3 (QUICK) Things High School Students Can Do This Summer to Improve Their Extracurricular Profiles

summer activities and extracurriculars that help with college admissions

We all know that extracurriculars impact college admissions. But what if your teen (like most) is already extremely busy?!

Here are three quick (but potentially high impact) things ANY teen can fit in over the summer:

1. Become a Citizen Scientist

Help historians transcribe original documents. Spot rare species using satellite data. Or run water experiments to identify microplastic contamination levels in water bodies near you.

Citizen science projects are crowd-sourced research ranging from hardcore science to history to music and beyond. Research options within your area of academic (or ideally academic + extracurricular) interest. Anyone can participate, including teens.

Keep searching until you find something that connects well with your interests and strengths. There are hundreds of thousands of them. And you can devote hours, days or even weeks to projects.

2. Get Published

There are hundreds of national publications that print the writing, academic work and art of high school students. Publication in media that is well-established, selective and prestigious (read: not your local ad rag) will be a major boon to your college application. 

Here are just a few examples of the many options out there:

  • The New York Times runs dozens of student competitions (including writing, art, photography, podcasting and more);

  • the Harvard Crimson hosts writing contests for students 13-18, whose prizes include internships at this venerable college newspaper;

  • Highly selective literary magazines like Elan Lit, Teen Sequins, Inkspire and Jet Fuel Review solicit contributions from talented teen writers and artists.

This is the tip of the iceberg. Submit great work that you did for a class, or create new work to respond to a prompt. It’s a simple and easy way to show your stuff on a bigger stage. Trust us, this kind of thing counts!

3. Launch a STANDOUT Project

In this ultra-competitive admissions environment, ambitious teens need something to help them STAND OUT. Use summer to launch a project that unites your academic and extracurricular interests and SHOWS what you can bring to a college campus.

Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be. Here are the basics:

  • Pick a theme that reflects your interests and strengths;

  • Pick a medium (e.g. blog, podcast, website)

  • Flesh out a series of topics that relate to your theme

  • Write short posts, or create short podcasts, on those topics

  • Build a social media following to promote your work and link up with other people who share your passion

Colleges are looking for kids who go deep AND who can show that they’ve made an impact on their community. This doesn’t have to mean changing the world. There’s tons of free software out there to help you. Believe it or not, you are better off with a well-planned and authentically executed project than a slick, professional one (that reeks of adult interference).

Summer is THE BEST time to fit in these types of extracurricular fillers. Be strategic. Even small additions can have a BIG impact! We have tons of these types of activities (as well as summer programs, competitions and unique activities) in our Blue Blaze Extracurricular Database. Click here to learn more!

P.S. There are tons of unique and interesting activities in our amazing Extracurricular Database, including quick citizen science projects, competitions, publications and Standout Projects. Click here to learn more and help your teen make the most out of summer!

Betsy Putnam