School's out! As the ancient adage goes, "Scream and shout!" It's been a long haul through the third semester of virtual learning, and we all deserve a bit of a breather this summer. But don't get carried away by the allure of all this free time—make sure that you can assert to your future interviewer or college app that you used the summer of 2021 wisely. Here's a short list of some options for your summertime grind:
Part Time Job (💸) Daily expenses pile up, but the college application process can get pretty pricey too. In order to afford testing fees, the cost of sending applications to each school, visits to college campuses and other supplementary costs, it's always a good idea to save up some allowances! When strapped for cash, you can always hustle at fast food and retail stores that may be opening up this summer in your area.
Internship (📝) While not all internships will pay, especially for high school students, this is a valuable way to stock up on pre-professional and hard skills-building experiences that can be very valuable on your resume. College officers like seeing what you're able to do outside the bounds of school-ordained clubs and extracurriculars.
Skills-oriented camp or lessons (⚽️🎻🏊♀️) If you are really dedicated to a club or extracurricular activity, you should definitely spend time honing your skills over the summer! Whether you're eyeing that music school or preparing to talk with an athletic recruitment coach, showing your dedication by attending selective camps or participating in competitions over the summer will definitely make good use of your time. Beyond sports and music, you can also consider cultivating new extracurricular skills by trying out summer camps oriented around debate, Science Olympiad, or competitive math. While study abroad or on-campus experiences might still be limited this summer, there are plenty of remote options that are still active—such as those Business, Pre-Med, Pre-Law, and Coding programs run by Academies by HSA, our sister agency!
Summer classes (📚) Although more school might be the last thing on your mind in May, when the rest of summer comes around you'll find yourself itching to learn something new, without the stress of term-time tests and responsibilities! You can prepare for the AP and Honors classes you know are coming your way in the fall, or you can branch out and try new subjects—like learning a new language, trying your hand at coding, or blazing through SAT/ACT test prep.
There's no one right way to spend your summer. However, there's definitely a wrong way to spend your summer—and that's by wasting it! Don't let the valuable time you have in the coming months pass by without challenging yourself, adding to your experiences and skill sets, and being able to put something on your resume.
Stuck on trying to find something to do that won’t take up too much time or money? How about signing up for our College Coaching Summer Webinars, which are hosted every other week throughout this summer! Topics will cover standardized testing, financial aid and scholarships, essay writing, making a college list, and other critical steps of the college journey. The webinars are completely free and simply require registration for access—can't wait to see you there!
