<p>Title says it all basically. My parents and I love to travel. Therefore, in the summers we usually spend most of it either traveling or visiting relatives away from town, making it difficult to get an internship, do community service or go to a summer program. With this is mind, there are already travel plans for my future summers until college, and I would like to know if i could build upon this in my college app as I’d rather travel than do any of the things mentioned before. Also, in the days I’m not traveling, i usually play a sport.</p>
<p>Depends on what you do . My D ,now at Harvard ,spent last year on a farm for 8 weeks is Sweden .This year she is there again studying sustainable agriculture .Harvard paid for this trip . Community service is better than just touring for fun . Welcome to CC !!</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way: depending on the colleges you are interested in, the competition will spend their summers balancing “recreation” with commitments- to a job, academics, internships or volunteering. Ie, things that show motivation, maturity and a a wise use of time. It can look frivolous to prioritize travel to the exclusion of other activities that show determination. It can look like your parents underwrote the costs and that was good enough for you. Since you are shown here as a first-time poster, one has to wonder if you are serious.</p>
<p>Thanks :D. I always lurked these forums but never created an account.</p>
<p>Anyway, It is mostly touring for fun. But, I can say that in the end I will have been to so many places both rich and poor that it will make me a better person and help me see the world in a more complex manner after being exposed to different cultures in all continents, probably resulting in a good college essay? I don’t know.</p>
<p>I feel like I work so hard at my extremely competitive high school that on summers i like to see new things and just enjoy life.</p>
<p>And yes, I am serious. I just feel like paying 5K for a summer program is ridiculous when the money can be spent on other things. Also, why should we have to work now if probably 2/3 of our lives will be working.</p>
<p>Maybe i’m the only person who sees it this way.</p>
<p>Rokr, most families wisely pare back the summer travel when the kids need to accrue another sort of experience, for college-readiness and, of course, the applications. If there is a strong legit reason (other than I worked so hard and need time off,) there still should be relevant non-travel responsibilities- plenty of 'em.</p>
<p>Some kids actually write in their apps that, since they travelled, they are somehow more worldly- it doesn’t fly well at all. It can come across as an indulgence. Oh, I’ve been to X, so I am more mature. Nope. Your parents could pay for it; that’s literally all it says. Oh, and that no one insisted you choose productivity. Not a good signal to send. Unless you are going to “any-name college.” Better colleges don’t give a whit about your relaxation- you don’t deserve this any more than all the other applicants.</p>
<p>No one said to pay 5k for a pay-to-play program. Go take a college class, get a job, do an internship, volunteer (a solid number of hours with solid responsibilities.) Seeing rich and poor places? Harrumph. That’s why I questioned your seriousness. Did you do anything of value- or just be tourists? Think about it.</p>
<p>lookingforward, I agree to what you said in the second paragraph fully–I’m not trying to come off that way in any manner. But let’s say someone for example loves to ride horses and spends their entire summer riding horses. Would that person be wasting his summer by doing something of his pleasure and not academic?</p>
<p>A Harvard senior admissions rep came to my school in May and I spent about an hour talking with him and covered pretty much all subjects except the topic regarding the Summer. Ever since I seem to get mixed answers from different people who have dissimilar beliefs. With this in mind, I’ve been reading some topics where some users mentioned volunteering being clich</p>
<p>On the common app, when you list ECs, there’s a place to indicate school year activities or summer. Two years from now, you don’t want to be scratching your head, trying to fill in what you did over the summer- having only travel or other pleasure activities. The sort of kids that top colleges like don’t see June-August as a time to just kick back and idle their engines. Use this summer and the next two wisely. In general, you want to show some level of challenge- either the work itself or the way you commit to it over time.</p>
<p>Btw, volunteering is evidence you can identify a need and get involved. It’s more than pursuing your own personal interests or joining somethng at school. It’s also a great way to build a record of some responsibility.</p>
<p>I think I’ll end up doing an internship. But, let’s say it lasts 2-3 weeks. Colleges will wonder what I did for the other 6 weeks. Can i put then travel if that’s what I actually did?</p>
<p>rorr32- if you are looking at an Ivy ,do you think that distinguishes you from the applicant pool ? To me ,it looks like you did the "internship thing " for college ,but then you spent the summer having fun ,which is fine for some schools ,but not an Ivy .None of the suite mates in my D’s freshman dorm had a summer like you . They spent 2 weeks having fun ,but devoted their summer to a passion connected to what they might be interested in for a career .At 17 ,my D flew for 8 weeks to volunteer on a farm in Sweden .She is a vegan ,into organic ,fair trade ,sustainable agriculture .She was there 8 weeks ,but had a great time !She couldn’t get over how much fun she had in a non- tech ,Amish like setting .They have dirt toilets !She wrote about her experiences on her essay . I am sure this was a unique topic . This year she is back on the farm ,only Harvard paid for it ! I guess I am rehashing #2 -sorry !</p>
<p>Truth is, when you put in the internship, no one will fault you for it only lasting two weeks. You’re a rising soph, right? IMO, you did it, take credit for it. Next summer add something more significant and more substantial. Finish this summer with solid volunteering. Go mentor somewhere, serve the needy, get involved in a campaign or cause. Be worthy! </p>
<p>BUT, I wouldn’t put in travel as an EC on the common app!!! What seems a unique privilege to you is: a) not unique to certain social classes. In fact, many adults would find it distasteful that you emphasized this privilege and made it more than it was- some “great learning experience” when it’s basically spending money on the family, staying in hotels and dining out, taking tours, etc. Sorry, that’s harsh. b) far outstripped by the kids who spend the bulk of summer working on something and growing from that quasi-adut responsibility. </p>
<p>When it comes to impressing top colleges- let me be blunt- you should be slightly embarassed that the best you did was head off for trips. That should be a pleasant extra, as faux suggests it was for her daughter. NOT the main goal.</p>
<p>What schools are you hoping this lifestyle will get you admitted to? Again, sorry I am harsh. If you want better response, you can fill in the gaps, let readers know more about your work to-date.</p>
<p>No, this is exactly the kind of answers i am looking for-anything that will help me in the process. It’s not as as easy for me to do the stuff American kids do by living in a 3rd world country with safety issues and etc.
I guess I’ll have to go bigger each summer with my involvement in other things.</p>
<p>I think it is great you even WANT to travel with your parents! Once you start college it’ll be very hard to get together as a family as you are able to now. Treasure the time. You’ll find a hook for your college app. I wouldn’t turn down family travel for something that every college sees anyway. Concentrate your application on what makes you a special person (like able to get along with family!–that ought to count for something!)</p>
<p>You can mentor younger kids at your own school. You can work with a local non-profit or local government on a project. You can serve meals to the needy. You can take on responsibilities in your religious org. What are we missing here? If the issue is your parents insist on the travel, find something you can do around it. Until you want to share some of your particulars, we are just repeating our suggestions. Good luck. You have time- but use it wisely.</p>
<p>gouf- geting along with family isn’t an asset to adcoms.</p>
<p>See, this is what happens–mixed answers :P. But i think what lookingforward says makes sense (assuming the adcoms aren’t individuals who didn’t get along with their families). I love sports, especially tennis. Now, you could recommend that I work as a ball boy or something. I would have no problem with that, except that there are actual kids-8 year olds- who’s families earn US$400 a month and come work here for a rate of US$2 an hour running all day in 98F sun- this is what happens in 3rd world countries. </p>
<p>As for academics, i guess I’m good at math and I have a particular interest in business and those sort of things, so my internship will most probably be at a large company. </p>
<p>Since it’s the summer, there is no mentoring of younger kids. Here there isn’t much of working with the government as it is very corrupt. </p>
<p>What else? I am very active in school, having significant participation in 3 clubs and a member of the student council for my HS (even though there was a misunderstanding and apparently I’m not on the list, I think it will all be figured out in the beginning of the semester in August). I play another varsity sport and practice an instrument outside of school.</p>
<p>Almost always, it does NOT count.</p>
<p>I’ve traveled almost every single summer since I was born. So what? Other kids go to Cancun or Hawaii or Costa Rica. </p>
<p>I would not put it in unless you went and did volunteer work, mission work, education of sorts, or some seminar. Visiting family, or sightseeing doesn’t count.</p>
<p>OP what country do you live in? </p>
<p>Okayy I’m just going to add that while traveling is great and fun and all, it’s not something you can put on a college application. Personally, I think it would make it look worse. The exception, is if you did something significant during those travels. I have turned down family vacations I would have loved to go on so that I could train with my club soccer team, volunteer, and take classes. This summer, I did the first semester of online precalc in four weeks, then i took two weeks off to go to beijing, vietnam & cambodia with my mom, and then i flew to thailand by myself to do a research internship at a foreign exchange program for the last five weeks of summer. I wanted to travel and have experiences, so I researched it like crazy and found a way to travel while also involving doing things I love and want to highlight on a college application. </p>
<p>If you want to travel, do it. It’s fun and relaxing and exciting. But don’t expect it to come even close to ivy league applicants, who work just as hard, if not harder, during the summer as they do during the school year.</p>
<p>@alwaysleah - I live in a 3rd world country with limited resources and a very high crime rate. With this in mind, the opportunities that HS kids have in the U.S. to do things in the summer is 600% higher.</p>
<p>As to doing something significant during the travels, no, I haven’t done anything significant but by the end of HS i’ll have been to over 100 cities in 30 countries. </p>
<p>Kids here don’t work during the summer, let alone volunteer and there are no summer programs like the U.S. </p>
<p>I know that my summers won’t come close to those of ivy applicants, but maybe they’ll understand the context?</p>
<p>If your family has the kind of money to travel to 100 cities in 30 countries, I’m sure you have more opportunity than I do. I had to give my entire life savings ($2,000) and sell my beautiful cannonball saxophone for $1400 to be able to afford this trip to do research in Thailand (which, by the way, is one of those orograms you would be eligible for even though you live in a third world country). There are plenty of summer programs abroad available to you.</p>
<p>Also, “kids here don’t work in the summer, let alone volunteer” either. It’s a rare thing. Most of my friends spend their summers playing sports, or more likely, swimming, traveling, or just hanging out.Working hard during summer is one of the things that sets apart a dedicated applicant from one who takes a 2 1/2 month break every year. </p>
<p>They would understand that you had less opportunities if you truly did not have the money to get yourself to a program. But then you would be expected to do some volunteer work or get a job. You could tutor, run a daycare for low-income families, etc. Volunteer work is available to anyone, anywhere if they are dedicated enough.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I really don’t think living in a third world country is an acceptable excuse for only traveling during summers. Of course it is a fine thing to do, but don’t expect to say it was your only opportunity, because obviously if you have the money to travel that much you have the ability to volunteer or to go abroad to a summer program.</p>
<p>Spending time with your family is precious and if this is how your family spends their summers then enjoy and appreciate the opportunities they provide. Do not worry so much about how it looks on your college application; instead do all that you can during the school year and any part of your school breaks where you will be at home. Posters love to say ‘adcoms don’t like that’, etc and I always think, really? how many adcoms do you actually know and have discussed all these issues with? They are just opinions people have oftentimes with no authority. Each family is different - enjoy yours - you are lucky! Having said this my kids are the volunteer/work in the summer kindof kids but that’s just how we do things and what our finances allow.</p>
<p>In the OP’s defense, I spent my summers in high school traveling and pursuing other activities which I was personally passionate about but would not and did not put on a college application (amateur woodworking, writing songs, etc). This did not seem to hurt me when applying to Ivys or other competitive schools. Don’t get so caught up in playing the game that you lose out on other opportunities in the process.</p>