Hi guys, I’m a junior and currently feeling a sense of inadequacy. It feels like everyone who is going into the STEM field (at my school, on CC, etc.) has done multiple summers of research at prestigious labs/schools/programs and has won awards. I’m fine with (proud of, actually) all my grades, extracurriculars, SAT scores, etc., but am just worried because my summers haven’t been nearly as productive.
I want to go into CS, so last summer I did a tech internship at a small local company, and this summer I’ll be doing data science research at Columbia (very cool, very excited for this, just seems a bit late in the game). However, these things pale in comparison to what a lot of people I know have done - winning awards at state level, getting into really competitive programs, etc. Kicking myself for being a lazy freshman/sophomore and not trying to get anything big.
Am I stressing out for nothing? How much do colleges actually care about big summer research experiences?