High School Students Interested in History: How to Build Your Profile

Padya Paramita

High School Students Interested in History: How to Build Your Profile

Whether you’ve always been curious about the past and obsessed with museums and archives, or you’ve recently discovered you have a knack for history through your AP US History class, you’re here because you’re possibly thinking about pursuing a history major in college. For high school students interested in history, building an application profile doesn’t seem as straightforward as someone who might be a CS candidate building an app or an arts student planning an exhibition. 

However, there are several ways that you can add your love for the subject to your application profile in order to stand out and showcase your passion. In this blog, I have outlined the ways high school students interested in history can incorporate history into their academics, extracurriculars, along with the top colleges known for their history departments, and finally, how their love for history can show up in the actual Common Application.

How to Build Your Application Profile

As you go through high school, you become very busy with classes and extracurricular activities. The best way to highlight your interest in historical topics is by allowing it to show up in a mix of both of these components. Here’s how.

Academics

One of the primary considerations behind whether a student is admitted into college or not is their course rigor and GPA. So, high school students interested in history must seek out not just history classes, but history classes that have a challenging curriculum, such as AP World History, AP US History, IB World History—rather than just regular or honors history classes. Performing well in your history classes at school can also help impress your teachers, which can in turn result in glowing letters of recommendation (more on that later).

Previously I’d also have recommended that high school students interested in history study for the SAT subject test in US History or World History. However, since the College Board has eliminated the test, we must focus elsewhere. Don’t worry there are still other ways that you can let admissions officers know that this is where your passion lies.

Extracurricular Initiatives

Your extracurriculars are absolutely key in explaining to colleges that you fall among high school students interested in history. Not only that, but this is the place where you can dive even deeper and show exactly which era or aspect of history appeals to you the most. Colleges appreciate students who take their own initiative, showcase leadership, and make an impact in their field and community. So, joining any regular history club in school and being a general member is not enough. Here are some ways you can go even further:

  • A Research Project - High school students interested in history have a world of information to work with—literally. If there is a particular time period or region whose history really interests you, why not conduct a research project looking up certain niche topics within that area or region. Some example ideas could include: the history of fashion in the Victorian era, how colonization might have affected trade relations in different countries, or novels that were inspired by the French revolution. Once you’ve finished your research, you can write a paper and seek out a journal where you can possibly even get published.
  • A more Artistic Project - Going off of the last point, once you’ve conducted research you don’t just have to go the academic route and write a paper, you can take a creative approach as well. If you’re interested in filmmaking, why not make a short documentary—an excellent way to combine both interests. Or, if you’re more of an artist, you can create a historical graphic novel that outlines your discovery.
  • A Oral History Project - If you don’t want, you don’t have to look much out of your own city/state in order to demonstrate your love for history. Each location contains deep roots and often a lot of people might not know about the past of the very place they live. One of the ways high school students interested in history can build their profile is through conducting interviews and taking on an oral history project. You can talk to local elders, historians, and employees at historical centers to find out more about the place you come from. Not only is this an initiative that helps you learn about your background, but you get to involve more of your community with it. The final project could be a documentary, a podcast, or even a multimedia exhibit at a local venue.
  • History-related Jobs - Another path you can take is by seeking employment at a history-related organization. You could check if your local museum hires high school students—or you could work in the archives section of your local library. You can also look up if any history professors in universities near you are seeking assistants. Colleges appreciate students who have worked while still in high school as it shows maturity and responsibility—combining this with your academic interest is a great way to stand out in your application.

 

Building Your School List

As you move forward in your high school career, it’s important to conduct appropriate research. STEM-centric schools such as Caltech or MIT aren’t the best options for high school students interested in history. To help you get started I’ve included US News’s top 30 colleges known for their history departments, alongside their location:

Rank School Location
1 University of California—Berkeley Berkeley, CA
2 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
2 University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
2 Yale University New Haven, CT
5 Columbia University New York, NY
5 Stanford University Stanford, CA
5 University of California—Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
5 University of Chicago Chicago, IL
9 Harvard University Cambridge, MA
10 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
11 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
11 University of North Carolina—Chapel HIll Chapel Hill, NY
11 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
11 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
11 University of Texas—Austin Austin, TX
11 University of Wisconsin—Madison Madison, WI
16 New York University New York, NY
16 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
18 Brown University Providence, RI
18 Duke University Durham, NC
18 University of VIrginia Charlottesville, VA
21 Indiana University—Bloomington Bloomington, IN
21 Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ
21 University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign Urbana, IL
24 University of California—Davis Davis, CA
24 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
26 Emory University Atlanta, GA
26 University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
26 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
30 Georgetown University Washington, DC
30 Ohio State University Columbus, OH
30 University of California—Irvine Irvine, CA
30 University of California—San Diego San Diego, CA

This list reflects colleges that provide students with strong support at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in order to pursue their historical interests. As you can probably tell, these rankings are very different from overall university rankings. So, you might even put colleges you never thought you would apply to that are lower in the general rankings—because they are so well-reputed for history.

How to Demonstrate Your Interest to Admissions Officers

Once you’ve built your profile and your school list, it’s time to think about exactly how the fact that you fall among high school students interested in history will show up in your college application. 

  • Activities List - As a prospective history major, if you’ve led any initiatives that cover history, they should go high on your activities list. By taking advantage of the description box, and by depicting how long you’ve worked on history-based projects and activities, you can show how you’re a standout history student.
  • Letters of Recommendation - If you are planning to major in history, you should definitely ask your history teacher for a letter of recommendation for college. Having them advocate for you would provide great support to the ways you’ve stood out in your history classes.
  • Personal Statement - Your personal statement is a story unique to you that can help distinguish you from other applicants. If you have conducted a meaningful project that ties into your love for history, this is the place to elaborate on it. Help admissions officers see how you’ve dedicated yourself to the field you’re interested in in different ways than other high school students interested in history.
  • Supplemental essays - Finally, you can take advantage of college supplemental essays in order to demonstrate your love for history. School-specific essays often ask questions such as “Why are you interested in a certain academic area” or “Talk about a meaningful activity.” There are plenty of ways to tie history into these. If any school asks about books you’ve read, you can even take suggestions from this reading list made for prospective history majors!

 

There are so many different ways for high school students interested in history to build their application profile and stand out among the applicant pool. Carefully decide where you want to focus on, and work on pursuing extracurriculars and academics surrounding those specific niches. Once it’s time to apply, make sure your love for the subject shows up throughout so that you can build a theme around it. Good luck!

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