I am a few days away from finishing junior year of high school and I’m trying to look ahead and plan for next summer. I really don’t want to just sit at home filled with anxiety about starting college throughout that summer, so I’d want something to do. Any suggestions or recommendations? I am also looking at maybe doing an internship or even study abroad. Even suggestions for good online courses I could take would be great. As a side note, I am planning a double major in any kind of STEM and foreign language, so things directed towards those subjects would be great.
I reside in the Austin, Texas area, so suggestions about local opportunities is also appreciated.
Thanks to everyone who replies! 
I have some ideas, but their feasibility will depend on your budget…
-AFS, Nat Geo, Rustic Pathways, etc have some really cool summer programs that take place abroad. They’re all at least a couple thousand dollars, but you have enough time to work and fundraise (if needed) if you really want to go!
-If you’re looking for a more outdoorsy program, NOLS, the SCA, and Naturebridge have some programs open to graduated seniors. You have to pay for NOLS, but I’m pretty sure anyone can go.
As for my personal experience- I’m graduating this June and applied for programs with the SCA, Naturebridge, and the Youth Conservation Corps (through the NPS). I got accepted to a SCA National Crew and the Naturebrige Alcoa Scholars program! I chose the latter, and will be spending 2 weeks in Olympic National Park backpacking and completing an environmental science project with kids from all over the world. Oh, and Alcoa pays for everything, from plane tickets and food down to an Olympic NP t-shirt. I’d highly recommend applying- you get to focus on science in an international community without breaking the bank. 
-As for online courses, the MIT open courseware is always a good place to learn, you just won’t get official credit
@SoCcErTrAcK2016 I was just wondering if you know how many applications they got for that Alcoa program. I have a kid who might like to apply for next summer if they run the program again. Do you have any application tips?
@mi5kids Sorry, I don’t know how applications there were 
I was wondering that myself, and will let you know if they tell us!
As for application tips, I’ll just summarize what I did:
- Submit it early! I emailed them back in January to see if there would be a program in 2016, and then submitted my app 8 days before the deadline. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it was good to get on their radar early as well as show interest in the program.
- I emphasized my love of outdoors, curiosity about other cultures, interest in environmental science/ conservation, and love of the national parks and travel. I made it a point to talk about my plans to become an engineer (perhaps an environmental engineer) and that I’ll be working in an international community in the future. Finally, I talked about the extreme growth that my community is experiencing- how development has required environmental damage- and how its increased my awareness of the need for conservation.
- Recommendation Letter- Quite stupidly, I waited until the 11th hour to ask a teacher to write a recommendation letter for me. Thankfully, she got it in on time and even went as far as to contact the woman who heads up the program. My teacher said that she emphasized that I come from a very homogeneous (white) school district, and since I’m going into engineering, the exposure to an international community will be positive.
Good luck! As long as he starts and submits the application early and works hard on it, I’m sure he’ll stand a strong chance of getting in! (especially since there’s 4 locations and about 100 students across the whole program now!)
@SoCcErTrAcK2016 Thanks so much for your response. I hope you have a great time. I’ve never been to Olympic National Park but the photos are stunning. I would love to hear back from you when you are finished (tho it sounds like you will be quite busy!) to hear how the experience went.
For sure! Feel free to PM me too if you have any other questions! @mi5kids
How about getting a summer job? There is an expectation that you will pivot from “summer programs” to “work experience” around the time you graduate from high school. Even retail or something not very challenging gives you some experience on your resume that shows you can work and get paid for it without getting fired. It can be a stepping stone to being hired for something later on – they like to know that a student knows how to show up on time and do what they are asked to do for money. And it would give you some cash for college, too.
@SoCcErTrAcK2016 How was the Alcoa program? I was in Olympic, but just for a couple of days this summer. My 15 year old may apply next summer if you have a positive review to give!!
I know of the [University of Wyoming](404 - Page Not Found) Summer Research Apprenticeship Program. This is a paid program, so it’s pretty competitive and you should make sure their research interests align with yours.