Ahhh, summer vacation, the provider of all things good: Netflix binges, the beach, campfires, sleeping in, suntans.
It’s also the very best time to start working on — and getting material for — your college apps.
Sound rough? I get it. Whenever someone asks me to start planning months in advance, I want to pull an ostrich and sink my head happily into the sand. It’s normal to feel anxiety and reluctance about things that feel, and maybe are, overwhelming. But if you’re a junior headed into your senior year? Summer vacation isn’t just for indulgence anymore. The faster you can accept that, the faster you can start making your dreams come true.
So. How to dive in?
You have two goals:
- To show colleges that you possess initiative
- To show that you used your time to advance your curiosity in a meaningful direction
There are several ways to do this, with options that likely won’t be unfamiliar to you, but nevertheless can feel paralyzing. Let’s break them down. You can:
- Attend an academic camp
- Complete an online course
- Get a job
- Intern
- Volunteer
The key to ANY of these options, though, is that you choose something you are interested in. Which, P.S., is great news! Colleges want to see that you know what you like and that you went after trying to get to know more about it.
As such, it’s time to break out a notepad and make a list.
A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT LISTS
Firsts off: Yay, lists! They create clarity, purpose and drive. I promise that just the act of writing down a potential plan will make you feel better.
First off, if you know what you want to do for a living (gulp), good for you! It should be easy to identify areas that you want to know more about and the avenues you want to take to pursue them.
If you know what you like but don’t know how that will translate into a career, you’re off to a good start. Explore your existing interests.
If you are lost in space, no problem. All the more reason to use your summer vacation wisely. Ask yourself:
- What subjects do you like at school? Are you a STEM girl? Or a humanities guy? Are you a sports writer in the making? Can you pinpoint where Kiev is on a map and, hence, show you are scarily good at geography? Do you like computers?
- What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you love to read? Run? Swim? Do you really love movies? Or comics? Or video games? Or, I don’t know, drafting?
Write it all down. Identify what you really would like to know more about. Nothing is too insignificant here.
Once you have your area of interest, it’s time to start your search. And guess what? You don’t have to even leave your bed to do it.
FIRST STOP: ACADEMIC CAMPS
These camps generally range from a one-week to eight-week long stay in college dorms. Subject offerings are extensive, from architecture to zoology.
Advantages:
• You can earn high school or even college credit.
• You learn what it feels like to be away from home and live in a dorm.
• You get to experience a new place over your summer vacation.
• You could get an insider idea of what it’s like to be a student at your dream college, which gives you an edge for writing your “Why Here” essay.
Disadvantages:
• Most of these camps are very pricey. In most cases, not as pricey as college itself, but be prepared for sticker shock.
Head here to take a look at 20 programs that ranked best in the country.
Head here to find an even more comprehensive list of available academic camps put together by Fastweb.
If travel isn’t in the cards, head here to find camps within a certain distance of your zip code. Most of these camps are more affordable that those hosted at leading institutions.
SECOND STOP: ONLINE COURSES
Advantages:
• You’ll likely take online classes at some point in your college career, so taking one now will teach you how they work and how they work for you.
• You get to learn about something you actually want to learn about over your summer vacation. Like photography. Or stoichiometry (just kidding).
Disadvantages:
• You will have to do a little legwork to find a course that is the right fit for your skill level.
In this arena, there are two excellent resources:
• Lynda.com offers thousands of courses online, most of which are broken down by skill level. You can find a list of the course offerings, which range from 2D drawing to the music business, here. After a free trial period, you’ll pay about $30 per month for the course.
• coursera.org offers online classes put together by the country’s leading institutions, including Princeton, Rice and Stanford. The monthly subscription is $40 to $80, and courses take about four weeks to complete. Some classes indicate what level of student they are ideal for, however not all of them do. Read the syllabi and also consider simply auditing a course, which is free, to see if the content is for you.
THIRD STOP: GET A JOB
Advantages:
• You learn important, lifelong skills.
• You make friends (and find commiserators).
• You make some moolah!
Disadvantages:
• It can be difficult to find a job in your field of interest.
Let’s face it: getting a job is simply a reality for most. I started working at age 15 at Medicine Rock Cafe and, over the four years of high school, bussed about 12,000 dirty, sticky tables.
But guess what? That isn’t a bad thing. Colleges aren’t going to ding you on your application if you weren’t able to go to Northwestern for camp. But admissions officers are going to be impressed if you got a job and you made the most out of it.
The key here is to be thoughtful about your pursuit. First off, if you can get a job in a field you’re interested in, that’s amazing! Go for it.
It’s more likely, though, that those jobs don’t exist for high school students and you ‘re going to have to get creative — and aggressive.
How to do it?
If you think, say, that you want to be a veterinarian, call a vet clinic to see if you can get an appointment with the office manager. Dress conservatively and arrive with resume in hand. Insist that no job is too small for the likes of little, ol’ you. Stress that you are a hard worker. If they are able to pay you, great. If they can’t, offer to volunteer. We’ll talk about the benefits of volunteering in a bit.
Now, if you live in a place where jobs for high schoolers consist of either scooping French fries at McDonald’s or scooping French fries at Wendy’s, don’t despair, there is nothing wrong with French fries.
The key is to be mindful about your experience at your summer job. What are you learning beyond taking orders? What are you witnessing? What are you smelling, tasting, hearing, seeing, feeling? What kind of customers do you meet? Have you experienced a 20-car pay-it-forward chain where people buy the meals of the people behind them in the drive-thru? What can you apply to the world beyond the confines of the fast food cage?
Think about this constantly. And, better yet, start a blog on WordPress or Blogger and write about it. Trust me when I say: You have material here to make a terrific essay. As we say at Sway Essay, there is magic in the mundane.
FOURTH STOP: INTERN ON YOUR SUMMER VACATION
Advantages:
• Gain useful experience in a specific field.
• Learn life skills during your summer vacation.
• Feel like you’re helping others.
Disadvantage:
• No moolah.
Whenever I used to hear the word “intern,” my anxiety level would skyrocket.
I would picture serious go-getters racing around Capitol Hill carrying dossiers and maybe even microchips. That would, in turn, make me want to take a nap. Or at least eat some potato chips.
How had they found these mysterious internships? How could they afford to work for free all summer? And what kind of Ivy League connections did they have to get these positions?
I’m here to pop a balloon of anxiety for you. An intern is basically a volunteer. Your goal is to get work experience. Some businesses have official programs designed to help you get it. A lot of places, like that vet clinic I mentioned earlier, are willing to pull something together for you if you seem worthy enough. Either way, your job is not going to be overly glamorous. You’re likely not going to earn a dime. And people are going to be thankful they can hand off the grunt work to you. So, stop stressing.
To find an official internship and internship information, check these places out:
• internships.com: A comprehensive site that allows you to search opportunities according to your zip, and up to 100 miles surrounding it. If you live in a more rural area, you might do well to keep your area of interest clear and simply search what is available.
• idealist.org: This is the place to go if you want to intern for a non-profit. As with internships.com, you can search according to your zip and the surrounding area. Obviously, your top priority is to find something that interests you, but a non-profit internship sure doesn’t look shabby on your application, whether you write about it or not.
• experience.com: This website features very useful articles pertaining to how to make the most out of your internship, how to interview for one, why it’s valuable to find a mentor, etc. There is also advice for how to write a cover letter and resume specifically for an internship. Honestly, you’d do well to permanently incorporate this website in your bag of tricks, since it is largely geared to helping college students find university-based placements.
FINAL STOP: VOLUNTEERING
What a beautiful, kind thing to do.
Advantages: Obvious, n’est ce pas?
Disadvantage: No moolah.
You and I have come a long way in this blog post, so I’m going to leave you with this:
• Volunteer, even if you’ve camped, interned, worked or online classed.
• Tailor your volunteering experiences as much as possible to your interests.
To find volunteering opportunities near you, click here or here. If you don’t find anything nearby, consider your local library, hospital, senior center, nursing home, hospice, animal shelter, forest service, parks, schools and civic clubs. Or create your own opportunities by zeroing in on a business and convincing its owners how much they need your help. Remember: It’s very hard to say no to free.
All the while, just remember, the sky is the limit for you. What you’re doing is scary BUT exciting, too. Start planning NOW. And know you aren’t ever going to forget your summer vacation.