From crafting the next Pulitzer-winning novel to dissecting the works of Shakespeare, English offers a rich tapestry of disciplines for students to explore as they consider their college major. It's a field that captivates minds worldwide! If you’re interested in English, you need to know how to stand out.
Due to the competitive nature of the field, securing admission to top-tier English programs can be a massive challenge. Here’s the deal – Junior year is the last significant opportunity to enhance your portfolio before beginning the college application process. So, let's delve into how you can impress admissions committees and distinguish yourself from other English major hopefuls.
Discovering Your Niche
Understanding your "niche" is about identifying your individual strengths and interests and channeling them into a specific area of study. It’s not enough to just say you want to “do” “English”—you need to get a lot more specific than that. Literature has been around forever! There’s so much there!
For example, you might start with a general interest in literature but find yourself particularly drawn to Victorian novels or contemporary poetry. Having a clear vision of your literary aspirations is key because it allows you to focus your time and energy on a specific area of study. And now that you know you want to focus on something like Victorian novels or contemporary poetry, you can get even more specific.
Getting Some Experience
To dive deeper into your Victorian novels niche, you’re gonna have to read. Duh. Thankfully, you want to be an English major! At TKG, we offer personalized guidance to help students explore their interests, refine their niche, and expand their knowledge in engaging ways. We do this by initially creating a personalized curriculum of online classes and books designed to help you figure out exactly what your niche is. With English, this often involves some extensive reading and, possibly, even analyzing various literary works.
Starting this process early has a lot of added bonuses besides helping you impress admissions officers. If you find that certain areas aren’t really hitting for you, you still have enough time to pivot away from Victorian to Edwardian novels.
Engaging in Extracurricular Activities
While academic knowledge is essential, hands-on experience matters just as much (if not more) to college admissions committees. We encourage students to actively participate in extracurricular activities aligned with their niche to help build useful skills and hands-on knowledge. In school, this could involve joining book clubs, participating in literary magazines, or writing for the school paper. We really love more in-depth outside-of-school activities, like starting your own creative writing workshops, volunteering with literacy-focused organizations, researching with a professor who shares your love of Frankenstein, or interning at a publishing house.
While it's important to pursue activities you enjoy, it's paramount to prioritize extracurriculars that align with your literary aspirations. While sports, drama, and music may be enjoyable, they may not have as significant an impact on your college application if they're unrelated to your niche, and they might actually hurt you. Do an honest assessment of your extracurriculars and see if anything needs to be cut.
Building Your College List
Choosing the right college for you requires careful consideration of each institution's English program offerings and requirements. However, remember that the best college for your individual needs depends on factors such as your niche, academic performance, and standardized test scores.
We get to know our students one-on-one and help them figure out the best lists for them. We start by matching with academic programs and then look at the other factors like size, location, culture, etc. We also make balanced college lists, meaning a few reaches, a few targets, and a few safeties. We use your academic achievements and test scores to narrow down your options and target specific colleges for some Early applications.
Maximizing Summer Breaks
While summer is a time for relaxation, it's also an opportunity to deepen your engagement with your niche. We help our students make the most of their summer breaks by gaining valuable experience through internships, research projects, or literary workshops.
Summer programs offer invaluable experiences and often provide opportunities to connect with colleges that host them. They may take the form of attending online classes, shadowing a professional in the field, or working on a literary project with other students. Regardless, the effort put into a summer program won’t be wasted.
Outside of summer programs, you should consider more in-depth activities, like internships, conducting research, or collaborating on literary projects. The main priority is to gain experience in your niche and buff your portfolio to make your college applications stand out. Spending this extra time in the summer demonstrates your dedication to your niche and shows admissions counselors that you are a responsible student.
Navigating the Application Process
For our juniors, writing the Common App essay typically starts around June or July. Once completed, we have them shift their focus to Early Decision applications before filling out regular applications to colleges on their college lists, prioritizing those with upcoming deadlines. This structured approach helps alleviate some senior year stress and ensures that applications are submitted on time.
Junior year is hectic, but it’s also your last major opportunity to give your college applications a big upgrade. So, make the most of your time and wrap up high school with a strong finish!
Figuring out your niche can be difficult. If you’re having trouble, let us know. We’re professionals at helping students realize their academic passions.