Summer activities suggestions for Stanford, Ivies?

Hi my son is finishing up 10th grade and is Korean. He has taken all rigorous classes so far with UW GPA 4.0 and W GPA ~ 4.3. His long term plan is med school. From reading through CC posts, for example, Stanford looks at academic, intellectual vitality (essay), and EC. My son has been playing summer travel baseball and is on the high school baseball team. He volunteers to coach youth w/ cognitive and/or physical challenges in the summer and also umpires younger age baseball games. Should his other summer EC revolve and continue around baseball to show depth? I also notice there are few to zero Asian high school baseball players. I assume that is a good thing? Any advice appreciated.

Does he have any volunteer hours at the local hospital or shadowing? That might be a worthwhile endeavor if he’s thinking pre-med.

Summer jobs, doing just about anything is good too!

There are some universities that offer programs (with competitive admission) that teach local high school students how to do research and publish a paper. You might want to check to see if there is anything like that near you.

He should NOT, nor should you, be worrying about his college application resume when planning his activities. He should enjoy being a kid, enjoying the time off from school. Please, please do not be Tiger parents trying to orchestrate his admission to an elite college to then get into an elite medical school. Do NOT worry about his summer activity showing “depth”. He is at an age he should be doing things that interest him. If it is being completely engrossed in the baseball world this summer, fine. But he can drop it for many other things to try. Childhood is a time to try many different things, some fit others are good to have experienced.

Whose long term plan is medical school? Is it his because he truly loves taking care of people and science (like me- a woman physician who is smart and from an ordinary background) or is it because it is something he has been brought up to believe is prestigious and something smart people do? We (Indian H also a physician) used to tell people our gifted son was too smart to become a physician. I know so many physicians whose children also have no interest in becoming physicians- they have been free to pursue their own interests.

One thing I am very glad of is that our son had a good childhood. We weren’t always happy with him (I dare any parent to have had a perfect child) but he was more in the moment and not planning future strategies. His thing was CC running. Yours should be able to indulge in his passion for baseball without ruining it for what looks good to colleges.

Assuming becoming a physician really is HIS interest letting him have a free summer will not change that. It will not matter where he goes to college or medical school, either. I know a Harvard undergrad and a Harvard Medical school grad who both ended up doing the same jobs as physicians in our city as those of us with less elite credentials. I know those with ordinary college/medical school credentials who have gone far. It is not all-important to his future to go to an elite college. Remember this as you help him plan his after HS future. Relax!

btw- Stanford and the Ivies are not the only excellent schools. There are so many that have a much better atmosphere and equally good academics for those of us who dislike their atmosphere and or campuses. Son wouldn’t apply to any Ivies and other schools were a much better personality fit. Get over the prestige thing.

Thanks for your replies so far. Very helpful!

The person I know who went to Stanford loves to tell how she didn’t want to do the summer research program at the local university when she was in high school, but her mother put a lot of pressure on her to do it. So she finally agreed, and she absolutely loved it! She is very bright and excelled at the work and published a paper with the help of her mentor. She is so grateful that her mother steered her in the right direction.

Any hospital volunteering he does in high school won’t matter at all when he applies to medical school…if he ever does. In addition, it is really a challenge for under 18 year olds to get volunteer gigs in hospitals these days…even with connections.

I agree with @wis75 . Your son has two more years of high school. Let him be a high school student. His activities should be things he enjoys doing. He has a strong commitment to baseball…and that’s great. His ethnicity doesn’t really matter at all…it’s his commitment that matters.

Remember too…the vast majority…vast majority of students who think they want to be doctors early on either never actually apply to medical school…or don’t get accepted when they do.

With regard to your title…Stanford and the Ivies…is this because these are the only colleges you will allow him to attend? Do you think these are the only colleges that will prepare him well for medical school applications? If so…I think you are wrong on both accounts.

What makes him think he wants to be a doctor? Has he had the opportunity to explore other options?

I agree…let him do baseball…and a regular job like others have is fine.

If he wants to…he can take an EMT course, and when he is old enough, he can do volunteer EMS work.

[quote]
What makes him think he wants to be a doctor?

[quote]

This is why I suggested hospital volunteering.

Interesting that you are hearing/seeing that it’s hard for hs students to volunteer in their local hospitals. That seems to be common place in my neck of the woods, as well as where our family lives. I volunteered myself in the stone ages in the hospital all through HS.

@momofsenior1

Even IF this kid can get a volunteer thing at a hospital…it won’t count AT ALL if this kid applies to medical school.

Amble over to the premed forum here. There is a lot of discussion on how difficult it is even for college students to get volunteer and shadowing times in hospitals these days.

And yes…back in the Stone Age…candy stripers were everywhere…and it was easy peasy to get those volunteer gigs. That is no longer the case.

Privacy issues prevail now…and confidentiality.


[QUOTE=""]

And yes…back in the Stone Age…candy stripers were everywhere…and it was easy peasy to get those volunteer gigs. That is no longer the case.

[/QUOTE]

Yes I was a candy striper in the 1970s (why? I have no clue. Zero interest in medicine. It was just considered “a good thing to do”) I fed almost comatose patients. Man, I can’t believe they let me do that.

Michigan State’s science research program is residential and very good for the right student.
https://education.msu.edu/hshsp/

The summer programs where one pays and goes are less helpful than the programs where
the student has to apply. For instance, paying to take a Stanford class seems to not help students get into Stanford, but it will sometimes help a student get into another school, and it may help a student with advanced interests make career decisions, as students can try classes in neuroscience for example, or architecture.

But not every student is ready for this type of academic summer. And it guarantees nothing either, but usually students meet other students who are aiming for very selective schools by doing this, which can help a student decide where to aim for colleges.

There is an entire forum on CC about summer programs.

Centura Health Hospitals, offer a teen volunteer program for ages 14 and up, and an adult volunteer program. TB test and flu vaccines are needed and willingness to help. There are “patient contact” positions, and other types of roles.
Most old folks homes take volunteers as well, to have contact with older people.

https://www.centura.org/locations/longmont-united-hospital/volunteer-opportunities

Here are teen volunteer positions in California at a major hospital-
https://www.supportcaliforniahospital.org/ways-to-give/high-school-volunteer-opportunities

I think most hospitals take teen volunteers today, but I have not checked many others.

It is likely to be neutral. Unless he is a recruited athlete, his baseball will be viewed as an EC that took a lot of commitment. Not all of his ECs need to packaged together. The HS + travel team will show that he isn’t just skimming the surface.

Don’t try to fit the kid to a school, instead find a school to fit the kid.

It is great to follow authentic interests regardless of college outcome. But it really distorts the high school experience to be so focused on college admissions. He should work reasonably hard, pursue whatever interests him, make friends and learn to be a good person.

I hope he can spend the summer doing whatever he really wants to do NOW.

@thumper1 - In no way am I suggesting that HS volunteer counts a hill of beans for med school. But, it could give a kid a better sense if pre-med is really something to even consider.

My 15 year old niece volunteers at her local hospital, as do my friends’ kids. Again, just doesn’t seem that unusual in our area. They had to go through a special HIPPA training and are certainly restricted in what they are doing. but they are getting exposure. Sounds like it varies by geographic location.

Give him the gift of choosing his own path for three months.

The other thing to consider at least around here for hospital volunteering. There is quite a bit of training now. The hospitals around here will not have volunteers for just the summer. They want people who can commit to a longer time frame. So…the student would need to do some volunteer time during the school year as well.

I do think it might vary by area…or even hospital.

Volunteers where we are get very little patient contact too.

HS activities may not count for med school. But they sure do count for undergrad admissions. If he indicates premed intentions, of course they’ll look for math-sci ECs. He doesnt need to be a researcher, but working with healthcare delivery is good.

“Should his other summer EC revolve and continue around baseball to show depth?” Depth in baseball? Unless he’s a recruited athlete, it won’t be a tip. Depth in a sport is fine, but isn’t one of the things they look for in evaluating you for the class.

Lots of different opinions re: just being yourself and doing what interests you, vs preparing in the ways the college targets expect. It’s his decision. But the competition for Ivies and Stanford is crazy tough.

Nor is the essay where you show “intellectual vitality,” per se, not where you strut your intellectual stuff.

Don’t ruin baseball for him and here’s why:

We know several kids who have gone on to Ivy and other similar schools. We know kids who have been Intel winners, Marshall winners, and Fulbright scholars. The thing that separates these kids from the herd isn’t their activities, but rather the passion they have for their activities. We know a kid who at a young age realized a classmate didn’t have enough food to eat. That child - in middle school - started volunteering at a local food bank to assemble backpacks. Fast forward many years, the child is now all grown up and still has a passion for solving food insecurities. He has written academic papers on the subject. He has studied abroad in both undeveloped countries and at world renowned institutions. His eyes light up and his whole demeanor changes when he talks about what’s being done (and what else can be done) to solve hunger issues. His passion is obvious, and I’m sure he parlayed that passion when he was writing essays and going through interviews over the years. Of course he was a stellar student as well. I can write similar things about kids who have had a passion for medicine, a kid who has a passion for politics, a kid who has a passion for physics, a kid who has a passion for music (garage band, not classical), a kid who has a passion for ballet, and even a kid who has a passion for stand-up comedy. Every single one of them is now studying at an Ivy League school. So, let your son continue his passion for baseball on his terms. It will be an invaluable experience whether he continues with baseball or not. He may find his passion not in baseball, but in something he learns from a coach or teammate.

Also: “Harvard University offers 88 distinct undergraduate degrees, concentrated into 53 majors within 18 broad fields of study.” Harvard wants students other than pre-med.