Doing nothing over summer break... How bad is it?

Applying to College
1

I’m a rising senior in high school, and it’s almost July already and I’ve done nothing over summer.

I applied for three scientific research programs (MIT, RSI, Carnegie). I was counting on being accepted to at least one of those, and I was rejected from all three of them. I finally decided to dish out $200 for a paid week-long summer camp in journalism (I’m one of the editors-in-chief of my school’s paper), which is problematic since my courses clearly reflect I’m a STEM student.
All my job opportunities didn’t fall through, and the two lifeguarding jobs I did land, I was put on their substitute lists in case anyone needed to switch out their shift at the last minute. So far I’ve only been called to work once this whole summer.
I had planned to volunteer this summer, teaching English to refugees, but the refugee I was assigned I can never work out a time with (we planned to meet twice a week, but we’ve only met three times so far), so I think I’m gonna have to give up on that as well.
As for my research internship opportunity, I got extremely nervous and completely botched the interview, to the point where I came off looking uninterested and incompetent and inexperienced and just looking for something to put on my college app. I forgot everything I’d wanted to say, and I gave single-sentence answers to everything. I was supposed to hear back a few days ago, so I don’t think I’ll be being accepted to that.
Looking at colleges isn’t an option, since I already know where I would hopefully like to go (Princeton, but it’s looking less and less likely every day) and I’d already done my college tours during spring break. And I took my SAT in junior year and don’t plan to take it again, so studying for SAT isn’t an option either. And I’ve already written my Common App essay in May and June.

Nothing I planned for my summer is working out for me. Right now I’m just doing my summer assignments and watching Netflix 6 hours a day.
How bad is it? And what can I do this late into summer?

2

For others, that is why you need a “safety” if you are counting on summer programs. It is like colleges.

Stick with the English tutoring. Can you ask to have an additional person assigned, since you have time? Take MOOCs. Are there any other places you can try to get a lifeguard slot?

3

There is nothing problematic about being a STEM student who also has an interest in journalism. You do not have to fit neatly into one tightly-focused box.

There is also nothing problematic about having scheduling problems with the refugee you signed up to tutor. (As long as it his/her schedule, not yours, that is creating the conflicts. If you have 6hrs a day for Netflix, I hope you have time for that person whenever they want to meet.)

There IS something problematic about feeling like you seemed uninterested in you research internship interview, and then not following up on the day you were scheduled to hear back. Call them up and ask, lest you completely confirm that impression of disinterest!

One suggestion for the rest of your summer if the internship doesn’t happen: Ask the organization arranging the tutoring to assign you more than one refugee. You have the time, why not use it?

In addition, you could flex those journalism muscles by asking the refugees if they’d be willing to let you write a story about them. Could be a great feature for the first issue of the fall high school paper…or you could even pitch it to your local city newspaper.

And DO devote some of your summer to looking at colleges other than Princeton. Princeton is a safety for no one, so you would be wise to visit the campuses and study the details of some other schools that are in the match & safety categories for you.

And, although you are probably going to hate to hear this, retaking the SAT and/or taking the ACT would probably be a worthwhile endeavor if Princeton is your target. Retakers can improve their scores significantly, and some takers do better on one test than the other. Princeton also recommends, but does not require, 2 SAT Subject Tests, so you’ll have those to study for as well unless you already took them.

You seem discouraged, and I imagine that the discouragement is making it hard for you to feel motivated and excited about your summer. Acknowledge that discouragement, and be compassionate with yourself for feeling that way. You had some high hopes for the summer and those hopes were repeatedly dashed. It sucks, no doubt.

Just don’t let the discouragement hijack your whole self or your whole summer. You still have time and you still have that version of yourself that was pumped up for the coming summer. Tap into that self and see where it takes you.

4

Volunteer! Get a job at McDonalds, or anywhere. Help out at church or the library. Enter some competitions for things you are interested in. Apply for scholarships. You definitely don’t need to do nothing, and you also don’t need to do something 40 hours a week. My D spent her high schools summers volunteering, babysitting, and doing some pre-college and college credit courses, but those only used up a few weeks of summer. Go camping, swim, hike, ride bikes, hang with friends, and have fun. You are a kid and you are supposed to do that too. But stop watching Netflix six hours a day. There are so many things to get involved in, and what you are doing now is very like feeling sorry for yourself. You will get into college, and it probably won’t be Princeton, so let that dream go and allow yourself to live a little.

5

Also, it is NOT problematic that you are taking a journalism course this summer. There is no rule that you can’t have varied interests. Why not volunteer for the local newspaper to reflect your interest in journalism? You can volunteer in almost anything. Get going.

6

Start your college apps

7

Agree that I’d try to add to your summer.

–Work harder to find times to meet with the student you have and maybe ask if other students are available.
–The journalism class is fine to take and dovetails with your editor position. Being a STEM oriented student who can also write well is a good thing, not a problem.
–Call your town paper and see if they could use someone to write articles over the summer (fill in for staff vacations etc.)
–See if you can up your lifeguard hours, maybe check with other pools etc.
–Look for volunteer work (library, soup kitchen, church, anything meaningful to you)

8

Also a rising Sr, and I’m doing nothing too. I have been off for just over 1 week and have not done anything- no summer assignments, no studying, only working on my EE for the IB diploma program. That and volunteering at an animal shelter, which I would have made time for anyway since it is my favorite activity. I am using it to my advantage, since I have time to do college apps for EA colleges and work on my EE before school starts on September 9th. I am doing a college essay workshop in a few weeks.

Its called summer vacation for a reason. Relax. School shouldn’t be your whole life.

9

Quote from the Dean of Admissions at Princeton: we don’t care what you do with your summer, but we do care that you do something.

It’s not about school being your whole life, @bm1999

It’s that the OP wants to go to Princeton, and the kids who get into Princeton tend to be people who have a whole lot of get up and go. I know current Princeton students whose summers have been spent as camp counselors, babysitting their siblings (their parents work and it’s an essential part of balancing their household finances), doing summer theater, staying with grandparents who live far away, who work in retail to save money for the fall.- as well as the ones who get research jobs or do academic work. And they all have something else going on - they are reading / learning / active / engaged in the world.

What are you actually interested in? DO THAT. When you love something, you find ways to spend time with it, engage with it, learn more about it. You are the Editor in Chief of your newspaper? Plan and execute a series of articles that have real content in them (and then you can feed them out weekly during the term- win-win!). Or, fInd a local paper and volunteer there- looking beyond the big paper if you need to. Whatever it is, work at finding ways to be involved- not b/c it ticks a box on your application, but b/c it actually means something to you.