"Writing-intensive" English courses?

HazelEnvirons
Sat, 08 Jan 2022 03:28:03 +0000

High school junior here. Some of the small LACs I’m looking at applying to want applicants to have chosen “writing-intensive courses” or “courses with a writing emphasis” for English.

I’ve taken interdisciplinary English courses all three years of high school so far (English/SS in 9th, English/Art in 10th, English/SS again this year). All three have been engaging and deeply challenging, and I’ve written a lot in all three, but I wouldn’t call any of them “writing-intensive” although that could just be because I don’t have a clear idea of what it means. I also self-studied for the AP EngLang exam last year and got a 5, but the schools I’m most interested in are (rightfully) unlikely to take things like AP exams seriously as a measure of knowledge. Outside of class, I write for my school newspaper and have one other writing-heavy EC.

What does “writing-intensive” really mean? Am I on track to fulfill what these schools are looking for? Should I try to take the most writing-focused options in my senior year, or even squeeze in three semesters of English (likely at the cost of other courses I want to take)? Or should I just take the English courses I’m most interested in to finish out my time in high school?