Chance Me: High School Junior Looking Into English Major. Are Ivies Good Aspirations For Me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a high school junior with a 3.7 GPA UW. I am taking part time college college classes while finishing my high requirements and I’ll be doing full time college classes for senior year so that I can graduate high school at the same time as getting my bachelors in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

My worst classes have been Geometry and Physics (currently) with C grades, but in Geometry, I got my grade up to B in second semester and I’m hoping to do the same for Physics.

I have joined the newspaper at the college and the creative writing club.

I’ve recently started searching for good colleges for English Majors and I’ve found that Stanford, UPenn, NYU, John Hopkins and Columbia are good schools. Any others that any of you know of?

2

Although you’ll get a little bit of slack for those science grades given your proclivity towards the humanities, but C’s are lower than most Ivies would like to see.

I would focus on getting at least one professionally published piece (fiction or nonfiction) to show that you stand out. Doesn’t have to be in The New Yorker, but something to show that “it’s okay math and science haven’t been stellar, because I go above and beyond in English.”

Can personally speak to the strength of Penn’s English department and surrounding community. Can also speak to them wanting publication.

Northwestern puts out a lot of journalists and writers. Kenyon College is known for their literary magazine. It’s a little tricky to think of schools, because English encompasses all varieties of writing as well as literature analysis.

3

For English, the gold standard beside Columbia and uchicago would be Kenyon. Denison’s non fiction writing program could be of interest, too. All on all look at LACs (NESCAC and 7sisters but also Haverford, Carleton, Macalester…)

However DO NOT get your BA as a high school student. Once you’ve got a BA that’s it. If you mean AA you don’t really need that but it’s not harmful to applying to college.

Have you taken the act or sat yet? Are you enrolled in prep courses? What subject tests are you considering for May or June?

That being said, any top 40 university/LAC is almost out of reach with a C in physics and geometry, let alone ivies or little ivies.

Get a Fiske guide and start reading. Aim for schools with a 40% admit rate or so.

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@thebetterhawkeye

I’ve actually thought through the reasons why I want to go to an Ivy and I realize that maybe Ivies definitely aren’t the right choice for me, considering my interests.

I’m going to do some more research with schools with good English Departments that I could possibly get into. I’m currently looking into NYU and others, but I’ll do some research on Kenyon because I haven’t heard of it before.

Thank you for the advice :slight_smile:

@MYOS1634

Columbia was on my list for researching colleges and I’ll add UChicago, too.

Can you expand on what you mean about getting my BA as a hs student? What do you mean by “that’s it”? I’m trying to get an Associate in Arts. Is that different from a Bachelor. Sorry, I have no clue what the right terms are. I thought a bachelor was for 2 years or is it four?

I’ll be taking the ACT in less than a month at my school. I’m not enrolled in prep courses, but I’m planning on taking college classes during this summer as well if I manage to save enough money.

This is my first time looking into colleges and it was pretty strange of me to aim for an Ivy considering I suck at the math and science fields.

Thanks for the advice :slight_smile:

5

Prep courses are classes dedicated to helping you get the highest possible score. To get a good score, it’s not a one-and-done thing, you have to practice, practice, practice (kind of like for a competition - you only “win” if you’ve practiced A LOT beforehand, done lots of other competitions, etc.) You can go to the website “Khan Academy” to start practicing right now - even if you practice with their SAT materia you won’t go in “cold”. Borrow books such as Erica Melzer’s ACT English and ACT Reading, PWN the SAT Math, etc. Do the exercises. It’s very very important because scholarships, either called “merit” or “financial aid at a 100% need college”, often depend on how high your test scores are and it’s impossible to get a high score without sustained practice. (Some kids have been doing that for a year already - the kids who get high scores to get scholarships).

NYU isn’t especially good for English and it has lousy financial aid. Instead, find a Fiske Guide at your school library, and start reading. Or check out Princeton Review’s best colleges and look for 20 colleges you’ve never heard of from the category “good for English” and “good for writing”. For each of these colleges, fill out the “request info” form (to demonstrate early interest) and run the Net Price Calculator (bring the results to your parents. What is within budget for them - ie., what can they afford from income and savings? If they haven’t started saving for you, can they start now?)

BA= 4-year degree.
AA =2-year degree
I’m guessing you’re a dual-enrolled student, so you may get an AA by the time you graduate high school - but it doesn’t really matter if you don’t. It’s more important for you to complete the classes top colleges expect. Those are:

1° Math through precalculus or calculus (you could take one semester of college algebra and one semester of statistics, if Math isn’t your thing.)
2° 4 units of English: Freshman composition, Philosophy, and Comparative Literature are all good classes to take in that area. Philosophy, in particular, shows great rigor. The total over 4 years should be a minimum of 4.
3° Foreign Language through level 3 or 4. In college it’s often called 201-202.
4° 4 units in History and Social Science. Make sure you have European or World History or Western Civilization or Non Western Civilization (at least one, preferably two of those), US History (one or two semesters), then you can add any from the former, or one from economics, anthropology, political science, sociology… The total over 4 years should be a minimum of 4.
5° one HS unit each of biology, chemistry, physics (in particular, if you’re not good at science, Physics can be “regular”) At the college, don’t take General Physics or General Biology or General Chemistry, which are the very hard classes for STEM majors, you can take the “easy” version (look for science classes for Humanities major - ask your adviser), but all three subjects must appear in a form or another. For the 4th unit, you could take Biological Anthropology, Forensic Science, Astronomy, Climate Change and the Environment, Earth catastrophes in films, etc etc.
6° one unit in art or music (appreciation, creation, or history of)

An ideal senior year schedule for a dual enrolled student who’s not into math/science would include:
FALL
Freshman Composition
College Algebra or Statistics
Foreign Language 201
History/Social Science
Science

SPRING
Philosophy
College Algebra or Statistics
Foreign Language 202
History/Social Science
Art/Music

If you already have some of the above, substitute a class you’re interested in.

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Federal financial aid only applies to ONE bachelor’s degree. If you are getting an associate degree you are OK, but do not apply for graduation with a bachelor’s unless you are considering yourself done with undergraduate education.

Do not rush to take college classes to “look impressive,” you’re better off making A’s than in pushing yourself into a difficult schedule where you struggle to keep your grades up.

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For other top schools with good english departments, I would suggest Vassar, Williams, and some of the seven sisters colleges if you are female (Smith and Mount Holyoke have good programs)

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@MYOS1634

Thank you for explaining the AA and BA thing. I keep forgetting which is which.

For prep courses, I have a Prep book I bought in the summer and my math teacher has been doing reviews for a while now.

I’ll be registering for my hs classes next month, but I only have to take English because I’ve completed everything else. I’ll be looking into taking PreCalc at my hs, maybe, because I’ve heard it’s a good set up for college.

@AroundHere

I’m trying to graduate with an AA, but I’m not doing it to be impressive or whatever. I actually just want to get things done earlier and because I’m doing dual-enrollment, I’m saving money. I actually just finished my first semester of my college classes with a 4.0 so it’s not too difficult for me balancing the dual part of my education.

@nekoatsume

I’ll look into them

Thanks, everyone! :slight_smile:

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I was concerned you were overloading due to those C’s you mentioned.

Generally speaking, the more elite the college, the fewer “advanced standing credits” (AP, dual enrollment, etc.) that will be allowed for incoming freshmen. So, if you really want to save money and graduate college early, look at the colleges in your state system where you can transfer all the credits you did for your AA.

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Look carefully at the list I provided. For any selective college (any top 60 college really) all these classes would be considered a minimum. It’s different from high school graduation requirements or AA requirements.

To remember AA v. BA, remember, A is before B :smiley:

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(No, seriously… really good explanations by lower income/middle income kids who got into Harvard. Read it religiously!)
Free guide: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59415b73bf629a8c8a8268aa/t/5a0c9a2924a6944522dfe71a/1510775338616/Fair+Opportunity+Project%27s+Guide+2.0.pdf

Precalculus is expected to be completed before college. In addition, top colleges expect you to complete precalculus and calculus (if possible), or precalculus and statistics, as a pre-requisite (to give you an idea, there are hundreds of applicants to top colleges who completed both by 11th grade and take even more advanced math in the 12th grade). Precalculus may be called College Algebra but if there’s a “precalculus” course, you must absolutely take it.

It is imperative you have math through precalculus at least (with statistics or calculus afterwards), 4 units of English (if possible, including a Philosophy class senior year), 4 units of History and Social Science, 4 units of the same foreign language, the 3 main sciences (bio, chem, physics) +1, and art/music. Otherwise you won’t be qualified and competitive for any top college.

You may not be interested in language competitions, but colleges are. Their goal is to measure how you compare to others. In addition, you can’t really communicate with people if you don’t have a high enough level - and if you have the high enough level, it’s great you feel it, but colleges can’t know. They need a way to know you’re not making it up. So subject tests and competitions are ways for you to demonstrate you talk the talk and walk the walk.
(BTW, subject tests aren’t optional at many selective colleges. You will have to take foreign language, English Literature, and one more - with the goal of scoring 750/800.)

Your idea for the essay (bakery, using 3 different languages, speaking and connecting with people) is excellent. :slight_smile:

How many practice tests have tried yet? Have you worked through your prep book at least once? Since you’ve had it since summer, you should be done with it and starting on the specialized books I listed. It’s okay if you haven’t, especially if it’s because you didn’t know better, but you really need to up your game now on. These tests rank everyone in relation to each other and you’ll be competing with kids who’ve been preparing seriously for six months to a year (some even more - some kids start practicing in the 7th grade for a special program called Duke TIP.)
What scores are you getting on your practice tests?

I second Vassar, Williams, Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Scripps, adding Colby, Denison, Kenyon… especially since they have excellent financial aid.
However these colleges won’t really consider a student who has not taken precalculus. They’ll like the 4.0 in college but they expect the best preparation you can get, which is where your choice of courses comes in.

What classes did you take first semester?
(Regardless of what you took, 4.0 in a college curriculum is excellent).
What classes were you thinking of for second semester?

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@AroundHere

Nope, I’m just really bad at Physics and Geometry. I got As in Biology and my teacher transferred me to Honors Biology for my second semester and I got As in Chemistry as well. I also had As in Algebra 1 and now in Algebra 2, I also have As.

I’m trying to figure out exactly what it is that I want in a college. I want to be an English Major and my state has a college that would be good for that and I can transfer with all my credits. I just want to see if there are better opportunities for me elsewhere.

@MYOS1634

I was planning to do full time at the college next year, but if I rearrange and attempt to do Precalc at my hs, is there a possibility for me to graduate with my AA?

I took 2 years of French, but dropped it so I could take dual enrollment. I mean, I speak Somali and English already, but I’m not planning on taking any more French classes. I might look into Arabic, maybe.

What bakery essay? My idea for the essay has been to talk about how I learned to read very well as a foreign student when I was enrolled into an English learners class in 4th grade and how I was reading 5 books a day by 5th grade.

I’ve actually not practiced at all because of the school work I was handling, other than the reviews my math class has done. The only part of the ACT I’m worried about is the Math portion, especially the Geometry. I have a little bit of time left so I’ll try to do some studying. I know that is really bad planning despite having bought the book in the summer, but if I do terribly, I can retake it up to 3 times to increase my score.

First semester:

High School:

Physics → C
Algebra 2–> A
Economics–> A

College:

Government–> A
Geography–> A
Photography(because I need 2 semesters of Art credits and I’m interested in Photography) → A

Next semester:

High School:

Physics
Algebra 2
Econ was a one semester class, so I have 8th hour open now

College:

English
Ceramics (for one more Art credit)
Intro to Mass Communication
Computer As Creative Media

When I talked with my hs counseler, he told me that those classes were good for someone with an interest to go into Publishing after getting my English degree. I dropped Web Design and switched it to Ceramics because I was terrified of failing.

If I save enough money to take 2 to 3 classes over the summer, I can take next year dividing 32 credits between 2 semesters.

12

As another poster said, focus your attention on writing if that’s what interests you. You want to show admissions committees that you are talented and passionate about writing and English. At Penn they have the Kelly Writers House that sometimes help applicants get accepted if the students show they are amazing writers