The summer before senior year my MIT kid worked night shift cleaning at a fast food restaurant. Period. Worked evenings and nights, washed the uniform and went to sleep, woke up to eat, walk to work before it got dark. Had time to read a little bit while waiting for the spin cycle to end. This was not a job that allowed for “in addition”, and frankly, was several steps below lifeguarding in the pecking order of teenage labor.
You really really really do not need to augment a perfectly fine summer job (lifeguarding, cleaning grease off cash register buttons) with something that sounds more intellectual or career minded. There doesn’t seem to be a country wide epidemic of kids who have had lifeguard type experience NOT getting into top schools and programs.
@pineappleconure as you know from your chance me thread, your issue is a 3.3 and no family $ contribution, not what you do this summer. Just do something.
Honestly, I applied for it because it was on a list of prestigious summer programs. I was interested in it, but I didn’t get the campus I wanted, soo…
Everything is set up. I could do all of them for one month before I leave, and I could have my friend take over my passion project while I’m gone since we founded it together, but my summer would be really packed then
Look…you only applied because of some prestige thing. You didn’t get the campus you wanted. And you have other summer plan ideas that you would prefer to do.
Again I say…you need to do what you love…and love what you do.
IMHO it’s not worth spending ten minutes doing a summer program you aren’t totally excited about…and especially a pay to play one.
So it would be beneficial for me to do the program? I do want to be pre-med, so it wouldn’t stand out that much, but it would be one of my only science-based ECs. And I am interested in STEM a bit, and I am taking a few STEM classes, so maybe it would help confirm my interest and make me seem versatile?
I’m waiting on financial aid for the program right now. If it’s fully covered, I might just go and see if I like it…I wouldn’t be losing that much, and I’d at least be able to gain new experiences and meet new people there
If you go, you are going free. What’s it have to do with a campus, etc.
Is it prestigious? It’s $11K+. It’s pay to play. Yes, they have aid.
I don’t know what the passion project is, but if you are going to go to college for free, you need spending money - so you can do things with the other kids - who will mainly be wealthy.
That it’s a STEM EC is not relevant. That you will be pre med likely won’t matter either - at most schools you’ll be hoping for, you won’t even need a major up front.
Do what you prefer - but don’t assume this is an enhancement - it likely isn’t.
That is a mistake, IMO. Why on earth would you have your friend do something for you that you regard as your passion?
I read your other post about your GPA and that you don’t have any financial means of paying for college. If so, I strongly suggest that you work, save money, and continue to do things that interest you. Apart from college generally costing a lot (you will probably need a full ride, but that’s a different topic), you will have incidental expenses.
The program isn’t going to substitute for your GPA. I think you are overestimating the prestige of the program. Your story is way more compelling than a summer program that people pay for. After seeing your other post, I 100% strongly recommend against you doing the summer course. If you really want to, you can add a note in the additional information section of your app, saying you were accepted but unable to attend.
I don’t normally suggest that students spend valuable time prepping for tests, but in your case, I think it would be worth it for you to work on math and take the test again, maybe in June, or not later than August. I think you are the type of student whose app would be boosted by a higher test score, not an expensive summer program.
Colleges are impressed with kids who work, who take initiative, who pursue their real interests.
BTW, premed isn’t a major. You can major in anything– English, history, French, math– and still apply to med school.
I also found this curious, so I do find myself wondering if it is really a passion or if it is being pursed as part of a tick-the-box “what I think colleges want to see” list. The thing that is at the top of what colleges want to see is grades and rigor, so I agree with the rest of your post as well.
I may have phrased it badly, but my friend and I started the passion project together. While I’m gone, she would just take on a larger role in it. There’s an option to receive a stipend from the program, but I’ll have to wait for my aid offer to come back…If I don’t get the stipend, I’m probably going to follow your advice and get a job since I do feel like I have little interest in the program
Also, I took the March 14th SAT and got a 1540 since I brought my math up to 740. I’m still waiting on the results from the school day SAT and I don’t think I’ll be taking the SAT again
That’s a great score. Congratulations! Seems you are thinking about things in the right way. Please keep coming to CC. There is a lot of wisdom here that you can use during all stages of your college process. Good luck.
Which campus do you prefer over Indiana U. (Bloomington) or College of Wooster (LAC) ?
I ask because IU-Bloomington is considered to be among the best campuses in the nation & College of Wooster is an LAC which is your stated preference in your other thread.
I picked the University of Guelph as my first choice and then Purdue as my second. I mainly wanted Guelph so I could travel outside of the country. It’s nothing wrong with Wooster, and the campus looks like a castle, but it’s just the location…During the program we can go on field trips and there’s not really any fun places near it like the other campuses.
I think that this is a very good choice, although admittedly there are a lot of very good choices available. A few relatives live about 30 miles away from Guelph and from what I understand it is an attractive location. When we were looking at schools in Canada we were looking for something a bit smaller, but I have heard good things about Guelph.
One slightly unusual thing about U. of Guelph is that it is the home of the Ontario Veterinary College, which is excellent. I would expect that if you take any biology courses there you will find some very good pre-vet students in the same classes. Guelph also has a good program in great lakes marine biology, which is a bit unusual. Of course there are lots of other very good programs also.
One daughter graduated from a different and smaller university in Canada which probably has one thing in common with Guelph – specifically almost no one in the US has heard of it. Friends were asking her “where” and “why”. You might get the same response if you do not already live in Canada. Once you get to Ontario these responses will change to “Great school!”. When she was applying to first jobs, and later graduate programs in the US she did not have any problems coming from a less well known school and was accepted to her top choice (where she is currently studying).
As a Canadian, I can assure you that the particular dialect of Canadian that is spoken in Guelph has a shockingly strong similarity to American English. You will get used to adding an extra “u” in the appropriate places, and will pick up two extra words (I will let you find out which two words you need to pick up after you arrive on campus – sorry about that).
Guelph apparently does look at ECs, but I doubt that they really matter much for admissions. In Canada admissions is largely stats based. Good grades in your most recent two years of high school go a long way for admissions to universities in Canada.