If you’re thinking of becoming a teacher, writer, journalist, academic, or researcher, or even just love reading, you may be considering majoring in English in college. Since you’ve been taking English classes since practically your first day of school, you may be thinking you don’t have to do much to make yourself look like a strong applicant. Get good grades, take additional classes, and read an extra book or two — right? Well, we wish it was that simple. The ubiquity of English courses is actually what makes standing out as a prospective English major quite difficult. Everyone is studying nearly the same topics and reading nearly the same books, so it’s hard to colleges to differentiate you from anyone else unless you do something to stand out beyond the confines of your in-school curriculum.
Picking the right extracurriculars will be the difference between a rejection and an acceptance, but, luckily, we’re here to help. Below are the best extracurriculars for prospective English majors, including options whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, or senior in high school.
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Write for a Literary Journal
First, join the team of your school’s literary journal. If you haven’t been involved with the journal or another school magazine before, it may take more than a year to earn an editorial or leadership position, so it’s worth joining as early as you can — i.e., immediately. As a member of the literary journal, you’ll engage with different types of writing, reviewing essays and books, and even write your own creative pieces. And if your school doesn’t have a literary journal, speak with your favorite English teacher about starting one.
Join a Book Club
Joining a book club is a great way to augment your college application while building your personal awareness of different types of literature and new releases. It’s also something you can easily do no matter where you are in high school. You can join a book club for a few months before your application is due, or you can become a leader in or even founder of a book club if you have more time. Many book clubs have themes or subject areas of focus, but don’t feel constrained — read what excites you. Most importantly, this is a place to engage with literature you aren’t being assigned in the classroom.
Summer Job at a Book Store
If you have at least one summer left before you’ll be pressing submit on your application, you should be applying for jobs at your local bookstores. While your ability to ring someone up won’t play into your chances for acceptance to your dream college, your interest in literature, your curiosity, and your work ethic will. We’re huge proponents of summer jobs because they teach our students amazing things but, more importantly for college admissions, having any summer job — a real, paying job — significantly improves your chances of acceptance. If the job resonates with your planned course of study, even better.
Picking the right extracurriculars makes a huge difference in the college admissions process, and if you want to be the strongest applicant possible you need to follow your passions inside and outside of the classroom. Prospective English majors should be able to show colleges that they care about words, and not just the words they have to write for assignments in class.
Prospective English majors face the additional challenge of a high-bar when it comes to expectations of their writing abilities. As you pick your extracurriculars, don’t forget that things like a literary journal will also help you become a stronger and more compelling writer, which is enormously important when you’re applying as someone who wants to study a writing-centric subject.
If you’re considering applying to study English in college, send us an email. We specialize in helping students get into their dream schools.