I’m currently a sophomore in high school, and I’m thinking about doing a summer internship at some college this summer.
But the thing is, I’m not sure if I should. The fees are really high (I checked one out at Columbia University and it’s about $4,730 not including board & room). I’m thinking about doing one with psychology - I’m currently taking AP Psychology in school and I might want to go into the law field.
If any of you guys have done one, is it worth it and what was your experience like, especially if it was out of state?
You need to learn your definitions, I think. Sounds like you are talking about a summer program or taking a class of some kind. An “internship” is more like a job where you gain work experience in a specific field (not as common for high schools students, more common for college students).
If you do a summer program, only pick one that your family can readily afford and that is in an area you are really interested in. This doesn’t seem to meet either criteria… and don’t think that attending a summer program at a college improves your chances of admission. All it really shows usually is that your parents can afford to pay for the program.
You might want to get the book “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport to get some insight into how to look at summer opportunities and ECs.
Volunteer internships exist, where you don’t get paid for your work but you do have to pay for housing. It sounds like as the other poster said, you are looking at summer programs which are not the same.
An internship implies you are an employee of some sort or a volunteer. A summer program at a college would make you a student.
The best bet is to get a summer job related to your field, even while still in HS. Working is a great EC. Paying for a glorified summer camp is not a great EC.