There is so much to love about the humanities. Whether you hope to study psychology or Russian literature, art history or sociology, if you are looking at elite schools, you need a great strategy. It’s never too early to start planning your path to college admissions, and if you don’t know where to start, we can help! Even by reading this blog, you are ahead of the curve when it comes to most first-year students.
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Explore What You’re Interested In
The humanities is a diverse and extensive category. You need to start narrowing down what you hope to study. The more specific, the better. For example, you could love post-1800s world history or international applications of political science. Maybe anthropology with a focus on East Asian cultures is your jam. See if you can narrow your focus from your general academic interests to something specific.
The best way to do this is by learning as much as possible. Make a reading list for yourself. Yes, that means books…outside of school. We always make the students we work with read. We don’t want to sound like an old man yelling at a cloud, but many young people don’t really read books outside of class! However, they really should, as colleges as about your reading lists and also this is the easiest way to get a taste for a bunch of topics.
As a humanities major, you are going to have to read a lot in college: may as well get those skills/habits down now. Reading books will also allow you to hone your academic niche, build your vocabulary, and strengthen your writing skills—all things you will need as a humanities major. Outside of books, explore podcasts, magazines, journals… whatever helps you sharpen your interests.
We also love online classes. There are tons of pre-tapped online classes on platforms like Coursera (and many of them are even free). Once you have an idea of what you hope to study, start an online class. It is a great way to start exploring your academic interests outside of school.
Do Well in School
This should be obvious, but freshman-year grades count. If you are looking at elite schools, you need to do stellar in your classes. This means all your classes, not just the ones related to what you want to study (however, you should also be slaying in those as well). Usually, freshmen don’t have a ton of choices when it comes to choosing classes, but if you have any flexibility, try to take the most challenging classes you can. For example, if there is an honors math class or if you can skip an intro language class, do it.
That being said, freshman year can be an adjustment. Your new courses are probably harder than your middle school classes. If you are struggling to keep up, you need to be proactive. Go to your teacher’s office hours. Get a tutor. Start a study group. You want to ensure you are doing everything possible to set your report card up for success.
Extracurriculars
We have a complete blog about this, but TL;DR: get involved with extracurriculars that connect with what you hope to study. Usually, high schools have at least one related club. Joining is a great place to start. For example, consider joining the debate team or Model UN if you hope to study Political Science. If you want to study English, sign up for the newspaper or a book club. See what your school offers. If there really isn’t any club that connects to your interests, consider starting your own. Over the next four years, you should take on more responsibilities and commit to the club. Joining a club is just the first step.
You can also look for volunteering opportunities that relate to what you want to study. Often, humanities students can volunteer as tutors, at museums/historical societies, or with other relevant community organizations.
Your job for the year is to start to get involved outside of class and choose opportunities that connect with your academic interests. Trust us, it's a far better strategy than signing up for a bunch of random clubs.
Summer Plans
This is important. When we work with freshmen, summer planning is a big part of our job. After grades, it is probably the most important part of freshman year. Even the busiest students are usually more available during the summer, and you should use that uninterrupted extra time to do something that builds your resume.
Finding a summer job or internship as a freshman can be hard. However, volunteering and unpaid internships can be a great summer plan if the opportunities help build your resume. We also recommend applying for summer programs. Many colleges offer summer programs for high school students. These are great opportunities to learn more about college and take a course related to your academic goals. In the past, our students have loved the summer programs at Brown, USC, Harvard, Stanford, U Chicago, Emory and many others. There are a lot of programs out there, and they vary in date, classes offered, cost, and location. Find one that works for you and if you need help, we can do that!
We know applying for college feels a long way away (it kind of is), but you can set yourself on a successful path by doing a little bit of strategizing now. Trust us, things move fast, and college will be just around the corner before you know it. You want to ensure you have everything you need to get into a humanities program at a top school.
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