American High School
Social Science Majors
Including: Psychology/Cognitive, Sociology/Anthropology, Political Science
*For Economics, please visit the Business Tab
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Psychology
Political Science/Philosophy
Jamie Kennerk (c/o 15)
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College: UCLA
Preferred Contact: jamiekennerk@gmail.com
Major: Political Science
Minor: Global Studies
High school activities: Water Polo, Soccer, Swimming, AHSPA, ASB Leadership
Interested in: international affairs, sports, politics, binge watching HBO series
Willing to help with: College application process, Internship advice, Essay editing, Portfolio/resume review, High school advice regarding academics, High school advice regarding extracurriculars, Time management/organization, General life advice, Anything!
Points of advice regarding applying to college, taking a gap year, or joining the military/workforce: Do what is best for you! When I was at AHS, everyone was really caught up in college prestige (myself included). In college, I ended up staying with friends at schools I never really considered and fell in love with their environment, campus, and programs. UCLA ended up being good because the LA political scene is full of past Bruins, so the alumni network was helpful. Gap years are a great way to get work experience and build a resume. For those looking to go straight into a 4-year program, here are some things I didn't think about as much when applying that are actually super important: cost of living in the surrounding area, dining hall (and nearby) food quality, ease of transportation, networking opportunities, leadership and research opportunities, housing guarantees (e.g. UCLA has 3 years of guaranteed university housing), class sizes (letters of rec are hard to get if they're all 100+ people), and availability of on-campus student services.
Links for students to use: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkennerk Instagram: @youknowimjk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamie.kennerk
Sociology/Anthropology
Brandon Shi (c/o 16)
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College: Swarthmore College and UCSB
Preferred Contact: bshi1@swarthmore.edu
Major: Sociology/Anthropology and Psychology
High school activities: badminton
Interested in: social justice, investing, working out, eating, cooking
Willing to help with: College application process, Time management/organization, General life advice, Anything!, interview prep
Points of advice regarding applying to college, taking a gap year, or joining the military/workforce: Be brutally honest in your essays. One of the best advice I have received is if your dropped your essay on the ground and someone that knows you picked it up. They would pinpoint you were the on that wrote it.
Links for students to use: N/A
