How can I develop my "spike" in literature & writing to maximize my chances of admittance at a prestigious school?

Applying to College
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High school junior here. I don’t think I’m quite ready for a match/chance me as I still have a lot of time to develop my application & stats in the next year-ish.

I’m not sure how to structure this, but I would love to hear some ideas surrounding how I can truly max out my stats and show what I am capable of. Nothing is too much, I’m willing to try anything and really work hard.

I’m hoping to major in Literature, but if a school didn’t offer that, Comparative Literature- then English, Creative Writing, etc. I’m a writer, I focus on fiction and short stories. Along with this, I am very passionate about literature and history; I enjoy researching authors & obscure literary history. I love philosophy; a lot of my writing has very philosophical themes. I promise I’m self-aware and I’m not some sniveling, whining weirdo who laments on about the pains of human existence.

I’ve submitted my writing to YoungArts, Scholastic, etc, but I have gotten denied from all. I have previously gotten feedback that my writing probably isn’t what they’re looking for, is too “mature” (I don’t write anything suggestive, not mature in that way), or that I might sound fake or disingenuous. I have no idea how to approach this or what to do, as I write in a way that is very natural to me and spend a good portion of my days writing or planning to write. I literally dream of ideas. So, I’m not sure what this means- am I just going to hear this because I write in a style inspired by authors who spiked in popularity 100+ years ago? Am I kind of doomed there, as I absolutely do not plan to change my writing? (I would say “Huh, maybe I’m just not a good writer!” but I do have some confidence in my abilities and understand that perhaps contests and awards don’t determine this.)

On the flip side, I got admitted to The School of the New York Times for Creative Writing and got feedback that they really loved my writing- the same piece that got rejected from YoungArts. I probably can’t attend as the financial aid wasn’t enough, but that’s not the point. Also got admitted to Yale Young Global Scholars with all of the tuition covered for Literature & Philosophy and am going to be doing that this summer.

Enough with that. Here’s some information about me:

US resident. In a very low-income area. 100% of my school is on free lunch.
School is … average SAT is 910. Great kids, but Title 1 underserved type deal.
Class of 600+, in the top quartile.
White trans guy.
President of a few clubs (literature club, social studies honor society) started a club (literature club), started a nonprofit and won an award for it, VP of one program (theatre) and will be President next year.
I have one recommendation letter already, I submitted it to both YYGS and SoNYT, and I genuinely think it is the best rec letter I have ever read. The teacher said I inspired him to work harder and be a better person/teacher, and also admitted (did not know this before I read the letter) I had the highest score in the school for the AP WH exam. Said my skills and abilities are far beyond what he’s ever seen in 11+ years of teaching. Was blown away by this entire thing.
The other recs will be from a teacher I also know really well and who I have had for 2 years, and my guidance counselor. My GC will write a decent enough (albeit less personal) rec.
My essays for everything I’ve written previously are 10/10s, not because I have a massive ego, but because I know writing is my strong suit.
I’m taking the ACT in a few days. Not sure how that will turn out.
I have a paid internship with a pretty cool company, I help with national education research as a representative of my county. I did this so I could try and help out my school and county.
My financial bracket is incredibly low, like 20k under what schools say can get you a full FA package. Family of 4.
First-gen college student. I’m in Upward Bound TRIO to try and get a grasp on the admissions process. They’re helping a lot.
I intend to not go to school in-state; I’ve never left my town and have a very strong desire to maybe see something beyond what I’ve always been surrounded by.

I’m willing to answer any questions and would just love some help and feedback. I know this was kind of messy, but how can I really develop my application and show I am a worthy student? How can I develop my spike as a writer?

Thanks guys : )

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Any way you can go to the School of the NY Times at some point? Try again with Scholastic?

I am curious because so many say they started non-profits. Is yours a legal 501c3?

That letter of recommendation will serve you well.

Just keep doing what you are doing.

You mention prestige in your title. Instead go for fit. You may do better at a small artsy/intellectual school than a large university, who knows.

Are you doing Questbridge?

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I appreciate this! I meant to say charity, so I do apologize for that bit. I will be applying for the Questbridge college prep for Juniors next week : ) I completely agree with you on the small university part, I just want to make sure I’ll get sufficient financial aid and thus be able to attend.

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You can submit a portfolio as an arts supplement when the time comes. This can help a lot. You can also submit letters of recommendation for writing, at many schools, as well as a writing resume if accepted by the school.

Keep reading and writing! I think you are doing fine.

I am glad you can attend a program this summer, and wish you could do the NY Times school. But this is the summer that will count on your application and the Yale program sounds good.

Do you work with a teacher or belong to a writing group? I wonder if you could contact a professor or writer who would be willing to work with you, someone compatible with your style.
Not necessary but it is always nice to have help and inspiration.

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I would love to be able to do the NYT program, but the cost is a bit out of my budget- I’m looking into grants.

Thank you for your advice (: I would enjoy working with a writer or professor, I’m just not sure where to look. Don’t want to keep harping on it, but I’m first-gen and my school is honestly more focused on getting kids not arrested than sending them to college. I’m not sure who to ask or how.

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Does your school have a newspaper?

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They’re starting one next year! I am hoping to become involved.

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I immediately thought of this when reading your thread. I think it might be too late, though, if you’re a Junior. I do know someone who attended for senior year only, but deadline has passed if you are a junior. However I also know of someone who I think did a PG year at interlochen, so maybe you’d be able to look into applying for this scholarship with that plan in mind? You could call to ask.

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Thank you so much for your help. I’ll look into this; I really appreciate it.

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Although you have chosen for this not to represent the focus of your current post, developing an appropriate college list at this stage remains very important, especially if you might consider an ED application.

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Completely agree! I have a list, but I will look into what you provided. Thanks!

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Have you looked into some other precollege programs focused on creative writing? Off the top of my head: Iowa, Kenyon, Rhodes, Sewanee all have long-standing summer programs for creative (and other) writing for high school students. Some give college credit for the course. Probably less expensive than the $6k for the NYT program. And maybe residential this summer instead of online.

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Note that some of these distinctions may not be especially important. For example, the major in English at, say, Kenyon will not differ in general orientation from the major in literature at, say, Hamilton.

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I think you have some great suggestions already. First off, just continue doing what you’re doing. But if you’re trying to develop that “spike” (which I think is particularly difficult with literature/writing), I would look online or at your local library at literary magazines and see where you think your writing fits, as Scholastic and YoungArts isn’t it. Then try submitting your writing to those publications to see if they are interested in publishing it. It may not necessarily need to be geared toward a younger audience. There are many publications that have more literary writing, and there are some very notable ones to consider that aren’t strictly literary (The New Yorker, The Atlantic). Also, there may be publications in the LGBTQ community that would be interested in your writing, too.

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This stuck out to me. Generally, students from this type of HS that get into the top schools are well above anyone else in the school. They are likely the best in many years.

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Can you start a literary magazine at your school? I think your passion for writing comes through in your communication and your essays will be important. I would definitely consider applying to Vassar College. Also check out Davidson College and their competitive writing scholarship. Best of luck!

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I hate to say this, but by the time you finish this academic year the key parts of your application- except essays- are effectively done.

Doing Yale this summer will give you good fodder for essays- but even while you are there, be thinking about what you are going to do- in actual, actionable specifics-with what you take from the experience. That is the sort of second order thinking that competitive colleges look for. So, the essay isn’t ‘I went on this course and saw a whole world that I never knew about & I can’t wait to have those things at your college’. It’s more like "I went on this course, realized that there was this whole other way to do something, came home and started doing it that way which resulted in this other thing involving these other people and the next step is this’.

Remember, your big goal is to find a place that will gift you a college education. “Prestigious” is in the eye of the beholder. There are low-profile schools (eg, Kenyon, Iowa) that are superb places for writers.

Over the summer work on:

  1. checking out questbridge to see if it will work for you;

  2. identifying places that promise to meet full need, without loans, or at least not more than the ~$27K FAFSA loans and

  3. figuring out schools where you are a good fit for them (not just them being a good fit for you!).

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Apply for Questbridge. Submit your work for publication anywhere and everywhere you can, and also for every type of award you can find. You have less time than you think. Early applications are due Nov 1. Most regular, Jan 1. Consideration for merit money, they usually want to see the applications in early. Any way that you can get a semester of creative writing in at a nearby college? Usually any college will allow a high school student to take one class, for free. You definitely should do this for the fall 2022 semester. If there is a school near you that’s on the quarter system, and hasn’t yet begun their spring quarter, perhaps you could do it this spring, too. A letter of recommendation from a college professor saying that you have extraordinary potential would help you.

Regarding that Feb 12th ACT. You will likely do very well in the two language sections, without any prep. It’s probably too late to do much prep for the math section, for the Feb 12th ACT. But it’s NOT too late to prep for the science section, which really is not about science - it’s about data interpretation. You can imagine how much easier it would be to do problems involving various graphs and charts if it weren’t the first time that you were seeing a graph/chart of this type. So go on the ACT’s website, and download the free practice test. Do only the science section. Then go on reddit, where you can easily find a thread of free retired ACT tests that are legally in the public domain, and download the science sections from them, and do some of those. This will probably raise your science score by four points, just by doing five science sections, before the test. Alternatively, if you can get your hands on an Official Guide to the ACT, it consists of 5 retired tests (any recent year is fine - they usually only add one new test a year), and you can use those. Your school library might have it.

Since you have about a week before the ACT, you also could do some math sections. Problems that cover material that you just have no idea of how to do, probably the last few problems, just skip. But there will be ones that cover material that you remember having been taught. Use the explanation sections to re-teach yourself those. This will raise your math grade, with just a little refresher energy.

I would go through one section of each of the English sections, timed, and score it. The ones you get wrong, figure out why. Are you not choosing the most obviously correct answer, and instead choosing the answer that could be correct, but requires a little bit of contorted logic to justify as correct? Do you need to review a few obscure points of grammar or punctuation? That’s probably all you need to do for the English sections.

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Unless required for merit you can also apply test optional. I am just suggesting that to lower stress about testing. fairtest test optional for 2022 - Search (bing.com) Chances are your test scores will be fine though.

I think you are in good shape for admissions already and you have a summer program lined up. Don’t feel pressured to do too much more. Submitting an arts supplement and that letter of recommendation will help a lot.

I understand about your school. My kids went to a low-performing school. Your application will stand out all the more. And Questbridge will be help. Good luck!

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Definitely look into Questbridge. Don’t worry that much about prestige but worry about where you can afford that also has creative writing.

When you apply to the schools you can often submit a portfolio of a few short works do they will be able to see how well you write that way regardless of whether Scholastic or YoungArts recognize you.

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