@underscore you can also consider doing a summer course for college credit in something you are interested in. Of course, that will be a lot more expensive, but they are fun and you learn a lot. My D did a CS summer course for credit at Carleton College. It was a selective course, and she needed tescher recs to be accepted. It might be a bit late now to organize because the good ones are selective, but you can find all kinds of courses for college credit. It won’t give you an advantage (pay to play,) but it does at least show that you pursue your interests outside of high school and you will also possibly use it as a prerequisite in college. You will also likely get a good professor rec too. I recommend it.