How can I develop a “spike” for college admissions if my passion is history? I’ve thought of founding a history club in my school but I’m not sure what competitions we’d compete in since I’m unaware of any history-related competitions. My school is more of a STEM school (not officially, it’s just that most of the students I know are into STEM) so I doubt we’d get membership. Any other ideas? Thanks in advance
Even though I hate the term “spike” I will respond. You could get your school to participate in the National History Day competition. Go to nhd.org. You could also try to get an article published in the Concord Review. And I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t form a history club just to have activities related to the study of history. Not everything has to lead to a competition. You could do movie screenings or book discussions or field trips.
The best way is to go to the school that values you and you enjoy. Get a great education. Go to law school become a senator and maybe president. Make history.
Just making light of it. But you can do anything you dream and work for with a little luck.
Don’t waste your time trying to artificially build a spike unless it’s your passion.
The best ec I’ve seen help a great student get in everywhere was to start a local distracted driving campaign in their school. Big rallies. Out of town speakers. Parents and teachers. It the kid loved and lived it. Think he’s a history or IR candidate living on the lawn at uva for senior year.
Don’t do any EC solely for the sake of college admissions. I think the whole “spike” think is wildly overrated. You can do any type of ECs in HS and go on to major in history. I recommend that you seek out things in your school and/or community that interest you and pursue them with vigor and passion.
National History Day: you research a given Topic and present it as a paper, skit, website or in other forms of media.
Model UN: International relations, world history, politics and even medicine are all the topics that can be researched a discussed & debated. You get to draft new resolutions and meet your peers from all over r the world. Model UN is one of the best activities for history.
Debate Team You have to learn historical precedents, the origins of political thought and public speaking skills
Volunteering at a museum or city government.
Work for a candidate on their campaign team.
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Look into the National History Bee & Bowl.
You take all three AP history exams and do well, and take the two SAT subject tests in history as well. Founding a club isn’t going to impress an AO if you can’t score at least a 4 on two of the three AP exams and also have 700+ SAT subject test scores. Someone passionate about history will know enough history, and be reading enough history on their own, to achieve those testing goals. Someone could get a 5 on the various AP History tests merely by self study in the library and one test prep book to practice essay writing.
I don’t think self-studying for APs impresses admission officers. However, if AP History classes are available at your HS you should take them.
I wouldn’t worry too much about a ECs specific to history. You don’t want to seem like a kid with NO interest in it. But you EC depth does not have to exactly match your major. Like, how can a kid who wants to major in physics get deep physics EC experience? They can’t, there isn’t much for a high schooler to do in that area. But some strong STEM related ECs are going to be fine.
I was not recommending self-study of AP classes in and of itself to impress an AO, I was recommending taking and doing well on the AP exams, with self study if necessary.
To repeat myself, showing a “spike” in history STARTS with actually knowing history. You demonstrate that by SAT subject test scores and AP exam scores. You don’t NEED an AP class to do well on humanities/social science AP exams.
Versions of this question pop up all the time on CC, and it is almost always in the form of a student with poorer STEM test scores who has a passion for the humanities or social sciences, but who has test scores in those subject areas to offset the poor math grades or tests.
Your passion is history, but you are intending to major in computer science (per other thread)?
Fwiw, the admissions value of a ‘spike’ in a subject is (imo) over rated. As others have said, do what you really love and let that speak for itself. AdComms recognize makey-uppy things (esp started in grade 11!) for what they are, and they are unlikely to swing the needle at competitive colleges.
People who are genuinely passionate about anything tend to find ways of spending time and being involved in it. For history people that tends to be reading (a lot) and depending on their more specific interests sometimes more tangible ways (participating in re-enactments, volunteering/working at historical sites, mastering skills or information from a particular era, etc). I know a student who wrote a common app essay on how the historical eras which they found most interesting at different ages paralleled some of the things going on in their life. Another wrote an essay on how the biographies they had devoured since learning to read had shaped their sense of who they were and could be.
tl;dr: what the others said: stay true to you, don’t try and invent things for an AdComm
Look into living history associations and reenactment groups.
A lot of colleges think that they’re dilletantes, but some Civil War groups and Arts and Sciences groups within the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) are historically rigorous. If you’re on the middle east coast of the US, look into Jamestown’s Military Through The Ages event and see if any of the contact people for the groups are local to you.
What is your favorite time period? Let me know and I can probably find you a reenactor group near you.
Volunteer as a docent at a local museum devoted to local history.
@RWR8910 - My daughter started working in the archives of a local historical museum when she was in 9th grade and as a docent at the local historical sites in 10th grade. She wrote her common app essay about why she did those things and why they were meaningful to her. These extracurriculars, in addition to her grades in her history classes, her scores on her AP and Subject tests, all told a coherent and persuasive story about why she wanted to major in History.
Agree on the Model U.N. recommendation. At many conferences there are historical rooms - focused on topics such a the Yalta conference or even ancient Greece or Rome.If there isn’t a group at your school, find out if there’s interest and if there is someone who will sponsor you. There’s lots of materials on how to start a chapter.