5 Tips for an Admissions Worthy Summer
5 Tips for an Admissions Worthy Summer
Summer can be a time of many possibilities. You can partake in internships, push forward passion projects, travel to new cities, or make positive change in your community.As early as January, many students may begin to devise plans for when the academic year ends, while others find themselves at the end of May without a concrete sense of what to do. It is not necessary to plan months in advance to have a fulfilling summer. But the key is to remain active.How you spend your time matters, for both your personal development and college applications. Schools like Stanford and Columbia ask applicants about what they did during their past summers. They want to know students will manage their time wisely when given the abundant freedom of college.In the summer months when the pace of life is slower, the temptation to lose dozens of hours to watching Netflix or scrolling through social media looms close, but resist! Many options are available for you to make the most of your time—from volunteer work to online classes to independent projects. Get engaged in your community, learn a skill, and live a summer worth sharing about. Here are some options to consider:
Volunteer Work
Almost everyone appreciates free help. There are likely hundreds of nonprofits in your region seeking volunteers. Identify one with a mission you resonate with and reach out to offer your assistance. Google is a great place to start, or you could use one of these websites to search:
But do not simply accept the first opportunity that comes your way. Many students, for example, tutor low-income children at a public school because the demand for tutors is high. But not everyone enjoys teaching kids or wants to spend their summers in a classroom.Since volunteers are not paid, fulfillment and gratification are some of their main rewards. People who volunteer for the sake of volunteering may be more prone to quit or perform their duties half-heartedly.Work with your intrinsic motivations and find something you both believe in and enjoy doing. To test whether an opportunity is for you, ask, “Would I want to continue this activity during the school year, or even in college?” If the answer is no, continue searching. If yes, go for it!You must open some doors for yourself. Even if organizations don’t say so on their website, they may still welcome volunteers. Send them an email to introduce yourself, offer your services, and highlight relevant work experiences.When you email, be strategic and help the staff know where to place you. For example, if research interests you, write about how you could help with data entry or interview transcriptions. If you want experience with patients, let them know that you are a natural caregiver and want to apply this in a hospital setting. Or if you strongly resonate with the general purpose of an organization, tell them you are committed to helping where help is most needed.
Learn a Skill
Skills like programming, writing, painting, speaking a foreign language, and playing a musical instrument can open doors to future opportunities.Spanish-English translators, for example, are sometimes needed by pro bono law firms that serve a large Latino population. A micro-finance nonprofit may benefit from volunteers who are familiar with Excel formulas and basic statistics. Hospitals with a music therapy program may be short on violinists and pianists. These days, you can virtually learn any skill online. Pick up computer science on Codecademy, take a class on finance on EdX, or publish your own fiction stories on the social storytelling platform, Wattpad. Browse through YouTube and you will find hundreds of “how to” videos.Whatever skill you learn, try to create a tangible product by the end of the summer—whether it is an app, a short story, or a series of paintings for beautifying your school campus. It’s a great way to structure your learning and ensure progress. Plus, you could share your product with colleges if they allow supplemental materials.
Fix a Community Problem
Is there a local lake that has been polluted? A dwindling number of honey bees in your town? Increased mental health concerns among younger students at your high school?Many colleges ask students about a community to which they belong and how they may have contributed to it. They’re curious about the ways you will contribute to their campus should you matriculate in the fall.Summer is a great time to roll up your sleeves and begin to make positive impact. If volunteer work is not for you, then you can start a project of your own to address a community problem.Brainstorm about what are the needs in your city or town, and then think of creative ways to address them. Start small, because one of the hardest things about spearheading a project is overcoming fear of failure and the sense that you need to solve everything all at once.Think about how you can move the needle on your issue just a millimeter—perhaps educate five people about the decline of honey bees or research ways to reverse lake pollution—and then set out to do just that. Your small efforts may eventually snowball into significant impact.
Contact Local Professors
If you are interested in research, send emails to local professors to inquire about assistantship opportunities. Similar to how you would contact organizations about volunteer opportunities, be sure to describe your work experience and relevant skills.Not all will respond to you and those who do may not assign you substantive work. You could end up going in to the lab for a few hours each week just to wash beakers and input data.But no matter how menial your duties, with hard work and dedication, you can build strong rapport with your professor and earn greater responsibilities for next year.
Read Books
Research has found that reading enhances neural pathways, language comprehension, emotional intelligence—the positive effects go on and on.When you have down time during the summer, read books. Read classic novels, read self-help books, read science fiction. Grab something from the local library or your Kindle, plop down on a comfy seat, and immerse into a new world. If you do not have time for novels, pick up an anthology of short stories to enjoy.If you are up to it, we invite you to join our challenge and take a break from TV this summer, picking up a book instead whenever you feel that itch for stories. If you need recommendations, check out our Summer Reading List.Ultimately, the ingredients for a meaningful summer depend on what you find rewarding and important. We encourage you to take risks, be creative, and pave a path for yourself that you would be excited to walk. And who knows? Perhaps this summer can turn out to be your best one yet.The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute conversation today!Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our newsletter.See what others are saying about us