Make Summer Count: Programs, Internships, and Research that Strengthen College Apps

Webinar Transcription

2026-01-20 – Make Summer Count: Programs, Internships, and Research that Strengthen College Apps

Anesha: Hi everyone. Welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant. I’m a senior advisor at CollegeAdvisor and I’ll be your moderator for tonight’s session. Today’s webinar is, “Make Summer Count: Programs, Internships, and Research that Strengthen College Applications.” Before we get started, just to orient everyone with the webinar timing, we’ll start with a presentation, and then we will open up, uh, for our live Q&A to address your questions on the sidebar, you can download our slides under the handout tab and, and you can start spending your questions whenever you get ready under the q and a tab.

But first, let’s meet our presenter, Theodore Longlois. Hey Theodore, how are you doing?

Theodore: Good. How are you doing? Thank you so much for facilitating this Anesha. Um, my name is Theodore Longlois. I’m Al, I am also a senior advisor here at CollegeAdvisor. I graduated Harvard College in 2016, majoring in folklore mythology in minoring in Spanish and global health and health policy.

I’m originally from South Texas, uh, where there weren’t quite as many opportunities as are in other parts of the country. So I’m very familiar with how to piece together op uh, opportunities, especially summer opportunities when they might not be immediately obvious.

Anesha: Awesome. Before we let you get started, just going to do a quick poll.

So for folks out there, please let us know. Uh, what grade level you are in. If you’re a parent or teacher, we welcome you. Um, you can go ahead and select other, uh, just so that we have an accurate count. Um, and as we’re waiting for, um, pieces to come in, I know you kind of, I know you’ll talk a little bit more about your, um.

Uh, your personal experience, but I’m curious, is there a summer program you wish you could have done in high school, um, that you feel like would’ve helped? Especially ’cause I feel you have a very specific concentration in academic journey. So is there something you wish you knew in high school that would’ve made life easier in college?

Theodore: Yeah, so. I definitely wish I had had stronger programs in sciences. I was also pre-med, um, and while my teachers did the best they could with what they had, you know, I really went in behind. So, you know. I took community college classes over the summer that really helped me and got some of the requirements out of the way that I, what, you know, that weren’t necessarily my forte, but I wish I had strengthened science classes before I went, um, because that would’ve made freshman year a lot easier.

Anesha: Sure. I feel like I can say the statement about math as well. Um. Okay, well, we’ll hear more, I’m sure and offer a variety of pathways, but we’ll go ahead and close our poll so that you can go ahead and get started properly. Just for your own personal edification, about 50 folks in the room with us, uh, today.

One of them is the eighth grader. Welcome. Thank you for getting started till early. Uh, 12% are in the ninth grade. 23% are in the 10th grade. Our biggest group, 42% are 11th graders, and then the remaining 21% are parents and teachers. So a big spread of, um, underclassmen and parents. Um, we’ll be our audience for tonight.

I’ll stop talking, head it over to you, Theodore, and be back a little bit later for questions and answers.

Theodore: Thank you so much, Anesha. Wonderful. So

I apologize. I do not click the next slide. Um, the, the first question is, why, uh, why are some opportunities important in the college application process? So, the number one thing is that colleges want to know that you have taken advantage of the opportunities that you have. In your context, meaning that they are not going to be judging you by, you know, if you, for example, have a great access to local universities, we expecting you to make more of those opportunities Then if you, for example, are in a very rural area.

So, but this is a great way for you to explore what’s in context and to develop your passions. This is the number one thing they want to see in your extracurriculars and your essays, is that you have a strong academic passion. Uh, it doesn’t have to be solidified. When I applied, I did not know I was gonna be majoring in folklore mythology, but I had eight.

Strong thread of passion throughout my application for social justice, which I then explored through that lens as a student. So this can be a chance. For example, I had a student who was really interested in marine biology, but grew up in rural. There isn’t exactly a lot of, uh, opportunities to explore that in rural Maine, so he went to whale camp every summer.

I also had another student who was in rural Alabama and had less economic means and was interested in paleontology, so we volunteered at local museums, but he also did things like studying languages online, taking up free online courses, or reduced cost courses through edX, and that gave them a wealth of opportunity to talk about.

In their essays. So this will give you the a chance to explore those opportunities in depth. This can also help you when you, it comes time to take AP or IB exams, or even when it’s coming time for the SAT or a CT, you can definitely do prep courses over the summer, but I wouldn’t consider those a summer opportunity that will necessarily build your application other than what it will do.

For your test scores. Um, but anything that’s helping you strengthen those, you know, reading, writing, clinical analysis will be helpful. The next thing is to prevent summer learning loss. The, you know, uh. Studies show that, you know, students, uh, lose about 20 to 30% of knowledge in between, you know, this, the end of the spring semester and the start the fall semester.

And it, again, this does not have to be, you know, a remedial math class, but this can be something that keeps your brain active and sharp, especially for, I like critical analysis skills for, you know, literary analysis for that sort of thing. You are going to be able to retain more with any sort of academic summer program or anything that’s even helping you think critically.

Uh, and then you wanna, you can also strengthen your positioning a, a activities, because colleges look for an upward trajectory and leadership skills. So rather than feeling like you have to try something new, you can do something, for example, like. Let’s say you’re, you’re a debater, go at getting into a debate camp, especially if you can qualify for one of the more prestigious debate labs.

Um, and that will help you do better during the semester and, you know, will expose you to other people. In your field, they’re doing similar things in maybe different ways, so that way you can grow and learn in that knowledge and talk about times that you’re, you know, colleges want to know that you are interacting with people differently than you.

And for some communities that is very easy for some communities that are racially and socioeconomically homogenous. You know, I’ve had students say that, you know, I don’t know of a time I’ve interacted with people that are very different than me. So this can be a chance to be exposed to that in fields that you are already interested in.

You can also explore something entirely new. You can do this at any point, but I would especially say for my eighth graders, um, and my freshman in the room, this is a great time to do it, especially so that way if you don’t like it, you don’t lose a whole semester academic year that you could have been exploring something else.

And we already talked about how it adds to emission essays, but the really the way to make this count. Is at the end of the summer taking notes on what impact did you write, and, you know, and having that running notepad all throughout your academic career. This could be an actual notepad or a notes app on your phone, on, or a, you know, Google doc.

It doesn’t matter. Uh. Now. Next we’re gonna look at types of summer opportunities. These are broad categories, and I’m going to try to give examples of these, but there are many that are not going to be represented on this list. The first is classes. This is especially helpful if maybe you had a rough academic start.

Like you had a bad freshman year. Um, or maybe a at any point, like, you know, I have students who lost a parent for example, and that year is obviously going to be pretty hard. And especially if that like, you know, for example you got a C in a science class and you wanna apply to pre-med opportunities, this’s gonna be a great way to make up for that.

You can also take, um. Do this if you don’t come from a school that’s a as incredibly academically rigorous as was the situation for me. Or if you have classes that, for example, there are plenty of classes that have, are weighted AP and honors at your school, but you have to get some classes like physical education or you know, maybe art.

Or music if you aren’t an art or music person, um, out of the way and those will not be honors. This can be a great way to get ’em outta the way. And sometimes they will be, if you can take it at the community college, like I took art history and then there was one more spot on my schedule. I could take an AP in high school and I got that dual credit, uh, credit as well.

So that is, you know, are some situations where that can be really helpful, you know. It. You want to do these again at the highest level accessible to you, but do not, you know, break the bank for summer opportunities. Many people feel, and we’re gonna talk about this later on, but you know, just wanna say, uh, upfront that if you do a class, for example, a.

And a class at, you know, Yale’s campus for high schoolers. That is an advantage of getting into Yale. It is not, many of these classes are not even run by the university. It’s an outside party that the university just lets be on their campus. And so really when you’re looking for this, you want to be looking for academic rigor.

Affordability and geographic accessibility and hands-on opportunities, like one of those pre-med workshops, you know, it, it, it got you, for example, hands-on re uh, research opportunities. Yes. For just day. I got to do stitches for the first time. Like, you are going to get more out of taking a community college class or a class at the local branch college.

So you, but again. You do want, you know, try to be strategic about this. This can also be a chance to do language learning, especially if you’re not going to be studying four years of the same language continuously, which is something that more and more institutions are looking for, or the language you’re interested in studying in college does not, does not exist at your high school.

And because the freshmen language opportunities are going to be very. Intensive if, if you are starting a language from scratch, which is great, but it also means that you will, you know, you’ll be meeting five days a week, you’ll have a lot of homework and that can add a huge burden to your freshman year of college because you want to think not just how do I get into college, but how do I sell once I get there?

Similarly, with things like pre-med courses, um. You know, looking ahead the MCAT really requires things like psychology and sociology, as well as advanced critical writing skills that many, uh, pretty much don’t have time to put into their schedule. So this is a great chance to do a preview since it’s not required to get in, but it is required on the emissions test, or this is a great chance.

To explore a science that you don’t have at your high school. Anatomy and physiology is a great one to do because you will need to see this at multiple levels to do well, not just in college, but in medical school. Another opportunity is paid work. Again, colleges, you know, as long as you’re taking full advantage of your opportunity, if you can’t afford to take a summer off to do something fun.

That is very understandable. What, you know, I would advise in paid work is looking for things that you can show leadership and growth. So for example, I worked with a young lady who, you know, started off as a hostess and then trained to be a waitress and trained other people. To be, uh, hostesses that showed leadership and that helped her get into a lot of colleges with scholarships.

She, um, also, when you’re looking for paid work, one thing you want to look for is do your college, uh, does your job have tuition reimbursement in the field you’re interested in? So, for example, some like. Um, target only offer tuition reimbursement for people going into business. Some like, for example, like Burger King, offer it from, you know, most places.

Um, and some colleges offer scholarships as well, both. Through National Merit for their employees, but also you know, their own internal scholarships. So if you, when you’re looking for that, you want to look for something that will reimburse tuition and will, and that could even pay for a community college class if it’s not free.

Um, or, uh, some and something that you can continue at college so that way you can get that tuition reimbursed at college because you have to be continuously working there. Another note to backtrack on community college, uh, I mean on the classes you can also take things like Ed ets, which are free online classes.

You do have to pay for a certificate, but you do get up to five classes a year. That have, um, you know, 80% off. So you’ll be getting something like $150, class for $30. So, you know if that is inside your budget range. And especially if they have something that is, you know, this in is the case where it’s taught by the university, um, they actually will be more likely to consider it, especially if you’re interested in a certain field.

Like computer science, for example, um, that maybe you don’t have at your high school. Like Harvard’s edits, computer science as well as MITs are phenomenal introductions. You can, you know, intern, uh, internships are an opportunities as well. Leverage your networks completely. Plenty of students get a start by interning at, you know, family, friends, business.

Um, opportune volunteering is another great opportunity, especially if you’re pre-med. A lot of pre-meds come to me and say like, Hey, how do I get shadowing opportunities? And if you don’t know someone. Personally, and you don’t have a high school that knows someone very well, that can be hard. But what you can do is, you know, shadow and sorry, volunteer at a local hospital, nursing home, et cetera, and then you won’t be able to shadow on shift.

But after the shift, you’ll often, you know, you’ll make connections with those physicians and get the chance to do that. And they get you the chance to explore other allied health professional professions. ’cause many people think they want to be pre-med, for example. And then after shadowing, they’re like, oh, I don’t wanna be premed.

I want to be, you know, I want to go into pharmacy, or I want to go into physical therapy. And you can do things like camps to hone your skills like we were talking about, um, you know, arts programs locally and, you know, through, uh, throughout the region. Um, and then research is huge, especially if you’re interested in a science field, getting the chance to work with a professor and produce original research in your original writing.

We will help you get into college and we’ll help you excel into college. That is one of the cases where a more expensive opportunity, if you actually will get to produce research, it’s going to be very valuable. You can also, you know. Uh, try to do this for example too, for things like pre-law and the like.

Other ways to do this are just to cold email professors at your local university, uh, and community college. But many times community college professors are not, um, they don’t have the time in their schedule to put out as much research and supervise someone, but you know, at your low it could be like, for example.

A branch college of like, you know. A smaller UMass, for example, that is in your hometown, that you can have the chance to work a science. Other opportunities, you know, there’s international opportunities. This can be great for language learning or exploring other country cultures, um, which you can talk about your applications.

We are, we just address shadowing. So when do you wanna start thinking about opportunity? Summer opportunities? All of you are right on track. You really wanna start researching opportunities, you know, over a winter break. If you’re, if you’re thinking about net, you know, what, what’s my plan for next year?

But for now, you really want to, you know, research your opportunities and come up with a list in the next week or two. And you really want, if you’re applying to something selective, this can even be like a more selective volunteer program, which is a great opportunity if it’s going to allow you to gain leadership and recognition throughout.

Like I volunteered at my aquarium through a, you know, team volunteer program and it let me volunteer there for years over the summer and a little bit during the school year, I was able to, you know, receive recognition for that work. Grow an advancement and, you know, ended up getting over 600 hours by graduation.

So things like that show continuity, which is what volun, uh, colleges are looking for. And so, and you want to make sure that you have a backup for, for example, if you are applying to maybe more prestigious programs, but your backup is the community college classes you want to look like, like you start that registration process because often it will require you to take a, like, not admissions test, but a test showing that you are at the level for those classes.

Um. And you don’t want to let that pass you by while you’re waiting for something else. And really, when you’re looking at your summer, you want to consider the program dates and what are your existing obligations, obligations ahead of time, and b, realistic. For example, if. You are, you know, competing for a, a competitor in activity that may be over the summer, like debate nationals.

You want to make sure that. You Bo you know, if you have, if you think you even have the chance, you’re going to nationals, you have that blocked off because otherwise it is, you know, you don’t wanna build your schedule on something and then get that amazing opportunity and now your summer schedule is destroyed.

Um. You know, similarly, if you have, you know, work obligations that you know you need to work this many hours during the summer, um, especially if you’re trying to save up for college application fees, you know, doing something local that you can, that you can, you know, paste the time together, um, it could be really important.

And don’t forget to consider. Family obligations. High school is one of the few times that you’re going to, especially if you’re doing things over the summer in college that may be in a completely different city from both where you live and where you go to school. High school is some of the few times that you have to travel with your family, and you really want to make the most of that.

Um. You know, and that’s also something that you can talk about in your applications. For example, you know, if you have family abroad and going back home, you know, is gonna take four weeks out of the summer. So. You know, don’t be, you know that, that your experience is going to be something you can talk about in your applications and you can maybe do something like volunteering before and afterwards.

If you are going back to a place that may or may not have great internet, don’t sign up for online opportunities, um, because you never know what could happen. I’ve had students that, you know, thought they could get a summer class out of the way that way, and then they. Ended up failing the class because they couldn’t finish the coursework due to internet.

Uh, so we actually have our own internal search tools. So if you aren’t a member of CollegeAdvisor, this is a great sign to become one. Um, your advisors can also help you find college opportunities and talk with you about areas that these opportunities can help strengthen your application. There’s also programs like Team Life that produce guides to summer opportunities.

Don’t be afraid to just Google and to start refin, you know, going broad and then refining, um, especially if you’re looking for something local, like a volunteer, looking at school counselors, um, looking at organizations that you like in the community. So for example, you might Google like. The hospital in your area or the art museum in your area or something like that, or Google, like for example, are there tech camps for kids that you could volunteer or even potentially work at?

Uh, and oftentimes library and community center bulletin boards are great and librarians are your friends. They love to help research. Um. And so don’t be afraid to go to ask them if they have any guides, and oftentimes they’ll help you find something. So when you’re looking at some are some, some are opportunities better than others.

The first thing. Is the considering how it fits into your application and what you want your application to convey and any unique needs of your application. So you know, some of these priorities, this is just a randomized list, but for example, if you need to strengthen. Educational opportunities on your application, either due to difficulties early on with grades or just, you know, your school didn’t prepare you for something.

That should be the first one. If you know, for example, you are wanting to send a creative art supplement to college, like you want to send a music supplement, you want to send an art portfolio, you wanna send a creative writing portfolio. You know, the chance shall I find those skills. Should all, should be one of your biggest priorities, especially if you don’t have, you know, those opportunities where you are, you know, or, and especially if you’re applying to for something like a conservatory or, or like, you know, an arts school.

Um, or that wants to be a huge focus of your education. You know, obviously not applying for Julliard, obviously that is what he spent his summers doing was, you know, trying to go to music festivals, going to camps, things like that. You also want to look for exposure to hands-on activities in your field.

You know, if you’re doing something for, for example, you’re really interested in education, there’s a lot of programs out there that are pre-teaching programs, many of which are free. It will expose you to that field and make sure one, that you actually like it. Um, and two. That you have a strong, you know, background in it when you enter college, any time you can produce original work, whether that’s research, art, and, you know, and make your own impact on the community, you know, and things like, you know.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, uh, this is a great time to create your final projects. Um, you know, and that is a huge mark on the community, um, that is something you should, you know, really consider. You also want to look at how it fits into your overall application for, you know, earlier on. You know, going into the ninth grade, going into the 10th grade, even going into the 11th grade, you know, exploring new things is amazing.

But go, you know, if you are going into the 12th grade, you really. Want to, if at all possible, try to, uh, do activities that continue the narrative of your application. And if it’s something completely new and outta left field, you want, you know, if this is a pivot, maybe you are always interested in computer science.

And then you realized like you wanted to integrate that into like, you know, a certain type of, you know. Working on creating like coding systems for educators. So now you want to do something with education or you doesn’t wanna change completely. That can be a great time to do something new. Sorry, I am looking around.

My cats have just kind, this is parkour time. Um, for reasons only catch snow. Um. So also looking at the chance to do leadership. So, you know, you went weigh, do I wanna try something new or do I want to be, have the chance to build on something I’ve already done? So for example, did I, was I a camper and then a counselor and now I’m going to be a senior counselor?

Um, you know, that would be a reason to do something new. Um,

also. You know, cost is, you know, is not something to be discounted. Um, because that, especially if you’re going into your senior year, college applications are expensive. Turing schools is expensive. So you really want to think, you know, is this worth that extra money? You know, so when I was in high school, going into my senior year.

I went, you know, huge part of my application was debate and I considered going to a new debate camp that would give me more experience, but I was able to like, because of how well I was doing at that camp, the, like the next year they were like, we’re gonna give you 50% off. And that covered a lot of application fees.

So we took that, um. And then you also want ways to deepen your own self-awareness. Colleges really want to see that you know who you are, what you want outta school, and how you’re going to grow and change while we’re, while, while retaining that core identity. So, and just to say it again, just because an opportunity is located at a university, do not assume it’s connected to that university, or they’ll give you an edge.

Ways that you can showcase them, you know, definitely put them on the activities list for, you know, especially our younger underclassmen, the way it works on the common app there, there are other application systems, especially like the ucs have their own, but on the common app you have 10. Spots for extracurriculars, and you often, and you only have a hundred characters, um, so you don’t have a lot of room on this list, which is why making sure that you have act, that you, your depth of an activity is more important than the breadth of activities and, and you real, um, you know, so you can include those on the list, especially, you know, if it’s something that, for example.

You can link to another opportunity, or if it was a, you know, like a competitive tournament, a concert festival, et cetera. You can also address them in your primary and supple and supplementary, uh, essays. So again, for our younger underclassmen, you have one, uh, primary essay for common app. And it’s about 650 words.

That’s about two pages, double spaced. And then every school will have, uh, not every school, but most schools have their own internal essays as well. For ucs, they have. Four essays, so 300 words each. Uh, so whichever one or both that you’re applying to, you want to, this can be a great place to address them and build on activities, uh, you know, and link them to activities you’re already doing.

Especially make, if you are exploring an, an interest that is not represented where you’re from. And you wanted to, and maybe if they aren’t, you know, the primary focus of those essays, you can connect them to that overarching threat, you know, so mentioning, for example, you know. Like shadowing, volunteering, et cetera, all when talking about your medical interest.

Um, you also will be getting one letter from your counselor. This is more to talk about the structure of the school as a whole and you know, what opportunities are valuable there, graduation rates, et cetera, but you. If it’s something that’s through the school, you can always ask, uh, them to address it. You can always also, if the teacher has, uh, you get two from a teacher.

Um, and if you are, you know, if you know that you wanna go into a stem, one of those needs to be from science, from humanities. One of those needs to be English. And you know, you could say. You know, like let’s say you did like a history competition over the summer or worked on like at a student who worked on a World War ii, um, uh, Memorial Plaque.

That’s something that, you know, as you talk about with your teacher, they could even include, and you can always give them what’s called a brag sheet. Of that can be longer than your actual resume. Um, and additionally, if you have an, a activity or part of your application that you, you want to be very strategic if you do this or not.

That is not what, that, you know, your, your other letters cannot convey. That can be something for it to be conveyed there as well. So like, you know. If someone’s trying to be a recruited athlete, obviously a letter from their coach, uh, their coach. If you’re applying to a music program, an art program like those, or dance program, those instructors as well can be places that you draw upon that.

You, how do you set yourself up for success? Research early. This is going to become your mantra throughout college research, research, research, and do it early. You wanna apply for several opportunities to make sure that you get, you know, the greatest chance you want to look at how the dates are interacting with other obligations and be realistic.

You know, talk to your parents early and throughout the process. Um, and this is really important throughout the whole college application process. You know, most parents don’t wanna burden their children with knowing how much things cost, but you know, oftentimes those discussions are left. To the, uh, till it’s too late for there to, you know, really be a plan, opportun a discussion, a and you can’t do any opportunity because the ones you’re interested in aren’t, you know, within the budget.

So if you have that conversation. Early in our realistic, uh, that is something that will really help you and it’s definitely something you wanna do with college. So that way, you know, okay, if I get into my dream school, I need to find X amount of scholarships to make up the difference. And you can always combine several app opportunities if one, if you don’t have one long opportunity, for example, maybe you have like, you know, you’re gonna be going to, like, debate nationals is gonna be in the middle of your summer.

So you might, uh, you know, doing something throughout the summer is gonna be impossible. But you could, you know, you can’t do a summer class. But what you could do is, do you know. Volunteering at the beginning and the middle. I mean beginning and the end. Or you might, you know, work on your own language skills in a like, self-paced online class.

And the main thing is to remember with this is that you’re judged in your context. So they’re going to look at, did you take, uh, you know, have we, you know, the most opportunities are valuable to you that fit the, the theme of your application in, you know. That a human being can reasonably do with while still being a human being over the summer and that, you know, was in your area and that you could afford.

So do not. You know, I think a lot of times it’s very easy to compare yourself to others, especially in this age where you can see, you know, what students across the country are doing to get into college and feel like you are not enough. No one is expecting you to do something that you don’t have access to.

Anesha: Okay. Thank you so much, Theodore, for a great presentation and for those helpful reminders. We are gonna move over into the q and a portion of tonight’s section Before we get started, just a few reminders there. Um, so if you have logged in, uh, through, uh, sorry. Just double check that you have logged in and joined the webinar through your custom link that you received in your email and not from the CollegeAdvisor webinar landing page, you might have to log out, log back in as that way will not allow you to submit.

Questions, uh, the way that the questions will work, you can go ahead and drop it in the q and a. I will read it aloud to, uh, provide Theodore an opportunity to respond to it and also publish it in the public chat so that others can read it. Alright, so, uh, we’re gonna transition. I did, uh, have a. Question picked out for you beforehand.

Um, so, uh, you mentioned kind of the, the strategy of, of stringing together, um, multiple shorter activities, but someone asked via the registration, is it better to commit to one meaningful summer opportunity or to try multiple, shorter experiences? Not necessarily for I guess the, the strategy of it, but should they be looking for longer or shorter opportunities, I think is where it’s.

Theodore: I think it really depends on you and what your interests are and what you’re looking for. For example, if you are looking for something, you know, that you really want to, you know, if you know that your big focus is going to be like a volunteer program is a huge part, part of your opportunity, uh, um, you know, your application that you’re doing longitudinally.

You’re not going to be a, you might not be able to do, you know, an eight week summer program across the country for one summer because you have this commitment every summer ver you know, o um, you know, uh, and, you know, flip side of maybe you have not gotten the opportunity to explore outside of your community and you get this opportunity, you know, it, it might be worth not doing it.

You know, some of the other things that you normally do. But I would say that, you know, it really depends on what your priorities are. This, that summer, so like the summer after my sophomore year, I knew my priority was getting, you know, some of those credits out of the way and getting to take higher maths.

So I took statistics and I took art history and I think I took, uh, um, that summer and, you know, that meant, you know, even though it was. You know, basically the first half of the day was going to be filled that summer. So then the, you know, the rest of the summer, I, you know, I was able to continue volunteering and I could, you know, uh, go to debate camp before that started.

But that was something that I knew for me, I wanted that summer to be built around. So I would say that, you know, figure out what your top priority is and build around it. Because, you know, the se you know, the summer after that I had the opportunity to go to debate nationals, that was going to be my biggest priority.

And I also got into a program for a two week program to study, uh, to do a cultural exchange in Taiwan. And then my host student came back to me for a two weeks. So at that point, you know, that was my big, those two things were my biggest priority and everything else did not matter. And so you just wanna figure out what are those strategies and to see if a bigger program, like a long, longer class versus, you know, two or three shorter programs you really care about.

I would also say the last thing on that too, um, if your application is lacking in longitudinal activities, that would be your biggest focus is something that. Gives you a longer opportunity and that you can continue on later.

Anesha: Okay. Uh, I’m gonna interject really quickly to, for two things. So folks are asking us, where can you find summer programs?

Um, I think I would reference you back to one of the slides on Theo’s, uh, presentation around where you could look for some programs that also drop in Teen life, uh, which is the key resources that CollegeAdvisor uses. Um, so if folks are asking where we don’t have any additional resources, those are the sources to start looking and to identify the resources that you’re interested in.

Um, the second thing I’ll ask folks not to do is submit questions regarding specific programs. We have not heard of all of the programs. Uh, we will not have a take on every program. Um, so again, it’s really gonna be up to you, and then we would encourage you to take that to an advisor. All right. Those are my two kind of PSAs before we jump back into the question.

Uh, someone asked, and I’m not sure if you covered this, so, uh, if it, if it’s a quick answer, that’s fine. Um, someone said, at which grade should you start looking for summer opportunities

Theodore: before? Uh, like the earlier the better. Like no one is too young to do it in this call.

Anesha: Okay. Alright. Um, then someone asked, are free summer opportunities viewed as more prestigious than paid opportunities?

Generally speaking.

Theodore: It, it depends on the category. There’s no, you know, like, uh, it, it really depends on the category and for what, and the level of competitiveness. I cannot unfortunately give you solid advice on that.

Anesha: Yeah. Um, no, that’s a fair one. Um, someone was asking about specifically doing research projects, and they’re curious if the summer after junior year is too late.

Theodore: No, it is not too late.

Anesha: I think it, for some, depending on the type of research you wanna do, it probably is the earliest that you can do, depending on your age. Exactly. For some research opportunities, you have to be at least 16, um, especially if they’re away from home. So also keep that in mind. Um, okay. So asked if you could rank the summer programs in terms of what is best for student.

Between research, international pay to play, um, so some of those more international procedures, programs, uh, volunteering, shadowing, how would you rank them? Do you have a ranking, I guess for.

Theodore: Again, this really depends on your application and what you want out of the application. I will say that when you’re looking at intra like, it, like again, when you’re looking at, you know, paid summer programs or like a week or less, um, you know, are not gonna be viewed as highly as like, for example, an educational opportunity that’s more longitudinal, that you actually get a course credit at the end of it with educational.

Do I get a certificate or course credit course credit being viewed higher, especially if it’s can be transferred to your high school and elevate your GPA. The other thing I would say when you’re doing volunteer things is, can I continue doing this or is a longitudinal throughout the entire summer? And if you’re going internationally for volunteering, is this working with the community or just coming in as an outside org is viewed less favorably.

Anesha: Okay. Uh, all right. I’m gonna, oh, I wanted to add just to that, that I think in as far as ranking to your point, that it depends on the application that you’re getting ready for. I would just say, I, I would advise that if you’re planning to do pre-med or engineering, Hmm. That, like, you should definitely do a hands-on project, I think regardless of if it’s paid to play or what have you.

Um, getting an opportunity to do hands-on research, work exposure, a class. I had a student who. Went to a cadaver farm, which is weird, but I think also a great opportunity to understand if you’re prepared to be, do pre-medicine or things like that. So I think any kind of opportunity that gives you a little bit of hands-on exposure, particularly for pre-med and engineering, I would strongly say yes, pursue.

Theodore: And I would also say that they want to see that if you’re doing pre-med or engineering, especially if you’re interested in the md um, and in the B in the BSMD programs, that you really want to have direct medical experience. So either shadowing or volunteering. A medical context where you got to have direct medical exposure.

Anesha: Yes. Um, agreed. Okay. Uh, I’m gonna do, uh, I take a pause to do a quick PSA about CollegeAdvisor and then we’ll jump back into the questions. Um, so for folks who are not currently working with us, we know how overwhelming the. Process can be. CollegeAdvisor has a team of over 300 format admissions officers and admissions experts who are ready to help you and your family navigate the college admissions process in one-on-one advising sessions.

And as they editing through our digital platform, CollegeAdvisor has had 10,000 total lifetime clients and a 4.8 out of five rating on Trustpilot with over 750 reviews. After analyzing our 2023 through 2025 data, we found that clients working with CollegeAdvisor who have a strong academic. A testing record are 2.6 times more likely, uh, to get into an Ivy League school around three times more likely to get into a top 20 college and around five times more likely to get into Johns Hopkins, UCLA and NYU when compared to national acceptance rates.

Increase your odds and take the next step in your college admissions journey by signing up for a free 60 minute strategy session with an admission specialist on our team by using the QR code that’s on the screen. During that strategy session, you’ll receive a preliminary assessment of your academic profile and initial recommendations on how you can stand out.

By the end, you’ll also learn about CollegeAdvisors premium packages that will allow you to be paired with an expert who can support you in building your college list, editing your essays, and much more. We’re here for the whole process. To that end, we also. Support students thoughtfully with summer program applications, um, before their college applications start.

Um, so just keeping that in mind, um, that we are, uh, somewhat full service, uh, when it comes to application support. Okay. Getting back into our questions, uh, leaving the QR code up there on the screen, someone said, um, oh. Uh, asking a question, I guess, about time management, someone asked, how can student athletes balance training competitions and meaningful summer experiences, especially when some of their summer has to be given over to athletics?

Theodore: Great question. I would say that if you plan to be a recruited athlete, like then your athletics should be. Your first priority when building that. Um, and doing things like volunteering or when you can design the schedule when it’s not like a, you have to do 12 hours a week, but a, you know, you can approach, you know, for example, a local museum that you are interested in and say like, Hey, do you need help with an office volunteer?

You know, I could do three hours a week. Uh, and same with, you know, maybe. You know, finding a shadowing program. Or something like that, that would be, that you can do on your time. You know, also online programs are a great resource for that. Uh, if you know that your training season is going to leave, you know, say the second half of the summer fall, but not the first half, trying to find, you know, one or two week local programs or even, you know, a month long local program for the first half, many times like.

Camps and even like community college classes are only six weeks. So that’s something that you can look to as well. Especially maybe you’re volunteering at like a summer camp, you know, and you can only do for the first half of the summer. So that is something to consider for sure. I would also talk to other student athletes at your high school because chances are, you know, especially if maybe other students are, and this in general, don’t be afraid to talk to your peers.

You know, I, you know, I know people are afraid, oh, that, you know, we’re competition, et cetera. It. Yes, but only to a very small degree. They are not em admitting only, you know, like we were picking one student from each high school in like a hunger game style like competition. Um, uh, you know, I, I think somehow in my high school we all thought that, so we all applied to different elite co colleges for the like 10 kids that were determined to get outta state, uh, uh, be it hell or high water.

But that is not the case. Um, and that was very silly thinking. Um, so. You know, but I joke that I only got into college because I sat next to Melin Meisenheimer and all of my classes and Mayland’s parents, one was a doctor, one was a professor, and they knew exactly what she needed to do and would tell her and she would whine about it quite loudly.

Um, and I would, whenever Melin whined about me to do, do something, I would just make a note. Need to look this up. ’cause my parents, you know. We’re older and both only went, they got, went to the first state school they got into, so they had no idea how to help me. Um, and so it, it worked. Melin got into Princeton as a recruited swimmer and I, by copying strategies, got into Harvard.

So, talk to each other, especially if you’re in a similar situation because other PE and especially if it’s someone a year older, or two older than you on the team. Yeah, they, they’ve had to build their summer around your exact schedule before. I would also say this is slightly off subject for, but for students that are hoping to play sports or do another very time intensive.

Opportunity in college and are interested in a time intensive major like pre-med engineering, et cetera. When you’re looking at colleges, talk to team members or whoever’s in that program if it’s another more intensive program, and make sure you actually can accomplish your academic dreams while continuing that AC activity in college and really have a heart to heart with yourself.

About whether or not that strategy is that meaningful to you? Um, because a, you know, a lot of people go in pre-med and they don’t have the time to do all the requirements. For example, while they’re playing, you know, varsity football.

Anesha: Okay. All right. Um, I know you said this, I think you said it implicitly, so I’ll ask you to state it explicitly.

Someone asked, is taking a summer program at your quote unquote Dream college, increase your rate of getting accepted into.

No. Is the answer. Okay. No, it does not. Um, especially those programs are for-profit programs for the college. They’re not necessarily a feeder program. Okay. Um, someone asked if we have to choose between essentially a team program or an individual program, something that would boost their profile, which would be better from an admissions perspective, something that they’re doing with the team or something that they would be doing on their own.

And both of these programs or contexts are happening during the same week for the student in the summer.

Theodore: Okay. So I think it really depends on what your application, but I’ll give some help in what I would decide is one, are you looking into going into a field where leadership and to like, one, do you have leadership experience?

Because in a team activity, you’re more likely to build that leadership experience, even if you’re not the team leader. You can talk about, you know. Guiding other people on the team. The second. Um, so it, like, if you don’t, and I would pre prefer team. Um, the second is, are you going into a field where teamwork is really important?

And sometimes you don’t realize it is, but like medicine, they, you know, they really value teamwork experiences, you know? And then third, you know. Which of of these activities excites you the most? Because if the first two are pretty much equal and you already have a lot of teamwork and leadership, just whichever one is making you the most excited is the one that you’re going to be able to write about the best and that you will actually have a good time doing.

Anesha: Okay. Yeah. Um, I default to team just off the top of my head. I feel like team, regardless of major is always the, the thing to show that you can work alongside with others. But I, I think that’s a fair point. Um, okay. My next question for you, someone asked, can online or virtual programs still be as impactful on an application?

Theodore: I would prefer in person because you get to meet pers and people from all different walks of life and build. Teamwork, leadership, et cetera, and be changed by their perspectives and vice versa. But if you don’t have it, like this is like online can still be incredibly impactful and, and don’t feel like you have to break the bank just to do this.

Anesha: Yeah. I think if you’re in a. Uh, a, a, a state where there may not be as many programs, um, or even just a rural student, that you can have some flexibility there with what you pursue and not kind of go out of Yeah. To the point not breaking break. Um,

Theodore: yeah. Or even if it’s just there isn’t something quite in your area and you’re a low income student that’s staying, you know, an hour away just is not an opportunity.

Yeah.

Anesha: Um, someone asked, oh, to the point of, of, of the, the strength, or it depends on your application, someone asked how do admissions officer view summer experiences that might be unrelated to, to the intended major?

Theodore: So I don’t think it has to be related to your major to be part of. Identity. So, for example, I’m tutor.

I am helping a student apply who is pre-med, but a huge part of his application is how his, uh, dedication to music and art shape, how he views medica uh, uh, medicine. So even though they’re not traditionally related, they very much are. And I think especially if you’re applying to, like a lot of schools actually look for that in their students.

So like one of my college roommates, um, at Harvard was a math major who directed the home, the student run homeless shelter and was a ballet dancer. Another was, you know, going into astrophysics and a crisis counselor. And you know, also did like cross country scheme, you know, so none of those are traditionally part of that, but they could fit it all in.

In talking about how it shaped them, it shaped who they are.

Anesha: Yeah. I’ve had students who also have talked about trying different things over the summers to realize, to get to their major. So like I did a lot of these things because. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and ultimately by doing them I figured it out.

But, um. Okay. Uh, we’ve talked about students with limited opportunities. Um, someone, a parent asks, how can parents support the summer planning process without taking it over?

Theodore: Yeah. So I think one thing you can help is asking your child a lot of questions. You know, like, what is important to you? What are your goals?

You know, you know, when I’m looking at your application, I notice you feel, it seems like you are really strong in it. How do you feel about that? Or, you know. Do you think you have enough leadership o opportunities and then, you know, helping them research within their areas And, you know, I, the tendency to, I’m a parent too, I get it.

The tendency to just give it to them, uh, so much easier and saves everyone time. But that’s not helpful when they get to college. So, you know, saying, Hey, why don’t you look on Teen Life and see, you know, and maybe find three opportunities in this category that we came up together. And then we can look at, you know, which one fits for you?

Anesha: Um, uh, let me see. Sorry, we’re coming down to the bottom of questions. Oh, I guess, uh, I think you spoke to this, but I’ll ask it again. Someone asked, do colleges expect expect students to do something, quote unquote academic every summer?

Theodore: No.

Anesha: All right. Um, you answered that. Oh, is there a way for students to make local or low cost summer opportunities seem more competitive,

Theodore: do your very best, and it’s selling them. You know, um, really try to seek out, you know, ways to grow beyond that. Try to build relationships with whoever’s running that, be it faculty, program directors, et cetera.

Uh, and also there is a spot on your application where you can say what, you know, were there any barriers in your application? And you can talk about that. Like I, you know. My family could only afford X, Y, Z or especially, you know, every admissions officer is not going to be familiar with every town in their area.

So you might wanna say like, I live a hundred miles from a city, you know? Um, so I pieced together with what I had and they’re going to understand that sort of thing.

Anesha: Um, thank you. Someone asked, what role do recommendations. Or supervisors from some experiences play in admissions. Do they, do they have an impact?

Theodore: I would, colleges really don’t want you to send it that, that third additional letter, unless there’s a strong reason to, you know, like if it’s something that’s. Related to your application highly and cannot be conveyed by those school letters, then yes, they want it, but only do it if it’s in that category.

And I think this may be especially true for people who have less opportunities or if you produce like, um, original research, if it’s, you know, you’re planning on pursuing a very high level activity at that college. Mm-hmm.

Anesha: Someone asked, um, can you get credit for doing summer activities? I’m assuming they mean course credit or, or college credit

Theodore: if your high school accepts the transfer.

So you can get high school credit and then college credit. I would say, again, look up if the colleges accept your transfer. That’s a very valid thing to want. Um, most of the Ivys will not, but you could place out of some intro classes, which you might think, oh, it’ll be harder. No, the big intro classes are almost weed out and you don’t have a lot of in individual attention.

So if you, for example, get into a. More advanced language, that can be very helpful as long as you’re act, you know, you’re honest, you’re with yourself during the transfer period that I, I need to drop down, you know? Um, I would also, that, I would say in that way, but you know, a lot of state universities will accept.

Transfers, especially if it’s within their system. Mm-hmm. So you know, really looking up which community college classes they accept to transfer and those don’t overlap with something you’re already doing through APS IBS dual credit.

Anesha: All right. We will have to leave it there. Um, on that particular note, thank you everybody for coming out tonight.

Thank you, Theodore, for sharing your wisdom and experiences. We hope you gained some insights into some opportunities that will help you build and shaping your candidate profile. We’ll, you join us for our future webinars, but until next time, take care and enjoy the rest of your day everybody.

Theodore: Thank you everyone for attending.

You’re doing great work by researching.