Hi CC,
I’ve had a really rough Junior year. From failing the things I was confident I would succeed in to hitting low points in my life I’ve never imagined before, I can confidently say this past year has been the most harrowing experience I’ve ever had. Like yeah I guess I’m not in the worst position in terms of colleges and whatnot. I’m a president of a couple of clubs, I have a 99th percentile SAT, yadda yadda. But I didn’t accomplish any of the things I wanted this year. I failed several olympiads (AMCs and USAPhO). I got rejected by every single summer program I applied to. And as of right now, I don’t have any plans for the summer at all. I’ve looked for tutoring opportunities at local centers, but all of those things have long stopped being available for tutors to apply. All summer programs have already accepted full student bodies. And I can’t even sign up for any summer classes at my school. It’s honestly so disheartening to know that all of my friends have been admitted to prestigious summer camps and have internships set up while I have absolutely nothing. I was hoping that maybe someone on CC could suggest what I could try to do this summer that would at the very least look decent on a college application. Maybe it doesn’t have to align with my STEM interests. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’d hate to rot away all summer long watching TV or playing video games, especially between the supposedly most important years of high school. I would really appreciate any comments or advice.
Thanks.
Get a job. Any job is fine; it doesn’t have to be related to your academic goals.