Mechanical Engineering is the type of engineering that builds things. As the name suggests, mechanical engineers design, make, fix, and operate machinery. Sometimes the machines are small enough to fit on your fingernail. Sometimes they are massive, like mining equipment the size of a residential home. No matter the scale, becoming a mechanical engineer requires a ton of specialized study — which is why one would major in mechanical engineering in college. As a sophomore interested in mechanical engineering, you likely already know this, though. What you don’t know is how to get from the mid-point of high school to a top-tier mechanical engineering program that can launch you into an impressive career. And that’s precisely where we can help.

If you are interested in government, policy, international business, research and analysis, or non-profit work, International Relations is an amazing major. International Relations is a great melding of the humanities that leads to a deep understanding of the global financial system and the relationship between different nations. Students take courses in economics, political science, history, and language, and go on to careers that span politics, policy, philanthropy, and global business.

If you are passionate about math, you understand the power of numbers. This is especially true if you want to major in math in college. Every top undergraduate school in America has a top math program, and getting in isn’t an unsolvable equation (lol!). You need to be exceptional. Your grades must be exceptional across the board, not simply in math. Your standardized test scores must be exceptional, and not only in the math sections. And your activities, or how you spend time outside of the classroom, must also be exceptional. However, you don’t need to cure cancer or write and publish a novel as a high school student. You’re a prospective math major, and colleges want to see you immersing yourself in the subject beyond course offerings.

Students interested in history are common, but students who want to major in history in college are of a rarer breed these days. In an era of STEM and questions around the immediate financial value of an undergraduate degree outside of the STEM fields, many students who would have once passionately pursued a major in history are now choosing to make history a minor. However, history is an amazing major, or second major, especially for students interested in pursuing a role in academia or teaching.

Welcome back to “Deep Dive,” our blog series investigating the reputation certain schools have acquired for particular excellence in one program or another. Sometimes those front-running specializations far outrank the school’s general standing — as with Texas A&M’s agricultural science offerings — or they are simply stand-out departments at holistically competitive universities — like Business at Penn or Neuroscience at UMich.

Students who are interested in studying management in college often do it through a major in Business Administration and Management. This entails courses in business, economics, accounting, marketing, and more. Colleges don’t expect you to arrive dialed in on business management. To prepare for it, though, you can’t just do what is available through the course options at your school and call it a day. Admission to a top-tier business management program requires exceptional grades and equally strong scores, of course. It also demands going above and beyond in your activities and extracurricular engagements, with a special attention to linking what you do outside of the classroom to your future management major.

We don’t hear very often that a student is dead set on a philosophy major in college. And yet, philosophy is a classic major at the core of a liberal arts or humanities-focused education. It is also less competitive than english, history, and economics. We absolutely love working with philosophy or philosophy-curious students.

Political science is the study of politics, government, policy, and political behavior in the United States and beyond through the lens of scientific methods. Students who major in political science go on to careers in politics and policy through advocacy, lobbying, non-profits, think tanks, consulting, law, and more. The top political science programs in the country are also at many of the most popular and competitive colleges. Think Harvard, Georgetown, Tufts, Stanford, Williams, and the like. Getting into these schools is hard, obviously, so you have to put in the work far ahead of writing applications. That means a strong transcript, amazing SAT and ACT scores, and outstanding activities.