<p>I'm a junior in highschool, i have above a 4.0 and have 2 honors classes and 1 a.p class (u.s history) i play the violin and i plan on majoring in english or history. I plan on doing vollunteer work and joining clubs. Which clubs would be best for my major? Which schools would be best for my major? Help please</p>
<p>If your school has a lit magazine, join the staff. Also, don’t think of it as for your major. Think of it as for you.</p>
<p>“i play the violin and i plan on majoring in english or history”</p>
<p>Why not find an EC that really excites you? If you like history, be a reenactor, a docent at a history museum, volunteer with the city archivist, work in an antique store and learn about the objects sold there, or get really involved in your family genealogy and document it. There are a hundred creative ways to expand a love of history. Joining one more school club is fine if you are excited about it - but if it’s just to pad your resume, why not do something more interesting and instructive with your time? </p>
<p>With English, I could come up with a similar list, but you get the idea. And when it comes time to write your college application, you will stand out from all the other hundreds of kids who have a list of boring school clubs and nothing unique or interesting to say about their experience except, maybe, that they got elected treasurer.</p>
<p>And at the risk of starting another battle like the one over whether going to a ‘place of worship’ is an EC or not, yes, a committed hobbyist who is documenting their family’s genealogy is indeed engaged in an EC. It doesn’t have to be organized, associated with the school, win awards or make an ‘impact’ on the community to be considered an EC. Its what you like to do with your time that is meaningful to you and will potentially, as a result of your skills, enable you to contribute to the vitality of the college community to which you are applying.</p>
<p>^ Great answer M’s mom. The kids looking for ECs that look good to colleges are usually not that successful at the top tier schools. A couple of meaningful commitments that naturally expand upon your other interests means so much more and tells the adcoms more about you. You could spend all your time after school making fishing flies but if you found that challenging, a thing of beauty, and shared your skills with others, that would trump a long list of NHS presidents and math team treasurers.</p>
<p>“Which schools would be best for my major?”</p>
<p>English and history are popular majors at most schools and most of those that are reputable will provide a good general grounding in those subjects. If you have specific interests in those areas, there may be schools that are especially know for some specialty in those areas. </p>
<p>What would be helpful, if you want us to suggest schools, is to establish your list of criteria for choosing a school (location? cost? size? culture? weather? distance from home?) and especially, how much you can afford. Alternatively, if you already have a list of schools you like, share those and what you like about them and others can suggest comparable schools of greater or lesser selectivity.</p>
<p>I live in california so naturally, i’m expected to apply to the ucs and cal states but i don’t know if that’s what i want. I’m 16 and i’ve tried to volunteer at the library or a museum but i have to be 17 or 18. But i want to start my junior year to show dedication. I also am considering colleges abroad? I know ucs are probably cheaper but i’m hoping to get scholarships</p>
<p>Once you’ve done some reading about various kinds of colleges and have your selection criteria and some test scores to share, come back to the site and you’ll get more useful suggestions. If you live near LA, take a look at a LAC like Pomona - not necessarily because you’re planning to apply or attend, but to get a feel for what a LAC is like. Then check out a public U so you can compare the experience.</p>
<p>Check out internships at museums. My daughter did an unpaid internship at a history museum through an educational cooperative when she was 16. It was a great experience, mainly because she hated it and realized then and there she did NOT want to study museum science in college!</p>
<p>Pursue the things you already know you like. For example, if you are good at violin, join your school’s orchestra and try out for all-state orchestra (usu in January). Join the school newspaper/blog staff if you like to write. </p>
<p>Take as many honors and AP classes as you can manage. Don’t kill yourself with work. Just take the highest level classes that are interesting and available to you.</p>
<p>If you’re not sure about something, try it anyway. For example, my son was in the ultimate frisbee club his freshman year and loved it, even though he could barely throw a frisbee when he started. Don’t think of this as getting your resume ready for college. It should be about getting yourself ready for college.</p>