How to Choose the Right Summer Program for You
For one of our latest webinars, we invited Natalia Ostrowski, the former Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago, to speak with students about strategic extracurricular planning during summer break. Deciding between summer schools, research programs, academic competitions, and internships is a common struggle for high school students, and there are many questions to consider when planning activities outside the classroom.
What do top colleges really look for in summer activities? How do the various program types compare? When does it make sense to participate in online advanced research? And what are some strategies that make a real difference when applying for college? Ostrowski’s experience fielding thousands of college applications over the years makes her the ideal expert to show our ambitious scholars how to build a compelling extracurricular profile.
Follow Genuine Interests and Choose Quality Over Quantity
Top colleges and universities are savvy enough to know when a student is padding their resume with irrelevant and insignificant activities that feign productivity. Loading your academic profile with a dozen unrelated extracurriculars that demonstrate no conceivable narrative about who you are, or waiting until your junior year to start showing an interest in community service, is a quantity over quality approach that won’t help you get into your dream school. Colleges crave authentic, high-quality applicants who can demonstrate tangible achievements that reflect their passions, academic rigor, leadership skills, and unique character traits.
Prioritizing the quality of your summer activities, however, doesn’t mean you must choose the most expensive and prestigious programs to stand out. “Just because you attend summer school at Harvard,” says Ostrowski, “does not mean that you will have a better chance at getting into school at Harvard.” While highly selective programs are undoubtedly valuable, the most important thing to remember is that top schools want proof that you’re committed to pursuing higher education in a field you’re genuinely interested in. Sometimes that looks like attending one of the top residential programs in the country, but it also often looks like volunteering at the local clinic or art museum.
Not All Extracurricular Activities Hold the Same Weight
When choosing which extracurricular opportunity to pursue, carefully consider the pros and cons of each option to make the best decision. For example, summer school programs invite students to experience a real college environment and help them meet new friends, connect with professors, and identify and explore new interests. However, these programs aren’t weighed as heavily in admissions offices as other extracurriculars, mainly because they aren’t very unique and take up valuable time, usually one month or more, that could be spent on more specialized activities.
Competitions are an excellent way to showcase a student’s academic excellence or creative talent. Not only do they help students develop resilience, problem-solving, and discipline, but national and international recognition can be instrumental in distinguishing a student among their peers. Competitions can also serve as powerful focal points in application essays or college interviews. However, they’re very time-intensive, often taking months or years to prepare for, and the high-pressure environments can lead to burnout or discouragement much sooner than other summer activities.
Extracurricular research is a little more complicated. There are typically three types of research programs: in-person lab/local institution work, self-directed research initiatives, and online research programs. In-person lab work offers valuable hands-on experience, access to advanced resources, and direct faculty mentorship. However, these opportunities often require personal connections, implement age restrictions, mandate a longer timeline to completion, and offer less schedule flexibility.
Self-directed research projects, on the other hand, give students a higher level of autonomy, which is great for more independent scholars who prefer to work on a flexible timeline. The opportunity awarded by the extra freedom may double as a challenge, though, since students participating in self-directed research lack professional mentorship, which leads to fewer resources and trouble setting clear goals. Online research programs often offer the most benefits for students. With guided mentorship, a diverse array of research topics, dedicated academic writing support, and expert publication assistance, students who participate in virtual research can passionately engage with their interests, earn letters of recommendation, and achieve tangible results without many of the setbacks that make other extracurricular opportunities challenging. However, online research often involves an extra cost for enrollment.
Regardless of how you choose to spend your summer break, ask yourself these key questions to determine what choice will make the most significant impact on your college application:
Does this opportunity genuinely align with my interests?
Will I be actively engaged in this program, or just passively attending?
Can I connect this experience to my academic or personal growth?
Is this an opportunity I can build on later?
There are many ways to make the most of your summer break, but the most valuable extracurriculars offer more than just looking good on paper. To choose the right summer program for you, go for the option that’s personally meaningful, growth-oriented, and relevant to the narrative you want your academic profile to portray. To hear more insider tips from an admissions expert, watch the webinar. And for more information on how Scholar Launch can help you reach your academic goals, contact us.
