Hi College Confidential! I’m an 8th Grader at a really competitive school; almost all the kids here are so deeply passionate about their respective subject areas, like they’ve known what they want to for the rest of their life for so long
I know that I’ll probably get a response that I’m too young for this forum and that my path won’t be linear in high school, but I think that’s part of the problem in this case.
Though I’m passionate about the STEM field (bio related stuff ), I also enjoy writing and PolySci a lot ://. This year I’m taking two AP classes in STEM-related topics – Bio & Calc BC.
It’s just that… I don’t want to do all my extracurriculars and studies with a focus in the sciences/CS; blogging my poetry is almost like a therapy for me, and I’ve recently picked up some awards at a national MUN conference today.
I try my best to combine these two areas, like writing for the YouthNeuro Journal, which has been such an invaluable experience for me in technical/scientific writing. I’ve also done some stuff that applies AI & deep learning to activism and global policy, but it’s sometimes hard to keep focus on both STEM and non-STEM areas. Just a disclaimer, I know that high school is a time for exploration and that my future won’t be linear, but here’s my question for y’all:
How can I explore both STEM and the Humanities without losing skill in the other?
Congrats on what you’ve accomplished. 8th grade and Calc BC and AP Bio. Wow!!! Beyond impressive.
You should be getting a well rounded education. That will continue in both high school and college.
Many engineers, for example, will minor or even double major in English.
There will be a path for you to do a STEM major, an English, literature, classisc, etc. minor or double major - and some schools even have integrated majors where you can create your own if there’s a tie in.
It’s a great question and I won’t say you’re too young (maybe a bit early) but sure the HS you attend next year will ensure that your interests, as well as social sciences, foreign languages, etc. are all covered.
Best of luck to you - very very impressive - keep the passion going!!
You know that this is all a front, right? there is no group of 13 year olds who are all ‘deeply passionate’ about an academic subject and truly know what they want to do- but there are students where the adults in their life have socialized them to put on that front. There are lots of 13 year olds who have a fascination with things from astronomy to zoology, but that is not the same thing, and the majority of those interests will change several times before they get to a place where an actual professional career is involved. Remember that a lot of the pressure to get into a good college is based on the idea that that is how you get into a “good” job, which in turn is the ne plus ultra of life. Spoiler alert: it’s not. It can be many things- intellectually satisfying, financially rewarding, a status symbol, etc.- but in the end it is a job, and thus will only ever a part of your adult life. You get to decide for yourself how much of your life it is.
IF your goal is to get into a top-tier US college (which I am assuming is at least your parents goal, based on having put you in a hyper-competitive middle school), then read this:
Although the piece is old, the author is still in MIT admissions, comes on CC once in a while, and stands over this piece of advice.
Pretty much everybody accepts that MIT is one of the top STEM unis in the world. Guess what? they value humanities so much that every MIT student is required to take classes in the Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences. From their website:
Learning in the humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS) is an indispensable part of your undergraduate education. The HASS Requirement provides you with opportunities to deepen your knowledge in a variety of cultural and disciplinary areas, practice critical thinking, and develop vital skills while trying something new.
I’m in the US and I go to a US-based online school, so it has a small but noteworthy international population
I have to agree with this; I do notice that sometimes “passion” at a really young age isn’t genuine and can come from parental pressure or another source. My parents aren’t pushy at all, but for other kids at my school they can be.
My goals in life are pretty unclear at the moment, but what I’m looking for right now is mainly just a balance of STEM & Humanities stuff that I do. I think I might lean more to STEM careers but I’m equally passionate about English/Policy/Activism. As for college, I don’t have one precise goal in mind: I think the top-10 colleges probably do have a higher quality of education, but it’s not really an aim of mine to attend one. I just want to do the things that I enjoy (which includes both humanities and STEM) without losing focus on one or the other because of college admissions “spikes” or anything else.
Thank you for the resources and for your comments!
I would be truly worried if you didn’t have access to humanities in HS. It’s a requirement of most states for graduation and certainly colleges for acceptance.
How did you find this online school with such academic leaning ?
You can pull up a college -like a UC and see minimum requirements for admission.
Given you’re in calc BC I’m not sure how they would measure you. But no doubt your school has counselors to guide advanced students like yourself. Hope you have a great school year !!
Have you thought about joining a debate team ? The debate team might give you something unique at least from my experience that you will have to debate the topics as “Affirmative” and “Negative” so you will have to learn from both sides. That will help you with your policy/activism standpoint. That’s a good EC too. The Lincoln-Douglas format also helps the structure that it doesn’t became 2 debaters interrupting each other. Several of the students who are excellent in STEM in our district actually participate in debate.
There are opportunities in terms of clubs and other ECs to help you getting balanced between STEM and Humanities and pol/sci. You pick any ECs that fit your schedule and your passions.
Oh I can definitely take English, History, and Philosophy courses – the original post was mainly about extracurriculars and what I can do to further my interest in the Humanities and STEM - thanks for the input though!
Just some researching – it’s also been really beneficial for me because of the clubs as well as the academic side!
I did debate last year, and I enjoyed it a lot . The school I go to (transferred this year) has a debate club, but they only have a few big tournaments every year and they’re a bit far from me. I’ll look into it nonetheless though :))
You can also find things at home - and they don’t have to be academic.
Help clean up parks or at the dog shelter. Tutor at the Boys and Girls Club. It doesn’t all have to be about school all the time. Join a sports league, etc.
Please please don’t spend the next four years fixating on college. Honestly…you need to enjoy your younger years more than just doing that.
Do the things you like. Take a strong courseload and get the best grades you can get. Do ECs and clubs that you truly enjoy without any regard to whether they will impress adcoms. Prep for the PSAT and SAT/ACT. Good scores on those can open doors.
The passions you have now might continue…or you could find other things that pique your interest. That is what schooling is all about.
For UC specifically, a 3 or higher on the calculus BC exam will fulfill all of the math requirement for frosh admission except geometry. UC wants to see geometry taken as a class (presumably was taken some time before 8th grade by the OP).
), I also enjoy writing and PolySci a lot ://. This year I’m taking two AP classes in STEM-related topics – Bio & Calc BC.
but sure the HS you attend next year will ensure that your interests, as well as social sciences, foreign languages, etc. are all covered.
. The school I go to (transferred this year) has a debate club, but they only have a few big tournaments every year and they’re a bit far from me. I’ll look into it nonetheless though :))