In the eyes of college admissions officers, summer is just another word for opportunity. Having three months of uncharted time leads many students to idly waste away the days. Students who rise above the rest often have one thing in common: they take advantage of their summers. Coming off the rush of the school year may lead students to want a break from stress or the confines of an extremely structured environment.
Hence, there are a variety of plans available to accommodate any preference:
Taking on a Service Project is a good way to have a hard-working, fulfilling summer. For those students tired of homework that always piles up, and want to do some good in a community. A service project is a perfect choice. Often only requiring work from a nine to five schedule with no outside input. Service projects can fit a variety of interests: building homes, nature clean-ups, tutoring kids. Service projects also allow for travel at times, to areas needing relief efforts for example, which is a good option for the summer.
For more academically inclined students, an Independent Study may be an option. Studying in a more focused field, like Austen’s books or pyrotechnic design. This emulates the narrow field of college courses. This normally culminates with a big project, paper, or presentation, but can have a variety of final showcases. It could be with a mentor or academic leader. Or it could be a summer of committing to learning about one subject in depth.
The age for starting Creative Media is being lowered every year. Today, preteens are stars of YouTube channels, and high school students are publishing novels. Many students take a summer to commit to their chosen art form. By creating a YouTube mini-series, writing a poetry chapbook, gathering an art portfolio, or releasing a pre-professional music album online. This lets colleges know that you’re committed to a fresh, innovative, and unique line of thinking that can add a lot to a university’s community.
Many older high school students choose to Get a Job. This has many distinct advantages: spending money (or additional savings), real-world experience, and presenting an example of consistent and verifiable responsibility. This shows colleges that students have the mindset and necessary outlook to thrive in a more demanding and mature environment. Jobs available to teenagers also vary. From bookstore clerks to boutique sales assistants to bank tellers to office workers, there’s something related to everyone’s hopeful field of study.
Finally, for those students searching for a structured way to try out the college experience, many universities host Pre-College Programs. This is a way for students to try out courses in specific fields of study, from Economics to Art History. These are hosted at the university, and students are housed in dorms, making the experience as close to the actual college experience as possible. This does not have to be at the university the student eventually wants to gain admission to. More it’s always a good idea to try out the college environment in advance, wherever that may be.
