I am interested in majoring in English Literature/Journalism. I am a Californian citizen living abroad, and am in my sophomore year. Which colleges should I aim at to pursue my dream major?
For the study of literature Pomona would be hard to beat.
http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america/5
Concentrate on doing as well as you can in high school so that you will have as many college choices as possible.
Pay attention to California’s residency for tuition purposes rules with respect to the public universities.
Pomona
(Private college that’s partn th Claremonts, not Cal poly Pomona)
It’s a bit early to start picking out specific colleges, as what you’re looking for in a college will likely change over time. As ucbalumnus said, focus for now on doing well in school and getting involved in extracurricular activities (quality over quantity!).
English is usually one of the largest and most popular departments at liberal arts schools, and most good colleges have English departments that are at least above average. There are many fine options in California – all of the UCs, Stanford, USC, the Claremont colleges, Occidental, U Redlands, Santa Clara, LMU, etc.
Isn’t the English PhD pool so large and deep that any college that wants to build an excellent English department can do so?
In the UC system, the College for Creative Studies at UCSB offers a small-school-within-a-large-school experience. https://ccs.ucsb.edu/majors/writing-literature