Preparing for Humanities and Liberal Arts School

If you are considering humanities and liberal arts studies, your post-secondary planning process should begin as early as high school. Humanities and liberal arts schools and programs can be competitive and rigorous; therefore, it's important to plan your high school courses accordingly. Some of the classes that you will want to take are English, speech/communications, math, any social science courses and general sciences to ensure that you are well prepared for the schools and programs that make your list. Languages, creative arts and computer and keyboarding skills are also beneficial for certain programs in this broad field.

If you are still in high school, and are thinking about going to school for humanities and liberal arts, there are several additional things that you can do to prepare and increase your chances of being accepted:

Undertake to read and study independently. This is a good way to develop interests, expand your knowledge and improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension skills needed for these intellectually wide-ranging programs. This will also help you if admission requirements include an interview, since you will be able to impress the committee with the knowledge you have built up of terms and information specific to this area of study.

Admissions committees are often interested in a student's personal qualities, which can be developed through participating in extracurricular activities. Consider joining or even starting school clubs related to your area of interest. This is also a good way to develop demonstrated leadership skills, which are an important aspect of any competitive application.

Work experience - paid or volunteer - can also increase your chances of being admitted, particularly to programs in social work or psychology, and is an achievement often regarded highly by admissions committees.