Greetings from Futureworks and welcome to the Wednesday Words of Wisdom! If you’re an aspiring student to a top US college, then the summer is one season when the trials and tribulations of high school and the pressures of college admissions are something you want to keep furthest from your mind. You must understand that this is the golden time, when you could create an edge towards your college acceptance. These twelve weeks are the ones which would positively benefit your college acceptance and it does not involve you being a prisoner of your room memorizing the entire SAT vocabulary or working on your essays all summer.

Here are three quick tips for college aspirants on how to best use the summer-

Pick up an activity

For starters, sit with your elders; your teachers and parents, and brainstorm about summer activities which would help you grow as a person, and could be highlighted when applying for college. Figuring out the most beneficial stream of activities would greatly aid in your acceptance chances at the school of your choice.

The admissions office, particularly the ones at Ivy League and equivalent colleges, look for students who stand out; one way to stand out is to pursue interest that may be ‘off the beaten’ path and another way to do so is to demonstrate that you are ‘exceptional’ in a specific area or areas. . Figure out the subjects that interest you and seek programmes which would allow you to grow. If languages interest you, then studying one this summer may just be what you are looking for. Similarly, if you are business minded and entrepreneurial in nature, try kick starting a small business venture; even if it is from the basement of your home.

College programs

A lot of colleges also offer academic programmes for high school students. These programmes provide the opportunity to immerse students in a particular academic subject, while staying on campus, and exploring academic and career opportunities. For example, Harvard University offers the Secondary School Program which allows for high school students to live at Harvard, attend classes, and earn college credit. It’s a great idea for an aspiring student to be part of one of these during summer.

Look carefully before applying though – some programs are for credit, some are not for credit, some are very selective and are others enable you to conduct research during the program. So before you select a program and apply to it make sure you know what the program offers and what you want to get out of it.

Summer camps

Admission officers at Ivy League schools continue to harp upon the importance of a leadership experiences. There are a number of summer camps that offer residential summer programmes focussing on developing leadership experience which can help here. However, one word of advice would be to try out new things. Only then can you add to your existing skill set, versus redoing things that you already know or have done before.

All in all, give yourself that leeway you have been looking forward to this summer from the routine SAT practice tests (not to say that those should be neglected completely) and follow what you really want to do this summer and what you think will develop you overall as a person. And yes, don’t forget to include all your summer experiences in your admission applications. We will be back with some more summer related tips in the coming weeks. Till then spend your time wisely! Take care!