<p>Hello, my name is Brionne. I'm going to be a sophmore this fall and I was wondering if anyone currently attending harvard would be interested in helping a kid who's interested in polisci. I would GREATLY appreciate the help. Thanks!</p>
<p>Given the likelihood that a Harvard student is lying around w/just SOOO much time as to be your mentor, how about this advice instead?</p>
<p>If you’re interested in PoliSci, just keep abreast of the current events. Go beyond CNN or the local news. Get online to NYTimes or Washington Post. Read thoroughly the Economist – puts Time/Newsweek to shame.</p>
<p>Know the issues – form opinions. Know why others feel differently and try to understand their perspective. Many HS students (adults too) grab one side and defend it blindly w/o giving the slightest acknowledgement that others with opposing viewpoints arrived at that through logic and rational thought as well.</p>
<p>Alright, yeah that makes a lot of sense. But what type of internships or activities could I do pertaining to polisci? Well outside of high school, i know i could do model un, student government, etc. i actually plan on starting a debate team next year. but i wanna do something outside of that. any ideas?</p>
<p>There is so much you can do if you are interested in going into PoliSci… These are only a few options that are coming off the top of my head! </p>
<p>First off, your are correct in your assumptions - you need to join a debate team, preferably one that participates in NFL and CFL. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to become a part of a speech team as well (extemporaneous speaking and impromptu require a good political understanding and would help with becoming a more effective and cogent speaker). </p>
<pre><code> However, if this is not possible, start up a debate club or political party (e.g., Young Republicans, Young Democrats, Young Independents) in your school. At assemblies (or even over the intercom), you could do short “Hot Topics” on what is important in current events, which can be very interesting and entertaining if you can connect to your audience. During election season, you could host mock elections and debates for the various real-life candidates.
Also, be sure keep in mind that the school newspaper (and practically any newspaper), is a valuable resource to show of your growing interest in PoliSci. Writing articles or creating political cartoons are just a few of the ways you could become included. Try to have yourself published in your local newspaper as well, even if it is only in the opinions column. Being able to express yourself in print shows that you are actively thinking and forming an opinion to become a part of your overall political identity.
In addition, it couldn’t hurt to become involved with the student government. Also, there are other organizations that you could become a part of, such as setting up a mock trial or model UN within the school itself (typically not necessary, but a great way to become close to a teacher or two for recommendations!).
While this may seem a little strange, becoming involved in the dramatic arts is also relevant to PoliSci in becoming a more convincing speaker and developing a presence (which will become very useful later on)… not to mention it could bring an “artsy” edge to an otherwise straightforward application.
As for internships, do look around. Unfortunately, unless you have great connections, this could be difficult. However, there are many great programs that have courses or conferences related to your interests, such as People to People, Duke TIP, and CTY (through Johns Hopkins). They do offer financial aid, which is typically not much of a problem to attain.
Finally, try to take some history and government courses. AP Government and Politics (while a really snorer for me), is informative and a great self-study if you can’t take the actual class, which is preferable. Also, just reading the papers, magazines, and journals are a great way to keep on top of current events, which are very important (there is even a national current events league that offers exams and prizes).
Anyway, best of luck and congratulations on finding your interest!
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<p>oh wow! haha. thank you SO much. this was a really huge help for me :)</p>
<p>Don’t do programs like People to People that cost money and thus will not impress any colleges. Try the Congressional or Senate Page Program, which you can apply to summer before or after junior year. They pay you to be there, and you get to work in the Capitol. The only catch is that admission is competitive.</p>
<p>Try to help out in political campaigns - lots of fun !</p>
<p>And next summer will be a Very Good Summer for political campaigning.</p>
<p>Ha you guys are awesome. thanks so much :)</p>
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<p>Internships are actually not that difficult to get, even if you don’t have the connections that you think you need. Your best bet for a poli. sci. related internship would be with your State Senator (not the US Senator to your state-- you definitely need connections for that) or your district representative in your state House of Reps. If that doesn’t work, look around for some relevant lobbying groups and see if they have internships. For example, the American Civil Liberties Union has an internship program for high school students. I was actually accepted to that one, but unfortunately couldn’t go due to difficulties in logistics. </p>
<p>Also, some summer programs are also very good. I’d personally recommend the Junior Statesmen of America Summer School. They have programs at Georgetown, Princeton and Stanford. This provides good exposure to government and politics as you will be taking poli. sci. related classes (i.e. AP US Government and Politics, War and Diplomacy, AP Macroeconomics), listening to speakers that work in the government sector or in some law-related field and will be surrounded by like minded people. I went to this program when I was a rising Sophomore and took a lot more out of it than I expected, both in terms of learning in the classroom as well as becoming close with some great people that shared common interests and were genuinely cool people.</p>
<p>oh yeah i was totally thinking about that. i didnt have the money. but they have financial aid right? it seemed REALLY interesting. it just sucks to be broke lol but im gonna go for financial aid this summer.</p>
<p>Yeah, they’re very generous with financial aid and extend deadlines just to make sure you can come. I actually knew a kid who basically raised his entire tuition fee for the Georgetown session by himself and got offered to come to the Princeton one for free. They said they were impressed by his dedication and he went to a special one at Montezuma after that as well (at this one, you have to be invited and everyone there goes for free). I did it when I was a rising Sophomore, as I believe you currently are, but the majority of the people were rising juniors. </p>
<p>Regardless, try and raise money for it and go. It’s only three weeks (four if you take APUSH), so you can probably intern during the summer as well. Best of luck!</p>
<p>thanks so much (:</p>