Maximise Your Summer Break for College Application -They say, “Summer is where the fun never ends and memories are made!” But what about aspiring students going to college? Summer activities for university students play a crucial role in defining their curriculum vitae and making them stand out. As much as we talk about the importance of extracurricular activities in school, a productive summer for high school students is equally important for their personal growth and to strengthen their college applications. This article aims to highlight how students can make the most of their summer break to boost their college profile, while having fun at the same time!
A Productive Summer for High School Students
Summers are a great time to indulge in your personal and academic advancement. With no pressure to balance academic commitments, summers are the ideal time to engage in meaningful activities for students of all age-groups. It is especially important for students gearing up for college to maximize summer break for college applications by doing internships, volunteer work, developing a project of your interest or even by pursuing a specific short-term academic program to foster new skills and deepen existing knowledge. Afterall, a well-spent summer should rejuvenate a child, make them more confident and prepare them for a brighter future ahead.
How to Spend Summer before College
A summer before college is an important time for students. It is a bridge between high school and a new chapter that lies ahead of them in college. The student must use this time productively to prepare for their future while enjoying their present. Here’s our take on the ideal way to maximize summer break for college applications –
Please note that in this section, we are concentrating on students who have already got accepted to a college or are waiting to hear from them.
Academic Preparation
- Homework for College – Go through college catalogues and familiarise yourself with concepts like majors, minors and other educational needs.
- Work on Yourself – Work on your weaker areas in academics. Re-read high school material or take up a refresher course to brush up your knowledge.
- Read More – Read books, articles, watch documentaries related to your field of study or anything else to widen your scope of knowledge.
- Essential Skills – Work on developing essential skills like effective communication, organisational skills, time management among others.
Financial Preparation
- Arrange your Finances – Arrange tuition fees, college fees and other payment plans as anticipated.
- Apply for Scholarships – Research and apply for scholarships based on your merit and eligibility to ease out financial burdens.
- Summer Job – Summer jobs are a great way to cover your personal expenses, build work ethics, develop essential skills and gain real-world experiences.
Personal Growth
- Do an Internship – Intern in a field that excites or thrills you. It should offer valuable experience, insights and networking opportunities.
- Volunteer – Give back to the community with some volunteer work in areas that deeply impact you. A selfless voluntary act can go a long way. Do it for yourself.
- Learn a New Skill – Learning a new skill enhances your adaptability and opens up new avenues for personal development and fulfilment. Learn a new language, instrument or just pick up cooking.
- Passion Project – Pursuing a passion project can be very satisfying. Write articles, write a novel, learn to code, create a website, build a working model, design something innovative etc. Maximize summer break for college applications with such self-driven independent summer activities.
Developing Life-Skills
This is one thing no one talks about. In the pursuit for excellence, we stress on students taking up academics-related summer activities, and in the process, one may tend to forget to learn important life skills. Some of the important skills you must learn to maximize summer break for college applications from all aspects are –
- Learning to cook a basic meal.
- Learning to live independently.
- Budgeting your expenses.
- Doing your own laundry.
- Learning to drive a car, check oil, tyres etc.
- Learning miscellaneous problem-solving skills.
Relax & Reflect
Reflect on your goals. Focus on personal growth. Explore your local community. Be a tourist in your own town. Prepare yourself for the transition. Relax, recharge and spend time with family and enjoy your last few days at home.
Best Summer Programs for Top Universities
Choosing the best summer activities that can maximize summer break for college applications significantly and boost a student’s profile involves strategic engagement in activities to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity, commitment, passion for learning and contribution, initiative and leadership. But what’s best for you, may not be best for your friend. The selected summer activities for university applications must align with a student’s interests and aptitude. If you already have a few colleges in mind, go to their websites as they offer valuable college application tips for summer to help students maximise summer break for college admissions.
Please note that, in this section, we will be concentrating on students who are planning to apply to top universities in the near future.
There’s a wide range of summer activities to maximize summer break for college applications – from intensive academic programs to community service to others. Here’s our list –
Summer Programs or Online Courses
Specialised summer programs are conducted in colleges all over the world. It’s a great opportunity for high school students to get a feel of what lies ahead of them and prepare themselves accordingly. Some of the popular and prestigious programs include – Princeton University Summer Journalism Program, Harvard University (for Social Science), Stanford Medical Youth Science Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (for Computer Science), Telluride Association Summer Seminar, University of Cambridge (for Economics and Finance), Columbia University (for Engineering), National University of Singapore (for Science) and Lasalle College of Arts (for Arts) and so on. Some of these courses are even FREE!
Research Work
Actual research or laboratory experiences is one of the most sought after summer activities to maximize summer break for college applications. Contact professors working in a field that interests you and request them to assist them in the laboratory, even if it means washing beakers and slides. Just being around them and watching them work can be inspiring and would count as a valuable experience.
Start Test Preparations
Explore SAT or ACT to understand their content and find out your weak points. Find out the mandatory test/s required by the colleges you are planning to apply to. Take an online course to learn the basics or get in touch with Ascend Now for expert tutoring specific to SAT or ACT. With digital tests coming into the picture, many colleges have reinstated the test requirement as mandatory.
Pick up a Job
Having done a summer job can be one of the most important ways to demonstrate your initiative, independence, leadership ability, financial responsibility and most importantly, your work ethic. A pro-tip here, colleges like to see you work in collaboration with others, rather than a trivial solo project. So, unless you have something salient in mind for a passion project, we recommend you to pick up a good summer job instead.
Entrepreneurship
Summer planning for ambitious students can be a confusing task especially when you want to avoid the rut and run-of-the-mill options. Our counsellors at Ascend Now often advise tailoring summer activities to maximize summer break for college applications, especially for outstanding students to suit their intellect and reflect their innate character and capabilities. For example, start a business with friends or offer a service to the community.
Personal Project
Students often stress over which summer activities would maximize summer break for college applications and impress admissions committees in colleges. We recommend tailoring your personal project to help achieve your career goals. From software development to graphic designing to marketing to awareness campaigns to starting your own blog, or a podcast, there is no dearth of ideas in creating something you can call your own. How cool is that!
Volunteering in the Community
Aside from building your resume, try to maximize summer break for college applications with genuine learning and self-development experiences through voluntary work. College application committees look out for long-term commitments when it comes to voluntary work, rather than a one-off short-term experience. Start early and volunteer for a cause that you truly feel for. Work on it throughout the senior year. It’s important to choose an issue that you really care about, otherwise you may find the experience unfulfilling, missing the genuine essence of service.
Extracurricular Activities for Ivy League Admissions
Beyond high grades and test scores, Ivy League admission committees look for students who are genuine, possess unique intellectual curiosity and an impressive involvement in extracurricular activities. Students should always aim for quality over quantity while selecting summer activities to maximize summer break for college applications, especially if they are aiming for Ivy League Colleges.
- Sustained leadership roles or positions like sports team captain, debate team captain, club president, student government body member etc.
- Winning prestigious academic awards
- Long-term research engagement
- Being a part of an innovative venture, community project, business etc.
- Exceptional artistic achievements
- Athletic or sports achievements
- Being a part of competitive academic teams like robotics, MUN, etc.
- Meaningful sustained community service
- Work experience or internships
Still Confused about what to do during Summer to Boost College Application?
Ascend Now is the best online tutoring platform to boost your grades, win Ivy League acceptances and build a stand-out student profile with extracurricular and summer activities and maximize summer break for college applications. We have tutored 10,000+ students globally in the last seven years. Right from online tutoring to university planning, essay review, internships, research publishing, profile building with entrepreneurship, book publishing, podcast creation, app development and more, we’ve got you covered.
