How to Figure out a Spike? Am I Correct?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I’m only a freshman in high-school and I don’t know where I want to go to college. I don’t know what I want to do whatsoever.
I recently have watched videos concerning a “spike” and was wondering how relevant this is to when you pick a major. My best subject is English. I don’t want to do something English related when I am older, however. Could I develop an English spike, apply with an English major and then switch eventually? My current extracurricular activities (I know are not part of a spike) are:
Basketball- freshman team, could probably make varsity next year with people leaving, at least Junior year.

FBLA- I recently went to our state leadership conference and placed 1st in Introduction to Business Communication (an English oriented test lol) and 3rd for a social media campaign. Again, I was a freshman and very oblivious and never prepped at all for any of these so I could probably do better in years to come.

Key Club- I honestly only signed up because all my counselors said it was good for college. I don’t like it and hate that I listened to them. Also, our “key club” isn’t officially Key Club anymore because we aren’t affiliated with this one organization, (I forget what?) It is now called “KEYS Service Cub,” kinda lame.

Yearbook- I liked this at first but I don’t like the software we use. It is called Jostens and is very limited in its capabilities.

Ambassador for my school- service activities for the school, self-explanatory

Track- I do sprints because it helps with basketball and I am also doing high-jump.

Clubs I want to be a part of /Should I ?
English Academic Team
Newspaper- A lot of seniors are leaving and whenever I read the newspaper I become annoyed because there are a ton of grammatical errors. I would intend to turn this around.
Spell Bowl- Our Spell Bowl team went to State this year and did not do too bad.
Speech- Our Speech is ranked very highly in the State and we have a very large team. We placed 3rd at State this year I believe?

So, should I pursue an English spike and do the following activities?
FBLA- Yes, I know it is not English. However, I enjoy it and there are English activities I can try and place in at State or one of the National Leadership Conferences (I will probably go when I am a rising Junior)
English Academic Team
Newspaper
Spell Bowl
Speech

Note: I do like English as a subject, it is just not a career I am interested in. I think I might want to do something with artificial intelligence/IT/Computer Science, or be a vet that specializes in race horses. Also important to note is I attended speech practices and had my 10 minute speech prepared. However I never ended up following through because my laptop broke and with Finals and stress, I freaked out.

Anyways, thank you so much!!

2

It is too early for you to identify English as your intended major and then develop a cluster of activities around this planned major. Continue to think about where your interests lie. Being detail oriented (like being aware of typos) is a good trait to have for many areas of study.

3

First: take a deep breath and de-stress. It’s your freshman year of high school. You should be enjoying your life right now, not worrying about college. I know it’s really easy to panic based on college videos/blogs and even CC, but relax.

Next. All of those activities sound wonderful to me. If you enjoy them, do them! It sounds like you have a lot, so honestly, if you hate Key Club, don’t torture yourself for four years with it. You can volunteer on your own anyway.

Don’t plan your life or your ECs around what you think colleges might want to see four years in the future. It’s not worth it. Yes, you should think about it – get involved somehow, get good grades, etc. – but don’t make it the main focus on your life. Most colleges either don’t care about your ECs (most public colleges) or are just looking for at least some involvement (many private colleges). Really, only the top ~50-ish colleges will expect a spike, and at that point, the acceptance rates are so low, you just have to hope for the best.

Dozens of kids at my HS have spent four years panicking over their ECs and ended up at the (perfectly fine!) state flagship. No one can predict whether they’ll “need” ECs, but many people could have saved themselves lots of time and anxiety. IMO, the value of ECs is overblown for 95% of students. Just keep doing what you’re doing; you have many activities and you should be fine.

Best of luck and have fun in high school! :slight_smile:

4

Do what you love, and do it in depth. Once you achieve a goal, take your activity - whatever it is - to the next level.

I disagree with the above post that, “the value of ECs is overblown for 95% of students”. For selective colleges, great grades and test scores is a baseline. Every successful applicant has them. It is through your ECs that you show your personality and the traits college want, such as enthusiasm, leadership, concern for others. Even for public flagships, who admit by department, having a history of related ECs demonstrates you are prepared for what’s coming.

I also think the concept of a spike is misused. Focusing your activities in one area makes you pointy, but doesn’t necessarily make a spike. A spike implies a level of mastery. It takes time to develop, often more time than a high school student has available in four years. It is rare, and colleges recognize it when they see it.

Rather than focusing on a spike, be interesting, as you define it. That can mean taking your skills to a new level or in a new direction, or using them to solve a problem or patch a deficiency in your school or community. Show curiosity or creativity. Challenge yourself.