Finally, summer is here! After a school year filled with hard work, you can
finally put your books away, get out your bikinis and soak up the
sunshine. This is not only what you deserve, but what you need: Yes
you have been working at your highest level during the school year,
you owe your body about two weeks of rest during the summer for a true
pause. Go ahead, pursue your favorite hobby, relax, sleep and
Reflect on the past year and the year ahead. Don’t get too much though
accustomed to your leisure life! From a college admissions standpoint, it is
important to be productive during the summer months. work is
viewed favorably by the most selective colleges; working on your
tanning is not.
It is important to understand that when it comes time to apply to schools
in the fall, you will compete for admission against a host of other
students who made the most of their summers by strengthening their
talents and abilities and/or somehow compensate for their weaknesses.
Ideally, you’ve already found something to do for the summer, but if
no, here are some summer suggestions.
For the summer after ninth grade, summer school can be a great idea,
particularly if you want to get ahead in your study plan. For example,
Rising sophomores in the past have used their summers to advance in
their math track, some taking a class that prepares them for a
honors or advanced level course, others taking a crash course in math
course spanning at least six weeks in the summer. Other students
have chosen to use their summers to take composition or creative classes.
writing courses to strengthen your writing skills.
By the summer after tenth grade, you may want to try participating in a
program designed to promote one of your main talents. For example,
if you are interested in engineering, you can try a program that teaches
students to design their own autonomous robots, like Carnegie
Mellon West’s seven-week RoboCamp. Students who are artistically
inclined you may want to try Northwestern’s National Institutes of Secondary Schools
(colloquially known as “Cherubs”), during which students who excel in
music, theater, journalism, cinema, debate and/or forensic science sharpen their
talents through intensive workshops in their areas of interest. Other
great opportunity for future film students is through the University of
Southern California summer seminars where students can study
whether it’s screenwriting, film business and technology, or
technical entertainment.
The summer after tenth grade could also be used to go on a trip.
program abroad. Two great resources for finding programs abroad are
http://www.goabroad.com and [http://www.studyabroad.com]where you can hit
in specific countries and interests and find hundreds of great
programs that are off the beaten track. I recommend committing to a
program of at least six weeks: a true cultural immersion will generally take
more than a month, and it will take two weeks to top your jet
the G! Also, try to travel to a country where the residents speak the foreign language.
language you are learning in school. To get the most out of your
experience, try to stay away from programs with many other
Americans, and try to dedicate yourself to one place for the entire stay.
For example, if you are taking Spanish at school, it is better to go to Mexico.
or a Central American or Latin American country instead of Spain, which is often
full of americans Also, in cities like Barcelona, the
The language of choice is Catalan instead of Spanish.
The summer after eleventh grade is a good time to try to find a
internship or other work experience in one of your fields
of interest. If you’re interested in a sports-related career, let’s say, this is
an excellent summer to work in a sports agency or a sports channel
like ESPN. To see the world of sports from a different angle, you can
he even wants to try working at a law firm that has a history of representation
athletes. He would not only gain valuable experience that would give him
an advantage over even the average college student, you just might find a new
translation of your passion for sport.
Remember, nepotism is frowned upon, so make sure your
the work experience is aligned with your interests and not with those of your parents
careers After all, you’re not just spending the summer at dad’s office;
this should be made clear to schools. Similarly, if you are holding
get a job or an internship, the ideal amount of time to do this is around
eight weeks Since the typical summer lasts twelve weeks,
I still have several weeks to relax and of course work on
college applications IvyWise students in the past have interned at the
office of Senator Hillary Clinton, conducted original research on cancer in
hospitals together with professors, reported to important and local
newspapers, and interned at a variety of companies ranging from law
companies to Goldman Sachs.
If you are a serious athlete with a chance of being recruited for your
sport in college, you will likely spend most of your summers
on the field or in the gym, where the coaches will have the opportunity to observe you
play. Sports camps and workshops are ideal for serious students.
athletes; This is the path you must follow to gain admission to the university-
level athletics.
Before leaving for summer vacation, I also recommend asking your
school for next year’s English and history reading list. beginning
your early reading is a great way to start off with next year
task. Also, starting your reading list over the summer will help you
you gain a deeper understanding of the assigned material: when
brushing up on your summer reading during the school year, you will be familiar
with the basic story and will therefore be equipped to carry out a better
text analysis. Also, if you choose to stay in your hometown
during the summer, universities will love to see you continue with your studies
community service activities per year during the summer months.
summer not:
#1: CAMP. Unless you are a focused athlete and attending a
Sports camps, sleepover camps, and camping trips must end before the
summer before ninth grade. The only exception to this rule is if a
the student has the opportunity to assume a leadership role as a CIT,
and even then, the summer before ninth grade should be the last year in
to camp. Universities aren’t looking for experts in the arts of making s’more
and spin the bottle!
#2: TOURS FOR TEENS. It may sound great to travel the country with
a busload of other kids in your age group for a couple of weeks, and
although it is true that you could try the cuisine of many different countries
McDonald’s locations across the country, this will not help you get in
colleague. On a teen tour, students can never get to know a place well,
and they are likely to be with students like themselves and
therefore, you will not have a chance to stretch. The teen tours are so organized
and programmed that it is almost impossible for any student to make a
impact on your community. Students must ensure that
whatever they do over the summer, somehow they are making a
impact, whether on an organization, a pet cause, or a foreign or
local community.
#3: “DIVE” TRIPS. Any so-called cultural immersion trip that
lasts three weeks or less, particularly those of the Putney or ASA brand,
not a clever use of daylight saving time. These trips break the life of a student
summer and take the place of an in-depth program; it’s vacation
instead of commitments and they’re not something to add to a college brag
sheet. Again, students must choose a program that is out of the ordinary.
that lasts a minimum of six weeks so that they have the opportunity to
grow and have an impact.
#4: PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMER SATURDAY. If you are a rising junior, summer is not the
best time to start preparing for your standardized tests. Sure, working on
vocabulary a few hours a week can never hurt, but spending chunks of
your day to SAT tutoring or a class will just take the place of an activity
that you can put on your brag sheet. Furthermore, it is likely that
forget a lot of what you learn over the summer; you will absorb away
more during the year, when you are in “school mode”.
Lastly, when you book your personal time, make sure you
you sure give yourself time to have fun! As high school progresses, the
the courses inevitably become more difficult and your workload will increase; is
It is important to take advantage of the summer holidays to relax and reflect. while there
It’s always weekends during the school year, there’s nothing like a
sunny wednesday at the beach so please make the most of your
Freedom while you can! Have a great summer, and we are looking
looking forward to hearing your stories.