how much do college summer programs affect admissions?

<p>I'm currently a junior in high school and im totalliy crazed about going to rice. i dont have anything set for my summer yet so i was thinking about doing either two things:</p>

<p>1) doing the summer program at rice</p>

<p>2) an internship in London concerning law and international affairs (which im interested in)</p>

<p>here's the thing. how much would my attendance at the rice program affect my admissions chances at rice? im defenitly thinking about applying early next fall.</p>

<p>also, if anyone knows of any good internships or programs in London or elsewhere in either Europe or the US concerning international relations, please let me know!!!!</p>

<p>thanks a lot!</p>

<p>Well, doing the summer program at Rice would definitely be demonstrating interest. But it's not particularly selective; while there may be a selection process, I think for most people, as long as you're able to pay, you get in. </p>

<p>On the other hand, internships are much harder to land, and if you get one in London, you'll be living in a foreign country and doing an internship, which I think is much more impressive than doing the summer program. (I'm assuming that you live in the U.S.)</p>

<p>I mean, I don't know the specifics of the Rice summer program, but I'm guessing it's like all the others where you take a couple classes in areas you're interested in. But if you take the internship, you'll be doing and learning whereas for the summer program, you'll most likely just be learning.</p>

<p>Although, it sounds like you haven't found an internship yet, so my advice would be to apply to the summer program (if you don't mind paying the application fee) and continue looking for an internship.</p>

<p>where did you find the internship?</p>

<p>Of course the program at Rice would show demonstrated interest which ALWAYS helps, but I think a serious internship would be a lot more unique on your application, and if it’s in an area that you’re genuinely interested in and plan on focusing on in the future, it would show a lot of drive and ambition. But yeah, since it doesn’t seem as if you’ve found the internship yet, I think you should apply to the summer program at Rice and simply keep looking. Even if you can’t do the summer program at Rice though, I think you should keep your eyes peeled for other opportunities. Volunteering in the area of law and international affairs would be a bonus, and there’s also tons of other great summer programs involving law, study abroad, etc. Honestly, if you’re not sitting on your couch eating potato chips or tanning at the pool everyday, that’s always a thumbs up as far as high school summers go.</p>