our daughter is currently in 10th grade , she is interested in either a summer internship program in Washington DC or a good leadership program . we will like to have feedback for what summer internship programs might be good for her and also about a good leadership program.
Do any of the these programs provide for accommodation and how much do these help with college admission , right now she is not sure about which career path she wants to choose - political science or medicine or law
There are many summer programs that will let your daughter dive more into her interests, but with the exception of a few very competitive scholarshiped ones, they are programs that you would have to pay for (think summer camp - many on college campuses). She can reach out to her Senators and Representative and see if she might be able to volunteer at their local office during the school year or summer if she wants to see more about what a future in politics would look like.
She can also look into Girls State for after her junior year of high school. IT sounds like it might be a good fit for what you’re looking for.
Any interest in her part in the military or even just exploring it? Civil Air Patrol and the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (Sea Cadets or USNSCC for short) provide some great leadership training. My son is in Sea Cadets and he has attending leadership training and medical training (including intubating a dummy, going to the cadaver/anatomy lab) through them. I can’t say enough good things about my son’s experience with this program. He has never had any interest in the military (his asthma medically disqualifies him anyways) but has loved the challenge and opportunities the program provies.
Talk to your senator’s office about their summer page program. Depending on the state, some of them are helpful and can help you find a host family.
If you’re low income, look into Princeton’s LEDA
Here are a few to review:
http://www.highschooldiplomats.com/america.php
https://www.sea.edu/high_school_programs/high_school_programs leadership is component
https://www.smith.edu/academics/precollege-programs/our-programs
https://apps.carleton.edu/summer/
https://www.nationalbar.org/NBA/Events/Youthprograms/NBA/Youth_programs.aspx?hkey=ed2d386e-602f-42cb-b707-a26bd33f29f5 if she is a minority
https://www.aclu.org/issues/aclu-summer-institute?redirect=feature/aclu-summer-institute
How a summer program “helps” with admissions is that it gives the student a chance to dig deeply into a topic and begin narrowing down what she enjoys nerding out on. It can also expose the student to fields of study not previously encountered -which is really important because what they mostly know is from parent circles and media.
After 10th grade my daughter did the SEA shipboard program. It was transformative. She returned so much more confident and fired up.
Also check the “Summer Programs” forum here - http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/
Most importantly, these type of experiences can help shape interest, independence, etc. For many college applications, they ask if the student participated in any special type of programs. So, it is a college resume builder as it shows they can go away from home, commitment, leadership, etc.