Summer can be relaxing but also stressful. You have so much time on your hands that you might not know what to do with them. In this guide, I’ll suggest how to spend your summers as a high schooler.
The most important thing is to RELAX and REFRESH
- You’ve been working for the past 9 months or so. You deserve a break! Go hang out with friends, do things that you like to do, and sleep in!
Camps
- Go to camps! You’ll find other students your age and mentors that have similar passions as you.
- Although many of the more “prestigious” camps only take Juniors, there are a lot of camps out there that you can apply to as a freshman and sophomore.
- Join a sports team/camp
Pursue your interests further
- Research
- Check these programs out
- Reach out to a professor or an independent researcher
- Take Classes
- Many universities, like Harvard, Columbia, and Brown, offer summer courses for high school students. There are from 1-week courses to 8-week courses, and there are ones that give you college credits. So, you can tailor your summer schedule to whatever you want it to look like
Get working experience
- You can work in your local business, McDonald’s, research lab, and more! These experiences you gain from working and interacting with other people in
- Volunteer at an organization that has similar missions as you.
Try new things
- Pursue a new passion or interest
- Learn how to do CPR
- Do a summer abroad program!
- Go explore a new country or cities
Senior Year!
- Finalize what you want to pursue in college through conversations, experiences, and more
- Start early on your college essays
- Visit colleges