<p>I thought it would be a good idea to create this thread in order to get some insight on this subject. </p>
<p>What should people be doing before their senior year?</p>
<p>What do colleges want?</p>
<p>Should one focus on fun or "doing stuff?"</p>
<p>Can a person get away with doing nothing?</p>
<p>How important is it?</p>
<p>The summer before you senior year is actually a very crucial time. Though you might be done (or close to being done) with tests (SAT, ACT, AP, SAT II etc.), you still need to build up a resume that shows that you have grown over the years in high school. Try getting some more volunteer hours or finding a job. </p>
<p>But above all, don’t over do it. So many kids jam pack their summers with loads of activites. Summer is also the time to relax before school begins again (unfortunately).</p>
<p>Things I should be doing in July:
<p>You do not have to start a nonprofit organization. You do not have to bring about world peace. You do not have to write a book.</p>
<p>You do, however, need to do a few things that show initiative on your part (academically). For example, I’m currently taking several courses for credit at my community college. Although it’s not Harvard Summer School, it shows that one cares about learning and seeks it out of his or her own will when he or she has free time upon their hands.</p>
<p>So you could take some credit courses at a college near you. You could, as a previous poster said, do some community service in your town. You could read books and write reports on them. You could tutor kids in your neighborhood or near you who need help with particular subjects. You could get a 9 to 5 job, which is a great idea in my opinion. They are pretty hard to get these days, though.</p>
<p>These are all adequate things to do for your summer. No need to save the world from extreme poverty or anything of the sort, I assure you. Just don’t sit around hanging with your friends 24/7 and doing nothing. It’s seen as unproductive if that’s all you do. Hope this helped. :)</p>
<p>I disagree with kaka when it comes to summer being the time to “build up” your resume. You have already had 3 years of initiative, what you should be doing now is a “refining” your app, not introducing new things. I do know that some things are senior-specific and this is an exception such as a job, but you should be concentrating on what you already have.</p>
<p>So it is pointless to do something significant in the community senior year? I think not. Colleges can tell when you have tons of EC’s that magically popped up senior year…but if you participate in one club or community activity for tons of hours… this still shows your passion for it etc. Especially if you include it in your essay.</p>
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<p>…If you participated in an EC for ‘tons of hours’ for one year, it will make nowhere near the amount of impact as a 3 or 4 year EC. Ivies and other Ivy-caliber schools love seeing four year EC’s with leadership and committment, because that’s a true indicator that the activity was picked up and committed to not because of college, but because of love for the activity. So don’t think you can get super-involved over one summer and impress adcoms at top schools.</p>
<p>But like I said, credit courses at your local college, getting a job, or tutoring/doing other volunteer work can only help you, especially the first two if you’re aiming for just one summer of work in something.</p>
<p>i don’t really know what colleges want, but I can tell you personally I got an internship which worked out really well cause i may want to stay there through college and now i have my “foot in the door.” Some of my friends did community service work at places but just cause it looked good for college. The internship took a lot of time and effort and if i could do it again, i may have just chilled and written college essays. Either way your fine. And i ended up taking the SAT a couple more times during senior year and had to study during the fall. So i guess i don’t know you situation but i hope this helps. Good luck with everything</p>