Besides working on university applications, students can spend their summer vacation learning a new language or subject that is not offered as a part of the school curriculum.
This picture has been used for representational purpose
Summer, though still a few months away, is a time that students typically use to unwind. However, if they want to boost their chances of attending a competitive university in India or globally, they should use this time productively. Besides working on university applications, students can spend their summer vacation learning a new language or subject that is not offered as a part of the school curriculum, such as psychology/philosophy, trying a different skill such as coding, exploring nature by going camping, mountaineering or diving, preparing for competitive academic examinations or working on a personal passion project. Even if they are not aiming to study abroad, students can develop crucial skills through both formal and informal programmes that will benefit them in the future.
When it comes to university admissions, most international institutions and liberal arts colleges in India go beyond test scores and academic transcripts and evaluate extracurricular and community engagement as well. However, it is important to remember that this doesn’t mean that students have to pursue multiple extracurricular activities. Admissions committees are looking for students who have demonstrated meaningful involvement in two or three activities rather than those who have dabbled in several activities.
With the uncertainty around the availability and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, many programmes might run online or offer a hybrid model, depending on the local situation at the time. Even if face-to-face attendance is not possible, there are many unique virtual opportunities to explore.
Students in grades 8 to 12 can engage in six broadly defined activities during the summer:
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1) Summer Programmes:
A structured summer programme is one of the ways students can spend their break effectively. While some programmes are more academic in nature, others focus on leadership, communication, music, sport, art and languages. For example, Woodstock School has a range of summer programmes which combine academic rigour with engaging activities. Few of their popular programmes are English Language Acquisition, Robotics, Entrepreneurship and Music Production. Marlborough College School of English & Culture offers several immersive courses such as Martial Arts and Drama and Performance Skills for younger students along with teaching foreign languages. Artiste 360 - The Art School is a unique learning platform for young artists where they can enrol in courses such as Oil Painting, Portrait Study, Video Editing or even Comic Drawing. Sevenoaks School, a popular boarding school in UK, has a two week academic enrichment programme which covers topics such as critical thinking, social leadership, creativity and digital skills.
Attending a summer programme is beneficial as it exposes students to new subjects, while allowing them to experience campus life, explore a new city and work on their networking skills.
When selecting a summer programme, keep in mind that some programmes are more competitive than others. For example, MIT’s Research Science Institute, has an admit rate of less than 5 percent. The Leadership in the Business World offered by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania only admits 120 students across its three sessions. Attending one of these programmes is prestigious and can give students an edge during university admissions. (Please note that very few programmes are connected to university admissions.)
2) Supplementary Online Courses:
Many universities in the US offer online courses, allowing students to deepen their knowledge, explore new topics and ultimately choose the right subjects. Yale University, for example, offers a 17-hour Introduction to Psychology course. For a student who hasn’t had the chance to study this in school, this course can give a student clarity of what studying that subject in university entails. Apart from this, institutes such as Inspirit AI offer an online programme on artificial intelligence, which is exclusively taught by a team of alumni and graduate students from Stanford University, while Speech and Debate India prepares students for online debates and tournaments. If a student prefers an interactive learning session, then organisations such as Zell Education offers real time online classes for subjects such as finance, analytics and digital marketing. In addition, there are many online learning platforms that offer courses from multiple universities. Coursera, for example, has over 3,600 courses, in more than 390 specialisations and also offers online degrees from over 190 universities.
3) Research Projects:
Research projects are a great way for students to demonstrate their interest in a particular subject. For example, students who enjoy STEM subjects can apply their knowledge by developing an app or creating a prototype of a product they have in mind. This can help admissions officers see that the student has taken initiative and has applied their knowledge beyond the classroom. Recently, a computer science applicant demonstrated their interest by creating a device to monitor medication timings for differently-abled individuals.
Apart from this, conducting research is a college-level skill that admission officers highly value. Programmes such as Lumiere Education and Scholarly provide students with the opportunity to work with research experts and explore their areas of interest beyond the classroom.
4) Internships:
When looking at internships, students and parents should not focus on the brand name of the company but rather the responsibility assigned. It is important to remember that what the student does is more important than where they do it. Along with this, students should be able to articulate their learnings in their application or in an interview.
Keeping in mind the student’s age, it can be difficult for them to secure meaningful internships on their own. Therefore, parents should use their personal network to avail internships that add value. For certain subjects such as medicine and law, it is important that students do the necessary prerequisite work experience to be competitive.
An internship can also help students identify their area of professional interest. For example, a student interested in mechanical engineering interned in the aircraft industry. After going through rotations, he realised that he enjoyed learning more about aircraft simulations and therefore decided to pursue computer science instead. Students can connect with organisations such as Talerang to develop professional competencies and get internships in the corporate world.
5) Community Service:
Community service is an extremely meaningful way for students to spend their summer. However, students should only engage in community service if this is something that truly interests them; this isn’t compulsory.
Students can also combine their community service with another interest. For example, a student learned Arduino to create a prototype of a posture corrector that will assist senior citizens to maintain a good posture and minimise back pain. Instead of charging a fee, the student distributed his prototype for free to an old age home. TribesforGOOD is a platform that helps students learn and contribute towards social causes and issues about which they are passionate.
6) Academic Test Preparation:
Summer vacations are the best time to work on standardised testing strategies. Academically motivated students can spend their time preparing for National and International Olympiads or other examinations such as the American Mathematics Challenge. Colleges such as the California Institute of Technology and Yale University specifically ask students if they have taken exams such as the AMC 12 in their application form. SATnPaper, ReWiser and CourseLeap are three such organisations that offer academic test prep programmes.
Students shouldn’t try and ‘tick all the boxes’ but spend their time outside the classroom pursuing two to three activities that they genuinely enjoy. They should aim to continue growing and learning as they spend more time doing those activities.
Join The Red Pen’s Virtual Summer Programmes Fair on Saturday, January 30 from 4.00 - 9.00 pm. Come interact with summer programme representatives and get all your questions answered. To register, visit this link: https://bit.ly/spf-so
Author Bio:
Written by Namita Mehta, who has been in the college counselling space for more than eleven years. She established the University Guidance Counselling Department at B.D.Somani International School in Mumbai before joining The Red Pen where she currently serves as President.
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