<p>Hi! I'm a rising senior in high school. I've been trying to get into a great college throughout high school, and after research and visits, my dream school is Harvard. I'm a black female, I have a 4.0 gpa, a 2240 SAT, and plenty of leadership/ECs. (I know this gives me about as good a shot as anyone). I plan to apply early action.</p>
<p>I know that this summer is very important. I have a few options on what to do. I applied for two paid internships at federal agencies in DC, and I'm waiting to hear back. If that falls through, I can either find a babysitting job or get an unpaid internship at a federal agency (like the dept of justice) since I'm passionate about becoming a lawyer.</p>
<p>If I don't get a paid internship, should I just apply for unpaid internships and forget about babysitting? I would've really loved to get paid this summer, but I don't want to look lazy. Some of my friends are doing summers at ivy colleges, but I'm too rich to get a full ride through questbridge and too poor to pay for that. </p>
<p>Please help! Thanks!</p>
<p>Either approach is fine.
A paid (or unpaid) internship shows that you have experience and passion in your chosen field and could give your application a boost. However in “A is for Admissions” a Dartmouth admission officer talks about the impact of real work on a students application. She actually says that one of the biggest mistakes some students make is not getting a paying job while in high school. That might be a bit extreme, but getting a paid job rather than an internship will in no way detract from your application. </p>
<p>Of course the best scenario would be for you to get a paid internship, but those are pretty difficult to get for high school students. Good luck!</p>
<p>I have a friend who basically had the same stats and background you do, and she went 8 for 8 for the Ivies last year. If I remember correctly, she got a part time job and went to a track camp during the summer after junior year. She might’ve also done some research in a lab for her science fair project, but that was it, I think. </p>
<p>You should be fine! I’d be very surprised if you weren’t ultimately accepted at one of HYPSM. Best of luck! </p>
<p>“I’d be surprised if you weren’t ultimately accepted at one of HYPSM.”
Ok typically i loath people who hang onto people’s semantics, but don’t give OP too much false hope. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford (as a pre-law I doubt OP is applying to MIT) reject thousands of perfectly qualified students for no discernible reason. Her URM status combined with her good stats definitely helps but each of those schools are still very high reaches. </p>
<p>to @Coriander23 and @saif235, thank you for your advice! And yeah, I definitely am not banking on any of these schools - I’m actually anticipating rejection (just so I don’t get too upset when it probably happens).</p>
<p>I agree that either option is fine. Babysitting would certainly count as a job and schools do understand that many students need to earn money over the summer. And the internship would be great as well. Best of luck with the application process next year – seems like you are in great shape. (As an aside, I’d suggest that you line up your recommendation letters before the end of this school year if you haven’t done so already just so you have everything in place)</p>