<p>Hi! I'm a junior in high school and I've been trying to figure out what I'm doing this summer in terms of what would be better for college admissions/essays: I've been debating between signing up for a Rustic Pathways Community Service in Costa Rica for one week or trying to somehow get a local psychology internship (although it's sorta of late in the year).</p>
<p>The problem is, I've heard very mixed reviews of Rustic Pathways, so I'm not sure if it's worth it to do it; I'm interested in community service (I've done at least a week of it per summer and I currently tutor elementary schoolers once a week) and I feel like going to a different country to do so would be "taking my interest to the next level", as admissions officers like to see, but</p>
<p>1) I've heard that some admissions officers consider it to be elitist and would be turned off by the idea of a "rich kid paying to go on a vacation and maybe do a few hours of community service" -- is this true?</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>2) If I go, even though it's only one week, since I potentially have a couple other one-week activities cropping up, going to Costa Rica basically rules out the possibility of securing an internship.</p>
<p>I'm interested in internships too, specifically psychology ones, but I'm wondering if it's a bit stupid to email professors now since it's so late in the game, and not to mention that it will take up the majority of my summer and I might not be able to spend time with my sister (who is going to start a job this year so I won't get to see her that much after this summer...). In addition, I know I wouldn't be able to meet many people and it might get a little lonely...But I'm wondering if an internship would be better since it shows work experience, career exploration, and is more, I guess...academically challenging (which the people I've talked to insist is super important to show).</p>
<p>But what is your opinion? In terms of college admissions and showing interest/challenging myself, do you think it is better to go do "community service"(hopefully the majority of the trip) in Costa Rica (on a possibly great or not-so-great experience) or to pursue an internship that I'm semi-interested in, although it might swallow my whole summer?</p>
<p>Thanks for reading this!</p>