What should a novelist-to-be major in and what is required in the application?

Question

I wish to become a novelist, and I know that college would be extremely useful for fine tuning my writing skill so that I can reach my potential as a writer. However, I'm not really sure what I should major in. Is there as specific Creative Writing major, or should I stick with plain old English? I've also heard that universities have specific Creative Writing programs. In one of those, would the basic idea be to give the students the best classes possible for becoming a novelist or short story writer? I've looked all of this up and found conflicting answers. Also, are there specific requirements for those majoring in the field I am interested in, such as including a sample short story I have written in the application? I've also looked this up and found conflicting answers. Somebody please clarify this for me, because I can't let my dream be ruined by people pretending they know what they are talking about on the internet.

Answer 1

I would think that if you want to become a novelist, then majoring in creative writing would be an excellent choice for a major.  As far as whether or not they require writing samples to be sent in as a part of the application process, I would think the answer to this (in general) would be yes, but may depend on the school/program.

I have included a school that has one of the best creative writing programs in the country - The University of Arkansas.  You can look at this site and see the specific requirements of their program, and it should give you an idea of what's expected.

Good luck!