As a general comment, stronger history programs may emphasize foundational aspects, such as the development of skills in historiography, research and a foreign language. Also, breadth of study, principally through the study of the history of several disparate regions of the world, may be required.
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I would totally be down to apply to CofC despite it being in the South since it has undergrad historic preservation, which is fairly rare. Honors/merit would be great-- and Iâm flexible on setting but nice to have another urban option. That being said, one parent will definitely nix this one (the other probably will too) since they want me out of the South even more than I do, ha.
@tsbna44 - visits will be in Sept but will be updating afterwards for sure
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If youâre interested in a career in public history, I would recommend one of two paths. The first would be to look for good undergraduate programs in public history, with excellent records of placing students in internships and volunteer positions. The second would be to look at a wider range of colleges with excellent history or American Studies programs and look for internships in museums, living history centers, historical societies, and the like. And then, based on that experience, go for an MA in public or applied history and pursue your career from there. It would be worth finding out what minimum job qualifications would be in positions that have real potential for growth in the field â I suspect that many of them would require an MA and some relevant work experience.
The advantage for pursuing the second path is that it gives you more flexibility to branch out into more areas of historical work as your interests take shape, so you can pivot toward a more specific field with your grad program. If youâre interested in early American history, youâll find great scholars and programs pretty much anywhere, but youâll probably find more relevant internships in the eastern half of the country.
Has anyone mentioned William and Mary? Its outstanding history department and proximity to Colonial Williamsburg should appeal. You might also poke around this website for ideas about BA and grad programs: https://ncph.org/program-guide/
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Appreciate the thorough advice! Iâm exploring both paths you detailed. If I go the latter route (which feels more well-rounded), ideally Iâd do grad school at Penn-- they have a very well respected MS in historic preservation. Already getting some relevant experience this year.
William and Mary is on my original list but not my top choice. And Iâve been haunting the National Council for Public History site!
Another sub-field in which you might want to compare programs is what has become known as Digital Humanities. With so much use of technology, both on the research side and in the modalities for exhibiting and communicating work in the field of public history, exposure to this field could be really helpful to you. Penn, for example, has a minor Digital Humanities, Minor < University of Pennsylvania as well as a dedicated lab https://pricelab.sas.upenn.edu/
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Donât set your sights on a single grad program right now â there are lots of really well-respected programs, and theyâre not always in the schools youâd expect (in fact, this is the case in lots of disciplines). For example, George Mason and UNC-Wilmington have highly respected public history programs, even if theyâre not especially elite undergrad institutions. A lot of it will depend on how you want to specialize and what professional networks youâre hoping to get access to, and you can learn about grad programs that will serve your needs as you take undergrad classes and pursue internships.
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I would recommend University of Richmond. We recently visited there as an after thought and we all loved it. It was recently ranked the prettiest college in the country. For my daughter it has replaced William & Mary as an option. Make sure that you outline the upward trend in your grades and rigor. You appear to be a remarkable candidate with great common sense.
Did you apply to any schools your senior year?
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And what are you doing during your gap year?
The poster mentions gap year activities in the original question:
-Took classes in a foreign language (not spanish) outside of school before high school, continued into 9th grade, stopped with covid, picked it back up 12th and still doing so in the gap year
-Youth ambassador for local history center (gap year)
-Preservation volunteer at local cemetery (gap year)
Iâm blown away by this community; this is all really good advice.
@aquapt - digital humanities looks to be an incredibly useful field that could majorly improve job prospects and i had never even heard of it before! I have zero natural aptitude for technologyâand thatâs an understatementâbut programs like these feel too important not to keep on my radar now.
@Shelby_Balik - Heard. Grad school is obvi many years away, and Iâll consider plenty of options when the time comes. Pennâs program is my âgoalâ for now because the work theyâre doing is really appealing to me; I also read that in this field youâll end up working in the area you go to grad school and Iâm aiming to end up in the Mid-Atlantic
@GirlDad - Thanks for the suggestion, will look into U of Richmond. Slightly concerned about the reputation of a cliquey social nature
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Did not apply to schools senior year but made the mistake of sending a 1470 SAT (790RW/680M) to a few schoolsâŠincluding PennâŠoops 
@thumper1 , along with what I mentioned in the original post, Iâll also be attending a state-wide conference on historic preservation. Iâve also reached out to several more organizations with hopes of volunteering, but havenât heard back as of now
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Thank you! I missed those gap year activities.
While my kids didnât send in scores unless required, itâs not a mistake. Or one that will cost you.
If you decide to go TO, they wouldnât use your score.
And given your major, itâs likely not far out of line for Penn - donât forget, thereâs a lot of business and engineering/STEM majors.
But when you apply, if you say TO - they wonât use it anyway.
Itâs a great score, btw.
Definitely wonât be applying test optional since the ACT worked so much better for me and I think it could help compensate for the sophomore dip in grades, but not sure if theyâll ignore the 1470 in favor of the 35 (32M, 36 everything else). Thank you for the reassurance on the score 
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If you believe them, youâll be fine. You likely wonât get into Penn - itâs just the #s - not you - but I think it wouldnât be the test. On the other hand, you might not even like it - youâre going in two weeks. Itâs urban - if you like that. Youâll have great options regardless - so if you want it, go for it. The worst they can say is no - but youâll still have plenty of great Yes.
- Score Choice: Although we permit Score Choice, we encourage students to submit their entire testing history for both ACT and SAT exams.
- SAT vs. ACT: No preference is given to the SAT or the ACT. If an applicant submits both tests, we will pay attention to the higher score from either test.
- Superscoring: For the SAT, we will combine your highest Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing with your highest Math score across multiple tests to calculate a superscore. For the ACT, we consider the highest individual English, Math, Reading, and Science scores across multiple tests to calculate a superscore composite. If you are self-reporting exams from multiple dates to create your superscore, then we expect you to provide official reports for each test that contributes to your superscore prior to enrollment in line with our self-reported testing policy.
An SAT score you sent a year ago wonât be used in the current year application round. And as you noted, your very fine ACT is the better choice anyway.
You have as good a chance as anyone else with excellent stats to be accepted to Penn. good luck!
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Exactly! Iâm happy to throw my name in the lottery on this one just to see what happens-- if I get in then great! and if not, Iâll be saving a bunch of money considering merit possibilities elsewhere. Iâm very excited for the trip, and might be able to swing by UDel while up there as well.
Looking at that testing policy made me exhale in relief, btw 
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Lots of brilliance out there like yourself.
Brilliance and hustle will take you a long way.
I hope you get into Penn so you have more options but ultimately I hope you find a school on your trips that just says âhomeâ.
For my daughter, that was C of C - over others she got into such as UGA Honors, UF, U of SC Honors, Washington & Lee, American, UMD, etc.
Thatâs the best scenario - it was an early visit (Thanksgiving week Junior year) and even though she made me take her all over the country on visits, I knew that day where she would end up. I hope Gettysburg or another gives you that same warm feeling.
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