<p>I’m a junior in high school and have failed to apply to any summer internships or University programs. The last few months have been excruciating; I’ve kept my A’s up at the expense of passing up some great opportunities (that required a number of essays and extensive applications). Could this hurt my application to Carleton? I’m afraid that my stats are pretty lame.</p>
<p>I am taking a summer school course at my high school and volunteering with someone who may write me an awesome recommendation. Is there ANYTHING else I could do to compensate for the lack of internships/program?</p>
<p>Hi kanjea, </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s something you need to worry too much about. For two of my high school summers, I didn’t do much in terms of volunteering/jobs. During the summer between junior and senior year, I worked at a summer enrichment program for kids, but it was paid.
Colleges like to see that you did something productive over the summer, but I don’t think it’ll hurt you if you don’t do a university program or internship. Are there any jobs that might still be available in the area where you live? If not, you could always do more volunteer work - Is there an area you’re really interested in or might want to know more about? </p>
<p>Volunteermatch.org has a great list of service opportunities, and there’s an option to narrow down the results for organizations that are specifically looking for teen helpers. </p>
<p>In the end, don’t worry too much about it, and quite honestly, second semester junior year is one of the busiest times, and it’s much better to keep your grades up than to let them perhaps drop by trying to juggle extra stuff on top. :)</p>