<p>How does one find out about research internships etc.. ? I need something to do this summer before I start college and would like to do something that could potentially help pad my CV. Any thoughts? Or maybe I should just chill and relax :P</p>
<p>wrong forum :/</p>
<p>Wrong forum, but I would say work at a relaxing job a few hours each day. Then relax, definitely.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people underestimate the power of travel. </p>
<p>I traveled the summer before my Junior Year, and I learned a lot about life and what I wanted from it. I also met a very interesting person (born in Iran, studying at Oxford, working as a bartender in the bar I was at in southern France) who discussed politics with me for hours. I chose this conversation as an experience that helped open me up to the world for my college admissions essays,</p>
<p>Travel opens up your personality, which I really do believe is the most important factor in college admissions.</p>
<p>-Eric (I was accepted Early Decision at Stanford University)</p>
<p>Contact any nonprofit near you that has a mission that is of interest to you (a museum, a food bank, an environment group, a tutoring program, a hospital, the fire dept., etc…) and tell them you’d like to work for them (for free). Attach a copy of your resume which includes your language skills and esp. your computer skills, as well as your availability. Explain that you are committed to their mission and want to learn more about their organization and the community that they serve. Ask to meet with the person in charge of volunteers, the executive director or whomever is responsible for the program you want to work with, so you can talk about what you have to offer and what they need.</p>
<p>Many will welcome you with open arms in these difficult financial times. Once you’ve proved your value to them, identify a research question or project of interest to them and to you, and make it yours. If you continue to work with them over the coming school year, then bonus points to you. You will have an invaluable learning experience, contribute something worthwhile to an organization that serves others, and yes, it will give you something to talk and write about when you apply to college that differentiates you from all the school newspaper editors, math team and debating team captains, etc…</p>