degree at their own pace – leaving with a wide range of new skills as well as a recognised qualification from one of the best creative arts colleges offering distance learning.

Whether you choose to specialise in creative writing or want to study the craft of writing alongside other creative pursuits, you can find out more about our creative writing courses below to get started with creative writing!

BA (Hons) Creative Writing

If you feel you were born to write, or are committed to becoming a writer, the BA (Hons) Creative Writing degree programme is the place to start.

BA (Hons) Creative Arts

The BA (Hons) Creative Arts degree will allow you to combine your writing with another creative practice, maybe illustration or photography, and create something unique.

Foundations in Creative Writing

If you’re not sure about embarking straight onto a degree, why not take a look at our Foundations in Creative Writing.

View all subject areas

What to Know About Creative Writing Degrees

Many creative writing degree recipients pursue careers as authors while others work as copywriters or ghostwriters.

Tips on Creative Writing Degrees

A student sitting beside the bed in bedroom with her coffee cup and writing on the note pad.

Prospective writing students should think about their goals and figure out if a creative writing degree will help them achieve those goals. (Getty Images)

Many people see something magical in a beautiful work of art, and artists of all kinds often take pride in their craftsmanship. Creative writers say they find fulfillment in the writing process.

"I believe that making art is a human need, and so to get to do that is amazing," says Andrea Lawlor, an author who this year received a Whiting Award – a national $50,000 prize that recognizes 10 excellent emerging authors each year – and who is also the Clara Willis Phillips Assistant Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

"We all are seeing more and more of the way that writing can help us understand perspectives we don't share," says Lawlor, whose recent novel "Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl" addresses the issue of gender identity.

"Writing can help us cope with hard situations," Lawlor says. "We can find people who we have something in common with even if there's nobody around us who shares our experience through writing. It's a really powerful tool for connection and social change and understanding."

Creative writing faculty, many of whom are acclaimed published authors, say that people are well-suited toward degrees in creative writing if they are highly verbal and enjoy expressing themselves.

"Creative imaginative types who have stories burning inside them and who gravitate toward stories and language might want to pursue a degree in creative writing," Jessica Bane Robert, who teaches Introduction to Creative Writing at Clark University in Massachusetts, wrote in an email. "Through formal study you will hone your voice, gain confidence, find a support system for what can otherwise be a lonely endeavor."

Read the guide below to gain more insight into what it means to pursue a creative writing education, how writing impacts society and whether it is prudent to invest in a creative writing degree. Learn about the difference between degree-based and non-degree creative writing programs, how to craft a solid application to a top-notch creative writing program and how to figure out which program is the best fit.

Why Creative Writing Matters and Reasons to Study It

Creative writers say a common misconception about their job is that their work is frivolous and impractical, but they emphasize that creative writing is an extremely effective way to convey messages that are hard to share in any other way.

Kelly Caldwell, dean of faculty at Gotham Writers Workshop in New York City, says prospective writing students are often discouraged from taking writing courses because of concerns about whether a writing life is somehow unattainable or "unrealistic."

Although creative writers are sometimes unable to financially support themselves entirely on the basis of their creative projects, Caldwell says, they often juggle that work with other types of jobs and lead successful careers.

She says that many students in her introductory creative writing class were previously forbidden by parents to study creative writing. "You have to give yourself permission for the simple reason that you want to do it," she suggests.

Creative writing faculty acknowledge that a formal academic credential in creative writing is not needed in order to get writing published. However, they suggest, creative writing programs help aspiring authors develop their writing skills and allow space and time to complete long-term writing projects.

Working writers often juggle multiple projects at once and sometimes have more than one gig, which can make it difficult to finish an especially ambitious undertaking such as a novel, a play for the screen or stage, or a well-assembled collection of poems, short stories or essays. Grants and fellowships for authors are often designed to ensure that those authors can afford to concentrate on their writing.

Samuel Ace, a published poet and a visiting lecturer in poetry at Mount Holyoke, says his goal is to show students how to write in an authentic way that conveys real feeling. "It helps students to become more direct, not to bury their thoughts under a cascade of academic language, to be more forthright," he says.

Tips on Choosing Between a Non-Degree or Degree-Based Creative Writing Program

Experts note that someone needs to be ready to get immersed in the writing process and devote significant time to writing projects before pursuing a creative writing degree. Prospective writing students should not sign up for a degree program until they have reached that sense of preparedness, warns Kim Todd, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and director of its creative writing program.

She says prospective writing students need to think about their personal goals and figure out if a creative writing degree will help them achieve those goals.

Aspiring writers who are not ready to invest in a creative writing degree program may want to sign up for a one-off writing class or begin participating in an informal writing workshop so they can test their level of interest in the field, Todd suggests.

How to Choose and Apply to a Creative Writing Program

In many cases, the most important component of an application to a writing program is the writing portfolio, writing program experts say. Prospective writing students need to think about which pieces of writing they include in their portfolio and need to be especially mindful about which item they put at the beginning of their portfolio. They should have a trusted mentor critique the portfolio before they submit it, experts suggest.

Because creative writing often involves self-expression, it is important for aspiring writing students to find a program where they feel comfortable expressing their true identity.

This is particularly pertinent to aspiring authors who are members of minority groups, including people of color or LGBTQ individuals, says Lawlor, who identifies as queer, transgender and nonbinary.

How to Use a Creative Writing Degree

Creative writing program professors and alumni say creative writing programs cultivate a variety of in-demand skills, including the ability to communicate effectively.

"While yes, many creative writers are idealists and dreamers, these are also typically highly flexible and competent people with a range of personal strengths. And a good creative writing program helps them understand their particular strengths and marketability and translate these for potential employers, alongside the more traditional craft development work," Melissa Ridley Elmes, an assistant professor of English at Lindenwood University in Missouri, wrote in an email.

Elmes – an author who writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction – says creative writing programs force students to develop personal discipline because they have to consistently produce a significant amount of writing. In addition, participating in writing workshops requires writing students "to give and receive constructive feedback," Elmes says.

Cindy Childress, who has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Louisiana—Lafayatte and did a creative writing dissertation where she submitted poetry, says creative writing grads are well-equipped for good-paying positions as advertising and marketing copywriters, speechwriters, grant writers and ghostwriters.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual compensation for writers and authors was $63,200 as of May 2019.

"I think the Internet, and writing communities online and in social media, have been very helpful for debunking the idea that if you publish a New York Times Bestseller you will have 'made it' and can quit your day job and write full time," Elmes explains. "Unless you are independently wealthy, the odds are very much against you in this regard."

Childress emphasizes that creative writing degree recipients have "skills that are absolutely transferable to the real world." For example, the same storytelling techniques that copywriters use to shape public perceptions about a commercial brand are often taught in introductory creative writing courses, she says. The ability to tell a good story does not necessarily come easily to people who haven't been trained on how to do it, she explains.

Childress says she was able to translate her creative writing education into a lucrative career and start her own ghostwriting and book editing company, where she earns a six-figure salary. She says her background in poetry taught her how to be pithy.

"Anything that we want to write nowadays, particularly for social media, is going to have to be immediately understood, so there is a sense of immediacy," she says."The language has to be crisp and direct and exact, and really those are exactly the same kind of ways you would describe a successful poem."

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Creative Writing

Five College Creative Writing supports collaboration and community among writers on all five campuses.

The Five Colleges have always been home to a vibrant literary community, counting legendary figures like James Baldwin, Emily Dickinson, and Sylvia Plath as some of their own. That tradition continues today, stronger than ever, through bountiful writing course offerings, celebrated faculty, and a wide variety of resources, events, and opportunities for community.

On this page, you will find information about current faculty in creative writing, upcoming courses, events calendars, and resources for those hoping to learn more about creative writing on the campuses and in the greater Valley area.

Judith Frank , English, Creative Writing Center Kirun Kapur , English, Director of the Creative Writing Program Shayla Lawson , English, Creative Writing Center Min Jin Lee , English, Writer-In-Residence Thirii Myint , English, Creative Writing Center Catherine Newman , Department Coordinator - Creative Writing Center Rebecca Olander , English Dennis Sweeney , English, Creative Writing Center

Hampshire College

Faune Albert , Writing Instructor Nathalie (Nell) Arnold , Anthropology, Literary Arts, African Studies Alejandro Cuellar , Director of the Writing Program Uzma Aslam Khan , Fiction Writing Nathan McClain , Creative Writing, African American Literary Arts

Mount Holyoke College

Rachel (Afua) Ansong , Africana Studies Lucas de Lima , English Anna Maria Hong , English Andrea Lawlor , English, T Kira Madden , English Elliot Montague , Film Production

Smith College

Jennifer Blackburn , Program & Outreach Coordinator - Boutelle-Day Poetry Center Leila Chatti , Writer-In-Residence 2022-23 Floyd Cheung , English Language and Literature, American Studies Arda Collins , English Language and Literature Carole DeSanti , English Language and Literature Matt Donovan , English Language and Literature, Director - Boutelle-Day Poetry Center Andrea Hairston , Theater, Africana Studies Sarah London , English Language and Literature Art Middleton , English Language and Literature Ruth Ozeki , English Language and Literature Susan Stinson , English Language and Literature

UMass Amherst

Abigail Chabitnoy , English, MFA for Poets & Writers CA Conrad , MFA for Poets & Writers Martin Espada , English Peter Gizzi , English, MFA for Poets & Writers John Hennessy , English Noy Holland , English, MFA for Poets & Writers Jennifer Jacobson , Associate Director - MFA for Poets & Writers Francis Lo , Coordinator - MFA for Poets & Writers Edie Meidav , English, MFA for Poets & Writers Hoa Nguyen, MFA for Poets & Writers Jeff Parker , English, Associate Director - MFA for Poets & Writers Jordy Rosenberg , English, MFA for Poets & Writers Betsy Wheeler , Director - Juniper Summer Writing Institute, Institute for Young Writers, and Juniper Young Writers Online

Annual Events

Five college prose & poetry prize.

Formerly Five College PoetryFest, the Five College Prose and Poetry Prize celebrates the quality and range of student creative writing, with two writers representing, respectively, Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the Care Center/Bard Micro-College. PoetryFest was created in 2003 by Lorna Peterson, former executive director of Five Colleges, Inc., and Ellen Doré Watson, former director of the Smith College Poetry Center, and originally recognized student poets chosen by faculty nomination.

In 2022, a collaborative decision by creative writing faculty and staff on each of the campuses reimagined the event, the Five College Prose and Poetry Prize, as a celebration of all genres of creative writing, with an open submission call and winners chosen by a panel of judges from the MFA for Poets and Writers at UMass Amherst.

The inaugural reading and reception will take place at 7pm on April 20th, 2023, at the Powerhouse, Amherst College.

Photo of the inside pages of a PoetryFest booklet

Amherst’s annual literary festival celebrates the College’s literary life by inviting distinguished authors and editors to discuss the pleasures and challenges of verbal expression — from fiction and nonfiction to poetry and spoken-word performance.

View the 2023 schedule.

Glascock Poetry Competition

The Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest honors Kathryn Irene Glascock, a promising young poet who died of pneumonia.

Poet-contestants from invited institutions are nominated or chosen by their own schools. The poetry contest is judged by a panel of three distinguished poets.

The competition weekend includes a series of public events over the course of a weekend: a Conversation With the Judges, the Student Poetry Competition, and the Judges’ Reading and Announcement of the Contest Winner.

Many Glascock contestants have gone on to literary renown, such as Muriel Rukeyser, James Agee, James Merrill, Kenneth Koch, Diana Chang, Sylvia Plath, Donald Hall, Katha Pollit, and Maggie Nelson.

The Care Center/Bard Micro-College

Bard Microcollege Holyoke is a tuition-free college for women, inclusive of trans and non-binary students, whose education has been interrupted by parenting, financial challenges, and other family responsibilities. Developed in partnership between Bard Prison Initiative and The Care Center in Holyoke, the unique program allows students to earn a Bard College Associate in Arts Degree by taking courses at The Care Center, a community-based organization with a long tradition of bringing higher education to young mothers and their families. They also provide the necessary support services such as transportation and childcare.

With its curricular emphasis on writing and the humanities, Bard Microcollege Holyoke extends The Care Center’s tradition of placing liberal arts at the center of the student experience. Students from both Bard Microcollege and The Care Center benefit from workshops in poetry and creative writing, and publishing opportunities such as Nautilus II Magazine. Through dedicated arts and literary programming, The Care Center brings poet laureates and awarded authors, both internationally and nationally, to read, speak, and work with young writers in the program.

In 2012 The Care Center was selected as one of twelve in the country to receive the Presidential Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. In 2019 The Care Center was awarded the Commonwealth Award, the highest honor given to cultural organizations in Massachusetts.

Five College faculty often take part in readings and other literary programming at the Care Center, and Bard Microcollege and Care Center students participate in the Five College Prose and Poetry Prize.

Learn more.

Nell Volkmann, Academic Programs Administrative Assistant [email protected] 413-542-4023

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 12 best creative writing colleges and programs.

College Info

Finding a dedicated creative writing program at a school you're excited about can be a real challenge, and that's even before you start worrying about getting in. Nonetheless, there are some great options. In order to help you find the best school for you, this list rounds up some of the best colleges for creative writing in the United States .

The Best Creative Writing Programs: Ranking Criteria

You should never take college rankings as absolute truth —not even the very official-seeming US News ones. Instead, use these kinds of lists as a jumping-off place for your own exploration of colleges. Pay attention not just to what the rankings are but to how the rankings are determined.

To help with that, I'll explain how I came up with this highly unscientific list of great creative writing colleges. I started by narrowing my search down to schools that offered a specific creative writing major. (If you don't see a school you were expecting, it's likely because they only have a minor.)

In ranking the schools, I considered five major criteria:

#1: MFA Ranking —If a school has a great graduate creative writing program, it means you'll be taught by those same professors and the excellent graduate students they attract. Schools with strong MFA programs are also more likely to have solid alumni networks and internship opportunities. However, many schools with great undergrad programs do not offer MFAs, in which case I simply focused on the other four options.
#2: General School Reputation —The vast majority of your classes won't be in creative writing, so it's important that other parts of the school, especially the English department, are great as well.
#3: Extracurricular Opportunities —One of the key advantages of majoring in creative writing is that it can provide access to writing opportunities outside the classroom, so I took what kind of internship programs, author readings, and literary magazines the school offers into consideration.
#4: Diversity of Class Options —I gave extra points to schools with a variety of genre options and specific, interesting classes.
#5: Alumni/Prestige —This last criterion is a bit more subjective: is the school known for turning out good writers? Certainly it's less important than what kind of education you'll actually get, but having a brand-name degree (so to speak) can be helpful.

The Best Creative Writing Schools

Now, let's get to the good stuff: the list of schools! The exact numbering is always arguable, so look at it as a general trend from absolutely amazing to still super great, rather than fixating on why one school is ranked #3 and another is ranked #4.

#1: Northwestern University

Northwestern's undergrad creative writing program boasts acclaimed professors and an unparalleled track record of turning out successful writers (including Divergent author Veronica Roth and short-story writer Karen Russell).

Outside the classroom, you can work on the student-run literary journal, intern at a publication in nearby Chicago, or submit to the Department of English's yearly writing competition . The university is also home to a top journalism program , so if you want to try your hand at nonfiction as well, you'll have plenty of opportunities to do so.

#2: Columbia University

Like Northwestern, Columbia is home to both a world-class creative writing program and a top journalism school (plus one of the best English departments in the country), so you have a wide range of writing-related course options. Columbia also benefits from its location in New York City, which is bursting at the seams with publishing houses, literary journals, and talented authors.

#3: University of Iowa

The University of Iowa's big draw is the infrastructure of its graduate Writers' Workshop, which is often considered the best MFA program in the country.

As an English and Creative Writing major here, you'll take classes from great young writers and established professors alike, and get to choose from a wide range of topics. This major provides transferable skills important for a liberal arts major with a creative focus. You'll also have access to the university's impressive literary community, including frequent readings, writing prizes and scholarships, and the acclaimed literary journal The Iowa Review .

#4: Emory University

Emory is renowned for its dedicated undergrad creative writing program , which draws the very best visiting scholars and writers. Students here have the chance to attend intimate question-and-answer sessions with award-winning authors, study a range of genres, compete for writing awards and scholarships, and work closely with an adviser to complete an honors project.

#5: Oberlin College

A small liberal arts school in Ohio, Oberlin offers very different advantages than the schools above do. You'll have fewer opportunities to pursue writing in the surrounding city, but the quality of the teachers and the range of courses might make up for that. Moreover, it boasts just as impressive alumni, including actress and writer Lena Dunham.

#6: Hamilton College

Hamilton is another small college, located in upstate New York. It's known for giving students the freedom to pursue their interests and the support to help them explore topics in real depth, both inside and outside the classroom. Hamilton's creative writing program takes full advantage with small classes and lots of opportunities to intern and publish; it also has one of the best writing centers in the country.

#7: Brown University

Brown's Literary Arts program offers one of the top MFAs in the US as well as an undergraduate major . For the major, you must take four creative writing workshops and six reading-intensive courses, which span an array of departments and topics, from music and literature to Middle East studies and Egyptology.

#8: Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University has an excellent creative writing MFA program, lots of super specific class options, and a number of scholarships specifically earmarked for creative writing students. This school’s undergraduate English program also offers a concentration in creative writing that allows students to specialize in a specific genre: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. If you’re interested in exploring your potential in a specific writing genre, Washington University could be a great pick for you.

#9: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT might not be a school you generally associate with writing, but it actually has an excellent program that offers courses in digital media and science writing, as well as creative writing, and provides plenty of guidance on how graduates can navigate the tricky job market.

Not to mention the school is located in Cambridge, a haven for book lovers and writers of all kinds. Though it probably isn’t a good fit for students who hate science, MIT is a great place for aspiring writers who want to build writing skills that are marketable in a wide range of industries.

#10: University of Michigan

University of Michigan is one of the best state universities in the country and has a top-notch MFA program. This school’s undergrad creative writing sub-concentration requires students to submit applications for admittance to advanced creative writing courses. These applications give students crucial practice in both building a writing portfolio and articulating their interest in creative writing to an audience who will evaluate their work. If you're looking to attend a big school with a great creative writing major, this is a fantastic choice.

#11: Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins is another school that's known more for engineering than it is for writing, but, like MIT, it has a dedicated writing program. As a major here, you must take not only courses in prose, poetry, and literature, but also classes on topics such as philosophy and history.

#12: Colorado College

Colorado College is a small liberal arts school known for its block plan , which allows students to focus on one class per three-and-a-half-week block. The creative writing track of the English major includes a sequence of four writing workshops and also requires students to attend every reading of the Visiting Writers Series.

Bonus School: New York University

I didn't include NYU in the main list because it doesn't have a dedicated creative writing major, but it's a great school for aspiring writers nonetheless, offering one of the most impressive creative writing faculties in the country and all the benefits of a Manhattan location.

How To Pick the Best Creative Writing School for You

Just because Northwestern is a great school for creative writing doesn't mean you should set your heart on going there. (The football fans are completely terrifying, for one thing.) So where should you go then?

Here are some questions to ask yourself when looking at creative writing programs to help you determine the best school for you:

Does It Have Courses You're Interested In?

Look at the course offerings and see whether they interest you. While you can't predict exactly what classes you'll love, you want to avoid a mismatch where what you want to study and what the program offers are completely different. For example, if you want to write sonnets but the school focuses more on teaching fiction, it probably won't be a great fit for you.

Also, don't forget to look at the English courses and creative writing workshops! In most programs, you'll be taking a lot of these, too.

What Opportunities Are There To Pursue Writing Outside of Class?

I touched on this idea in the criteria section, but it's important enough that I want to reiterate it here. Some of the best writing experience you can get is found outside the classroom, so see what kind of writing-related extracurriculars a school has before committing to it.

Great options include getting involved with the campus newspaper, working on the school's literary journal, or interning at the university press.

Who Will Be Teaching You?

Who are the professors? What kind of work have they published? Check teacher ratings on Rate My Professors (but make sure to read the actual reviews—and always take them with a grain of salt).

If you're looking at a big school, there's a good chance that a lot of your teachers will be graduate students. But that's not necessarily a bad thing: a lot of the best teachers I had in college were graduate students. Just take into consideration what kind of graduate program the school has. If there's a great creative writing MFA program, then the graduate students are likely to be better writers and more engaged teachers.

What Are the Alumni Doing Now?

If you have a sense of what you want to do after you graduate, see if any alumni of the program are pursuing that type of career. The stronger the alumni network is, the more connections you'll have when it comes time to get a job.

What About the Rest of the School?

Don't pick a school for which you like the creative writing program but dread everything else about it. Most of your time will be spent doing other things, whether hanging out in the dorms, exploring off campus, or fulfilling general education requirements.

Many schools require you to apply to the creative writing major, so make doubly sure you'll be happy with your choice even if you aren't accepted to the program.

What's Next?

Are you sure a creative writing major is the right fit for you? Read our post on the pros and cons of the major to help you decide what path to take in college.

For more general advice about choosing a college, check out our complete guide to finding the right school for you. Some major factors to consider include deciding whether you're interested in a small college or a big university , an in-state or out-of-state institution , and a public or private school .

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Alex is an experienced tutor and writer. Over the past five years, she has worked with almost a hundred students and written about pop culture for a wide range of publications. She graduated with honors from University of Chicago, receiving a BA in English and Anthropology, and then went on to earn an MA at NYU in Cultural Reporting and Criticism. In high school, she was a National Merit Scholar, took 12 AP tests and scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and ACT.

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