“If he’s able to participate in a STEM project or camp, then for the summer of 2018(his 10th grade) he may be able to qualify for a summer science or STEM camp at a university. There are several summer science programs here that are very difficult to qualify. One of them accepts only 10% of applicants for summer research.”
I suggest you post the names of those selective Summer Science programs here, as it is a certainty that some of the experienced parents on CC are familiar with them.
A BIG word of caution- MOST of the science camp/ programs at Universities are NOT run by the U but are PROFIT centers for the universities-, i.e., they are renting out space on college campuses to for profit companies in order to raise $$ . And the for profit companies are in it for the $$- attracting naive parents who can afford to send DS or DD to an expensive sleep away "academic "camp , and who think that having “science camp X” on their kids college application may/ will give them a better chance of admission to a good college.
College admissions officers think no more of these academic camps at colleges than they do of Summer trips to Costa Rica or Ecuador to volunteer to help build a school.
If you have to PAY to send your student to a summer science camp at a U, regardless of how “elite” the U is, it adds nothing to his chances of acceptances at colleges, or Med schools 6 years later.
Summer research that is initiated by the student -with a local Mentor/ Prof./ Dr,/ researcher, etc, is FAR more valuable than organized summer research programs that you have to pay for.
Summer research…if you could find it…with a mentor is great. BUT doing this at age 14 is NOT going to get this student acceoted to medical school. Period.
But even if this 14 year old does paintings or makes hats (which I think would both be very worthwhile things for him to do), these will NOT help him get into medical school.
Really…nothing he does at age 14 is even going to be seen by med school admissions committees. They don’t ask for that information. At. All. And they make it very clear what they DO want submitted…and also make it clear not to send extra stuff which will not be considered.
This 14 year old should do something for the summer that he finds interesting and fulfilling…for himself…as a 14 year old. Not something to pad a resume for any purpose.
My friends who are now in med school were doing “normal” 14 year old things at 14. Playing sports, babysitting, etc. Lots of my undergrads go on to medical school and I work with them on their apps. NONE talk about things before high school- most don’t even mention anything from high school unless it was a major achievement.
Stop microplanning. If he’s interested, he can find opportunities with maybe a little input from you.
Young people can do very little in hospitals- thankfully. They’re just a huge liability with privacy issues and not to mention that young people will often, frankly, just get in the way. Most of my time spent in hospitals has been at a teaching hospital and I am more than happy as a patient to help train the next generation of doctors (and they enjoy working with me/my case because I’m such a complicated mess lol) but hospitals are so busy and crammed… 14 year olds are just not welcome. Sorry.
I missed some pages but I saw that he has an aunt who is a cardiologist… why not ask her? Was that already nixed? If you’re not able to “shadow” a family member, you’re not likely to get anyone to let him follow.
stradmom,
You’re right. Shadowing is a good option. Last time we went to visit the pediatrician, she had a high school student shadowing. He was a 16-year-old taking notes. That’s an interesting experience.
Here’s a list of STEM projects developed by 8th and 9th graders. They show their results at school and science fairs. These are fun projects supervised by their teachers or mentors. If you think this kind of work/research does not boost their chances to go to college that’s fine. This is a free country and we all have the right to have our own opinion:
@smithonian29 , The projects are very cute and will indirectly help college admission by developing their intellectual curiosity. I would say time and energy are well spent for these educational projects.
But they are not significant enough achievements and will probably not directly aid college admission 3~4 years later. As you said we can have all our own opinion. But really, they are not remotely significant at college admission level in any imaginable way.
For one thing, they are “learning” projects. You need an achievement that can contribute to real world and/or win a competition to directly contribute to college admission.
Quite frankly the best thing any 13/14 year old can do is be open to trying new things. The more exposure they have to different interests and subject areas the more likely they will discover what truly interests them. Most kids have heard of medicine or law but there are so many areas of study available out there that they have never been exposed to. As parents we can guide them but we also have to let them take the lead in this discovery and take initiative. A parent can send letters to different places asking about opportunities but a sincere letter written by the student themselves is going to show genuine interest and that will be given more attention. An employer can figure out very quickly if the interest is coming more from the parent or the child. When your child applies to college the application reviewer is going to want to hear his/her own voice and genuine interests. One skill a student needs to learn is how to think independently and convey their thoughts and ideas. Being able to do this will open doors to opportunities.
Reflecting back at that age my child was working as a counselor in training at a summer camp for two summers fulltime. She also focused on her own hobbies which involved training in a sport and helping instructors with teaching and guiding younger students in that sport. She was into dance so she looked for opportunities to participate in shows.
She volunteered at a library. She did not get into healthcare opportunities till she was a junior in high school. My child had the opportunity to attend CTY but we decided against it and have no regrets about it.
So I no longer understand the original question. @Smithsonian wants her son to do interesting projects when he’s 14. The CC concensus is that there aren’t many opportunities. @Smithsonian posts that there are at Hopkins. Problem solved, go to Hopkins.
If I’m at the doctor or the lawyer, I don’t want a child shadowing. That’s a ‘take your child to work day’ activity, but I don’t want the doctor stopping to explain to the 14 year old, “Well, last week I removed a tumor the size of a basketball from Mrs. P here. Now I’m going to ask her a bunch of personal questions, but feel free to listen in.”
@smithonian29 Those projects might help minimally for undergraduate admissions, but I think the notion that they will effect grad school admissions at all is a little misguided. I don’t think med schools are going to be interested in what a student did in a 9th grade science fair - unless it was the google science fair, then maybe they would put it on their app, idk. Admittedly I’m no expert on med school admissions, but I doubt they want any resume information from high school.
For law school admissions it definitely wouldn’t help. Law schools do not care at all what you did in high school. You can have a GED for all they care, and as long as you have a higher college GPA and LSAT score you’re going to outperform someone who was valedictorian of their high school class, all other things being equal in college (ec’s, work experience postgrad, etc.). Law schools don’t even ask for any information prior to your first year of college, other than criminal records. Would an internship in a law office be useful at some point (not now) if he wants to be a lawyer? Absolutely, but only in the sense that it would allow him to see what lawyers actually do versus how the job is depicted on TV. It certainly wouldn’t help someone get admitted to a school that they otherwise would have been rejected from due to their stats.
danfer91, thanks for your reply. In the list of STEM projects developed by 8th and 9th graders I posted, I said that these kind of hands on project may help students’ chances to go to college. I didn’t say medial school. You’re right, they may help get to undergraduate but they will not be in their resume when they apply later to grad school. But these projects will still help in their formation to develop their curiosity and understanding of science. Which will later help them when they go to grad school or medical school.
In our area there are so many kids that have done CTY that from a college application reviewers perspective it looks like oh this kid is another CTY student. (It will look like many other applicants with the same background, dime a dozen) It will not make your child stand out as a competitive applicant in anyway because there are so many super smart students applying to college. 2400 SAT score students with 4.0 g.p.a’s is not a guarantee of admission for top schools. Lots of kids have taken lots of AP classes and done things to be a competitive applicant. What you child has done in 11th and 12th grade is going to count for college admissions. Once in college every students starts with a clean slate and what you did in high school will not matter once you are accepted.
Lots of students apply to college with research as experience on their application so it is not something unique that will make him stand out. Colleges don’t want a class of identical applicants. They want a variety of students from different backgrounds and experiences. A CTY student is not going to have an advantage over someone who started research at a later age. What he does in middle school will not count. I can’t stress that enough. I have a kid who is premed with a four year tuition scholarship. Focus on making sure you as a parent have savings accumulated to pay for college. Often times students work hard to get into to their dream college only to find out last minute they can’t attend because the parents can’t afford it. Don’t pigeon hole you child towards one career. It can backfire especially if the child feels they are being pressured into doing things. What he decides as a career choice is his only and can’t be dictated by parents.
Yes, of course this is right. But your original post was about volunteer positions or summer jobs that would look good on a resume. So of course the answers you got were along those lines, which essentially were that you were jumping the gun, as far as age appropriateness. These kinds of summer brain camp things you list are perfectly appropriate and spectacularly useful, if that is what he is interested in. Both my kids went to organized “brain camps” every summer, one through the JHU youth program, the other through the Duke equivalent. They loved it all.
They may also discover what they truly dislike – which is equally valuable.
For example, later in high school (not at 13/14), both of my kids worked in retail stores. One liked it fine and would probably be willing to do it again if the need ever arose. The other detested it with every fiber of her being. I think both learned something valuable.
In your OP, you said you wanted something to improve his resume too. Resume for what??
So, have your kid do one or more of the projects you posted in the post upstream. Around here those are used for science fair projects. Maybe your kid’s school has a science fair. Maybe there is a state level he might advance to if he “wins” at your school.
@smithonian29 when my D was in 9th grade (age 14-15) the class did individual and/or group research. My D worked alone and at the end of the year her research was chosen to be presented at the local science fair. In no way did this help her with college admissions. As a matter of fact, by the time she applied to colleges she totally forgot about this and there was no room left on the application to put it.
I think you need to step back and let your son participate in activities that he enjoys doing- it does not matter what they are. He does not have to job shadow a doctor at the age of 13-14. Let him volunteer at the library if he wants to. Stacking books at the age of 14 can eventually lead to organizing reading sessions for preschoolers and developing tutoring clubs for middle school kids. If he sticks with the library throughout HS this can possibly turn into an excellent way to display leadership.
Your son appears to be a very smart boy, but he is only 13 and he needs to be a kid. As he enters HS let him take the lead and participate in activities that he enjoys. If he is internally driven he will go from joining the yearbook to becoming the editor; he will go from planting vegetables outside your house to organizing food drives in the community. I would let it come from him, with you cheering and advising as necessary.
If you are like this now, I am scared that you will have a breakdown when he is a senior. My kid worked in a summer camp all through HS. One of the essays for the school she attends now had to do with describing a moment where you clicked with somebody else. She wrote about a camper and how this girl reminded her of herself.
There are lots of amazing kids out there. Try and relax and let things naturally unfold- and they will.