Fun Fact: English is one of the most popular humanities majors for students to list when applying to college. It has also been the default major for students who don’t know what they want to study, aren’t STEM-y, and don’t want to click “undecided” (which, by the way, is something you should never do). So, there are a lot of people selecting it and, if you truly do want to study English, it is important that you make yourself stand out from the pack. Here are some things that you can do before writing your application and in your application itself to ensure your application makes a serious impact.
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Join or Start a Literary Magazine
If there are six months or more from pressing “submit” on your application, you need to join the team of your school literary magazine. If your school doesn’t have a literary magazine, work with an English teacher you love to start one. If there isn’t an English teacher you love willing to help you, find another teacher who is ok sitting in the back of the room while you rally your friends (coerced or otherwise) together to design, write, and publish a literary magazine. If you’ve read all of this and are asking, “but what is a literary magazine?” It’s what you make of it. Literary magazines often include essays, poems, reviews, and short stories. You can publish work students did for classes that they are especially proud of, or work that was done outside of class and has yet to see the light of day. You can also include illustration and artwork. It doesn’t need to be fancy — you aren’t a professional publisher, and colleges know that — so don’t let having to print it on your library printer hold you back.
Join or Start a Book Club
If you are less than six months from pressing “submit” on your application, you need to join or start a book club. You should also do this if you are further away from applying, but it’s especially important if you are close to the deadline and don’t have a literary magazine on your activities list. A few years ago, one of our students started a book club the fall of her senior year and was able to grow it to over a dozen regular attendees in just a few months. On her applications, she was able to present herself as literary-minded and someone who was able to bring people together around shared passions. This was a win-win, and seriously helped her applications. Your book club could focus on fantasy, science fiction, celebrity memoirs, or graphic novels. It literally doesn’t matter, as long as you’re reading.
Volunteer or Work at a Local Library or Bookstore
If you have at least one summer between you and pressing submit on your applications, you need to get a volunteer position at a local library or a job at a local bookstore. This is not going to be glamorous, and that’s really the point. You’ll most likely be manning a desk or stocking shelves, and there likely isn’t much applicability between it and what you want to do with your career (unless you want to be a librarian, in which case this is super applicable). The point is that you should be volunteering and finding a job anyways, and having it be something that is related to your prospective major would be a huge win-win.
Write Outstanding Essays of Literary Quality
Once it is time to actually start working on your application, you need to embrace the fact that every single sentence on your application needs to be making the case for you as a prospective English major. This is even more true if you want to have a minor or concentration in Creative Writing. And we really do mean every single sentence. From your essay to your supplements to the short little descriptions in your activities section, there is no room for sloppy writing or silly mistakes. Your writing should also resonate with your interests and reading list — if that’s something the college asks about. If you have a deep passion for the classics, if would make sense if your writing was a little more on the formal side. If you are more interested in contemporary authors, your writing may be more laid back. It should all makes sense together, and make the reader feel like they are getting to know you both through your words and your style.
Show a Deep Reading List Beyond Assigned Books
Every step of the way, you need to be expanding your reading list. Only reading what has been assigned by your school will not cut it. Most high schoolers read the same two dozen books, so writing yet another supplement about how The Catcher in the Rye changed your perspective on something-or-other will not be nearly as interesting to the application readers as it is to you. Having a diverse reading list outside of your assigned curriculum ensures that you have books to reference that aren’t overdone.
Applying to college is a long game and involves a hell of a lot of strategy. We often work with students for years to hone their interests and focus their efforts, leading to compelling acceptance-winning applications and a greater understanding of self. However, whether you have four months or four years before pressing submit, there are clear steps you can take to improve your application and chances of admission. Do the work, and you’ll see the results.
If you’re gearing up to apply as an English major, send us an email. We know how to make every essay sing.