<p>This is related to admission (cough <em>the summer programs forum is dead</em> cough) </p>
<p>I am a freshman, going to be a rising sophomore, and I started looking at summer programs late so I am very limited in choice. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Brown Pre-College course in something like biology, bioengineering, biochem, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Brown Leadership Institute, probably the one on global health because it applies to my future career</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have heard that everyone gets into those summer programs, so I shouldn't be concerned about those choices.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Volunteer at the local hospital all summer long: I am not sure if there is a very high chance that I will be able to, they actually have a volunteer program for high school kids and it sounds kind of competitive</p></li>
<li><p>Ask a professor to participate in research: there is about a .000001% chance that I would actually be able to do this</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, first tell me what is the better out of choices 1 and 2, then what is the best choice out of all of them. Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>If you are truly committed, and willing to put in the hard work that volunteering implies without expecting acknowledgment and rewards, then 3 is the best choice. Of the two programs at Brown, I’m unsure. Both sound “premature” for a rising sophomore, and overly academic in a specialized field.</p>
<p>^ I don’t quite understand what you mean by premature. Are you saying that I should not be doing any summer programs because I will be younger than everyone else, or because the curriculum is too serious?</p>
<p>I’m personally not convinced that colleges are impressed by those summer programs where you dabble for a week or two in something. Also, from personal experience (I remember looking at those Brown programs between sophomore and junior year summer) I can say that the cost per week is insane enough to make it not worth your while.</p>
<p>I have never heard about a summer volunteer program that is competitive. Interesting. I would ‘vote’ for option 3. If you are not selected for the program, look in your community for other volunteer options. They don’t have to be related to your intended field of study. You have two other summers to participate in enrichment programs. </p>
<p>In future summers, if you can find a research opportunity this would be great. Enrichment programs are becoming ‘vanilla’ in the eyes of adcoms. They want to see something different. My students have participated in them so I am not against them. S3 will be looking for internships vs. enrichment programs when he is old enough. I have one that regrets sitting on his bum the summer between his freshman and sophomore year. It was an opportunity missed to do some community service that is often hard to find time for later in high school as your academic demands increase.</p>
<p>Good for you for making use of that 10 week break! :)</p>
<p>SheenR, I get the sense that you’re choosing the summer activities to have the most impact on college admissions. I think that’s the wrong approach. Frankly, I don’t think the choice of activities has that much impact. I think you should figure out what you would enjoy spending your time doing and assess it’s impact on your own personal development. Then, maybe try something meaningful, perhaps out of your comfort zone. </p>
<p>There are plenty of summer programs that take rising sophomores. Some are more intense than others. My D did AP PhysicsB in 3 weeks at Center for Talent Development at Northwestern. It was very intense. The thing is, she WANTED to do that, and she met some great kids and learned a lot about herself, in addition to a lot of physics. </p>
<p>I have a simple question. What do you WANT to do? That’s what you should do.</p>