Does it look bad on your resume if you don't do a summer program as a rising senior?

Pre-College Topics Summer Programs
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<p>Last year, as a rising junior, I did an internship at a local hospital. It was OK...
This year I'm looking for a summer program to do. As of right now, I have 3 options, but none of them are definite
1. There's an actuarial camp in my area, but it requires AP Calc level and I'm in Pre-Calc. However I've always had A's in Math, so I suppose I can talk to the person in charge of the camp and ask whether they'll accept me if I provide a teacher recommendation.
2. Yale Discovery to Cure. Very hard to get in, and if I do I'll need to worry about transportation.
3. Yale summer program - via QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship. Again, extremely hard to get in.
It is very very likely that I will be unable to do any of them.Of course I know there are a lot of programs out there, but our family can't afford them because they cost too much. The 3 listed above are all free and local...would it look bad on my college application if I don't do anything over the summer? Will I be better off spending it studying for the SAT and ACT? Also, I can't decide right now if I should go into actuary or biomedical engineering. Say I get accepted into the actuarial program, do it, but later change my mind and apply to study something in medicine, will it reflect badly on my resume that I participated in a program that was inconsistent with my interest?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>To answer the question in your title: Kindof. You should do something. It doesn’t have to be a special summer program or anything amazing. I would suggest contacting local professors to do research with them this summer or even just get a job. Sitting on couch and watching tv doesn’t look good and doesn’t yield itself to being good topics for essays/interviews. You can spend your extra time studying for the ACT/SAT but that isn’t a full summer project in itself.</p>

<p>Colleges know that students do not know what they want to do when they apply to college. You can apply saying you are interested in both and want to explore both. Doing the program shows you made an effort to follow your interests. I would say do not worry about this for now. Wait until you are applying to college.</p>