<p>What are some things that an applicant can do in a summer that colleges like to see?</p>
<p>prestigious music, math camps ect. rsi is definitely a good option, admission to rsi means admission to MIT. However, I reccommend that you do what you enjoy, not activities you find distatesful, but light up you resume. You'll enjoy your summer more, and the admission folks will view as more genuine in character. Just don't slump around the coach playing video games and eating chips. It may be enjoyable and relaxing, but colleges don't like that. Otherwise, anything should be productive enough for your college app.</p>
<p>unfortunately the advice seth blue just gave is ********. i wish i'd spent my summers doing stuff that i actively thought college's would like to see. the fact of the matter is that the extent to which colleges care about your personality is limited to wanting proof of your humanity, found during the interview. colleges will have no idea whether the stuff you did over the summer was done for them or for your own enjoyment, the only truth being that those things done for yourself will likely look less attractive to an admissions committee.</p>
<p>interesting TimR, just because you regret wasting your summers doesn't mean you have to go around posting *<strong><em>ened *</em></strong>ty advice. You may think that colleges are shallow, but that's mostly likely because you're shallow in character youself, and a cynic. If you are, please don't spread the cynicism around. The advice I gave is hard core. You can only get into prestigious programs if you've been devoted to something for an extensive period of time, otherwise, forget it. What's important is doing what is enjoyable for the summer. If you hated math and the sciences, and got into rsi(not saying you would, because you wouldn't), how would you feel spending your entire summer doing something you hate. Next TimR, you want to think(that is if you are capable of anything beyond pessimism) before you post.</p>
<p>To original poster, if your a musician, audition for symphonies, national orchestras, or extremely prestigious state orchestras.</p>
<p>If you're a mathematician or scientist, try rsi, it's the best one, but extrordinarily difficult to get in to.</p>
<p>if you're other, I don't know of any programs, but you can surf the net and find some.</p>
<p>FYI though, it's more important to do what yo love than to be an idiotic follower of what colleges like. btw, hss isn't competitive and won't really boost admission chances, but you learn alot and you get to have a great time.</p>
<p>how about a job lifeguarding? whats attractive about that for colleges?</p>
<p>Impressive is any highly selective program that is free.</p>
<p>what you said about devoting your time to the same thing consistently is just totally different from what you said originally, and implicit - of course you're not going to apply to rsi if you've not done anything scientific elsewhere in high school. your original point was that it's more worthwhile to spent your time in the summer doing an activity that you enjoy, and that colleges will respect that. the fact is though that you're blatantly wrong; colleges don't give a **** if you're into pottery and made some pretty pots over the summer (an arbitrary example), they need something more tangible. if the potter got 5s on his junior year calc and physics aps they want to see him spend a month doing a research project at a major university. the process is a ***** live with it. </p>
<p>i also never said that i wasted my summers; in fact, i had a great time, especially between junior and senior years. however, i do wish i had gone and done something to boost my resume as it would undoubtedly have helped in the process - admittedly i won't know for a week or so whether i actually needed it or not.</p>
<p>What's rsi?</p>
<p>governor school in your state.</p>
<p>What is a prestigious program if I am interested in international politics?</p>
<p>you're the one making up abysmal nonesense TimR. The college procedure is obvioudly not perfect, but that's not to say they don't care about you character wise. What do you think essays are for? You say what i said is implicit, well this should be implicit too: if you enjoy something, you're normally good at it. And if you're good at it, you are eligible for camps that colleges like. Now if you didn't get that, then get some logic into your brain. Never, mind, apparently you're in university. Are you bitter about something perhaps? Look, just because you obviously didn't make it your first choice school, doesn't mean you have to go around spreading ludicrous ****. Understandably, you regret not going to prestigious camps to boost your admission chances, but you said yourself you had a great time anyway. Ultimately, it's either doing what you like or doing something colleges like. If you're lucky enough though, you might be really proficient at something both you and the colleges like. In conclusion, TimR, I think we can agree to disagree, this is my last post for this thread, so if you're going to get defensive and antagonistic again, I won't be here to heighten your insecurity. btw, TimR, colleges aren't as shallow as make them to be. Perfect, no way, but seriously you need to get a life. Just because you didn't get into the college of your choice because you did something enjoyable instead of something prestigious doesn't mean you can make unfounded assumptions about all colleges. </p>
<p>To OP, I'm not saying you shouldn't go to prestigious camps, i'm just saying that personally, i wouldn't do it just for college if I absolutely hated it.</p>
<p>seth blue, were YOU accepted to your first choice college????</p>
<p>i'm a sophomore. but were YOU accepted to YOUR first choice college?</p>
<p>nope. I am a junior. I thought you will not respond to this thread again. lol</p>
<p>not to TimR if he starts attacking me again. But otherwise, it's all good.</p>
<p>seth_blue, where do you plan to apply? Can you show us your stats?</p>
<p>yep, i'll send you a PM, but now i've got to get to class.</p>
<p>guys, please. no animosity here. we're not gonna do 'battle of the stats' here.</p>
<p>don't worry, i'm done with the animosity.</p>
<p>seth: i wasn't the one who started personal attacks, and i will refrain from making fun of your english (although i can't help but just mention how i giggle when i see people trying to use sophisticated words they don't really understand, like abysmal). however, i will absolutely stick to what i said originally and that is that if what you truly care about is getting into a top prestigious school, you absolutely must make the most of your summers - and if that means putting to one side something that you enjoy above all else, then so be it. as seth noted though, many people are fortunate enough to be very good at what they enjoy, in which case all power to them, but i do think it's fair to say that even if you're a talented theoretical physicist and enjoy it, you'd rather spend your summer on the beach reading than in a lab as a professor's *****, but that's what colleges want to see. </p>
<p>also, my comment about colleges not caring about your personality was flagrantly hyperbolic, as i would have expected you to pick up on given i said that all colleges need is proof of one's humanity. of course they care, but what i said previously and what i stick to is that they will not view your limited tangible summer accomplishments as proof of your strong-willed, i-don't-do-****-just-for-my-application attitude. </p>
<p>i also never said colleges were shallow, because with every kid they accept there is surely sound rationale behind it. my reason for posting is just to offer advice to this kid who still has the process ahead of him: if you want to boost your chances, go for a prestigious program in something you're good at and have done throughout high school, regardless of how much you truly enjoy it...sorry.</p>