Hello! I am from New Delhi, India and I am studying in Class 10 of a CBSE School. I will graduate from high school in 2020 and I have two summer vacations remaining in my high school (From mid-May till end of June) for classes 11 and 12. Since I would be considerably busy with my essays and other materials for my College Application, I wish to make the most of my Grade 11 Summer.
Q1. Can you please suggest some unique ways which can show to colleges that I have optimally utilised the summers? [ please do not refrain to one, suggest as many as you can. thank you ]
Q2. How useful are summer programs for an application? How highly do colleges look upon them? Is it considered time well spent by the host college and other colleges? (Please take into account the program fee, travel cost etc. along with the utility of these programs) Are any of the options suggested in Q1 better than summer school?
I know of a student who went to Stanford for a Summer Program at a substantial cost after Class XI. Total cost ran into several lakhs. He finally got into UIUC for an engineering major.
The other student I know stayed at home after Class XI to do a photography project and got his research paper published in an international journal. Total cost was less that Rs.1000/-. He finally got into UC Berkeley in CS major.
Two very different approaches - both met with success at the end of the day. But I guess the second one was more effective from a college admission point of view.
If you can get a copy, read “How To Be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport. It focuses a lot of attention on how to stand out with summer and EC activities.
You don’t have to do an academic summer program, but you should do something in the summer to either enhance your own academic profile or else to make the world a better place. You can volunteer with a local organization or even help to tutor local children. Or you could try to do an internship or even to shadow an adult who does something that you consider interesting. Make your summer count.
US universities understand that summer programs are expensive, and that international students might be spending the summer in their countries, studying or working.
[Disclaimer: The above response is from https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/ and not my own. Hope this helps.]
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