My son is a rising senior in the fall. He hasn’t participated in any summer camp or research yet during the summer since high school. Will this affect his chance to be admitted to the top schools? He usually does volunteer works, writing sci-fiction story, play sports and do school summer assignments. This summer, he plans to get a part time job, visit colleges, and starts to prepare for college essays. Does this plan sound plain for a rising senior?
I think that he will find the right college for him. There’s no need to do ECs that truly don’t interest him.
Please bear in mind that “top schools” mean different things to different people. Some go by the USNWR rankings. A lot of people think those are bogus. Some look at “top schools for X major”–and if that major is, say, Marine biology, that eliminates most of the Ivies, for example. Others are looking for the feel of the community (competitive or cooperative) or a particular EC that the school offers (a fabulous choir or sailing) rather than a ranking. Some are chasing merit and so are looking for a lower-ranked school compared with the students’ stats, so that the school will offer big merit money.
There are a gazillion different ways to look at the schools. With 2000+ choices, whatever your son find exciting, there’s a good chance he will find the right school for him.
Most college applicants do not do research in the summers before applying to college. In fact…they don’t do research at all.
There are thousands of colleges in this country. What exactly are these top colleges you are thinking about?
He usually does volunteer works, writing sci-fiction story, play sports and do school summer assignments. This summer, he plans to get a part time job, visit colleges, and starts to prepare for college essays.
I would say that it all depends on what he does with whatever he is going to do. Spending the summer visiting colleges and writing college essays is not that impressive, no matter how you spin it. how many colleges is he planning on visiting? part-time job: depends on what he does with it?
Define “the top schools”
Expand on “does volunteer works”: is it the same place over more than 1 summer? is it a substantial commitment? has he grown in responsibilities over time?
Expand on “writing sci-fiction story”: has any of it seen the light of day (published / competitions)? is it a substantial commitment?
My kids’ high school sends a fair number of kids to highly selective schools - Ivies, MIT, Duke, etc. Every kid I know has had a regular (Panera, hostess, bussing tables, etc) part time job.
Yes, they all have stellar academic and extra curricular resumes, but I think people overlook the importance of work. It shows commitment and an ability to work with all kinds of people.
Agree w/ @houndmom that actual “part-time” work (including child minding, even for siblings) is just as legit as internships, research, volunteer, or creative work. Most highly selective schools are interested to see that the applicant has done something constructive with their time.
@karizma why do you say this? And what evidence can you give us that this is the priority for applicants to elite college programs?
This student will be doing something productive with his summer time. He isn’t sitting around eating bonbons. A job is always a good thing to have on any application.
I have two kids who got accepted in college without doing research in high school…and I’m sure I’m not the only parent or student on this forum who can say the same.
Thank you all! For “top schools”，I mean top 20 to 30 schools in usnews ranking.
His part time job applied for this summer is the continuing sports he plays at school team. He has been writing over the past three years and got silver key in scholastic sci-fiction. Summer volunteer continues mostly on construction work.
There’s research and then there’s RESEARCH.
First, it is difficult to do any worthwhile research in one short summer session (one notable exception is RSI). Most HS students who do substantial enough research to impact admissions at top schools invest much longer than one summer working on the research
Summer research that just checks the “research” box without producing anything of note is much unlikely to have any impact on admissions decisions.
Research that produces publications and/or a project worthy of semi-finalist or better at one of the national or international science fairs can make a difference at the top schools, provided everything else in the application is outstanding.
I am a firm believer in work which I believe is too under rated today. Maybe it has little affect on college admissions but a big affect on job opportunities down the road. Honestly would you hire someone with similiar credentials who never held a job or the kid who held a job for years throughout school?
I’d say he should do what he wants to do. But you should also be working with him to find schools outside the T20s that he likes as matches and safeties, regardless of which option he chooses. Neither a job nor research is a particular ticket to the top schools, even with great stats.
My son spent his high school summers in debate camp. But I suspect it was his achievements as a debater that mattered, not whether he went to camp, or had summer jobs, or whatever. College adcoms realize the demands for becoming a debate champion. Similarly, my daughter went to summer art programs to improve her skills and develop a few key pieces for the portfolio that she would need to be admitted to art schools. But it was those pieces of art, not the fact that she went to summer camp, that probably mattered most.
My older son (computer science major) did not do any research, though he did a couple of short projects for med school profs. (His Dad teaches at a med school and the opportunities just fell into his lap.) Most summers he worked for pay programming. He also volunteered at the computer lab and did some projects for the local Senior Center. Younger son also had a job summer before senior year helping out in my architectural office. (He had no particular interest in architecture, but he’s good at computer graphics.) Both got into (and also rejected from) top 20 schools.
I think working is fine, but maybe he should be working something more than part time. Not a big fan of summer visits to colleges when there are few regular students on campus.
There is no “summer” section on the common app. Schools will be looking at your overall level of ECs. Unless a school has a specific “what you did on summer vacation” section, it probably won’t come up. I worried about this for D, because she had one summer where, due to issues, I won’t go into, she really didn’t have anything for one summer. I posted about it here, and she prepared how to answer if she was asked about her summer during any interview. She was never asked. It never came up. It didn’t hinder her admissions.
More importantly, please make sure you are familiar with the admissions stats of the top schools and what each is looking for. Make sure you have suitable safety schools on your list.
My son got into Emory (is that in the top 30, I don’t even know. But it’s a good school with a sub 20% admit rate) with zero research and with a job making hay on a local farm over the summers. Manual labor.
However, he wrote about that job for his essay. It was a big part of his application. It was authentic. IMHO authenticity is what will resonate with colleges.
Colleges want to see you spend your summers doing something productive.
That can mean:
Getting a job
Babysitting your siblings
Going to an academic camp
Taking a course
Volunteering
Colleges are honoring regular summer jobs (ice cream stand) more these days, in an effort toward socioeconomic diversity. Many wealthy parents can send their kids abroad for some interesting service or expedition, etc. and the need to work does not limit them. So top colleges are making an effort to be fair.
As I have written before, don’t fit the kid to the school. Find a school that fits the kid.