4 Ideal Summertime Extracurricular Pathways for High School Students

If you're in high school and headed for college down the road, summer offers valuable opportunities you don't want to squander. So, let's explore extracurricular pathways ideal for squeezing rewards from your next summer break!

If you anticipate attending college in the future, you may be cramming a lot of things into your high school schedule each year. When summer arrives, you're ready to take a break from waking up early, class schedules, and homework.

But if you’re thinking about what skillsets you need in order to ace the all-important college application on the horizon, you don’t want to spend the whole summer relaxing at the beach… Balancing your need for rest with some extracurricular activities is a great way to recharge while getting lots of benefits that will help you in high school, college, and beyond.

"Why is this so important that it needs to take up my summer?" I hear you asking. 

Well, having a big chunk of time to hone and develop different strengths and skills will not only benefit you in improving your communication or leadership skills, but it can lead to new opportunities, personal growth, and even new friendships!

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s look at the four most common extracurricular opportunities and the lasting benefits they offer, as we explore exciting adventures in volunteering, summer programs at top schools like Stanford and Columbia University, high-powered summer internships, and even study abroad opportunities...

1. Community Service

You could join a local community group such as doing a beach cleanup with a litter-picking team to improve our environment, help walk dogs at an animal shelter, volunteer with a meal program for the elderly, or any other kind of volunteering related to your interests. 

Typically, community service activities don't cost anything, and you can feel really good knowing that you've done something to help others.

As a teenager this might seem unrewarding, but there are many benefits that come with volunteering, such as increased feelings of confidence and self worth from helping others, building empathy, and personal growth — all of which will also boost your profile when you apply for college.

2. Enrichment Programs

If you have a good chunk of summer available and a bit of cash to put towards this, then you should find the sky’s the limit when it comes to enrichment opportunities that can match your learning interests or help you develop new interests…

A summer program like The Columbia Climate School in the Green Mountains is a great example. This is a two-week immersion in climate change prevention and outdoor action research with researchers at Columbia University. It's for students in grades 9 to 12, but the tuition is north of $6,000.

Study abroad programs can be expensive too, but they also promise adventure, new friendships, personal growth, and cultural enrichment.

Some study abroad programs focus on a specific region, culture, or type of enrichment — such as learning Spanish or studying international relations — and others, such as Pacific Discovery, for one example, offer a menu of destinations and a wide variety of topics.

If a structured academic format is more your thing, many schools offer pre-college academic programs. You can find both in-person and remote options. Even some first-rate schools, like Columbia, Stanford, Harvard and others, offer immersive university programs every summer.

If you want something more relaxed and also inexpensive and close to home, there’s a good chance you can find academic programs for high school students at a local community college or other public university in your community.

3. Passion Projects

Even something as simple as starting a new passion project, such as writing a book, starting a blog, creating works of art, or taking a photography class can show that you’re naturally curious and ready to explore your own creativity. 

You may not have the bandwidth for this kind of creative work during a busy school year, but summertime offers a great opportunity to take joy in something that’s personally meaningful.

Creating a space to enjoy creative work can help you recharge both spiritually and mentally. In fact, creative writing and other artistic endeavors can have health benefits, such as improving our brain health and protecting us against degenerative diseases such as dementia.

There are passion projects for every kind of interest that can help you develop your talents, enhance self-discipline and self-discovery, and highlight your individuality when it comes time to apply to college.

4. Internships

Internships are another way to invest in your personal growth during the summer...

While academic study can help you qualify for different jobs, internships are a great way to get an inside scoop on what really goes on in work settings. 

Getting yourself into an internship is also a great way to put yourself out there and put your best foot forward in the company of industry pros with an eye out for promising future recruits!

You may be thinking, "I'd rather get paid for a job than spend hours doing an internship for little or no pay!"

But consider the virtually priceless benefits of being able to pick the industry you want to explore, make connections with real professionals, and get on-the-job experience that you can align with future college coursework and put on your resume… 

Most summer jobs at the grocery store, library, community swim center, or bakery offer nickels and dimes in comparison to what a meaningful summer internship can offer in terms of growth opportunities and demonstrating college readiness!

When looking for internships, try your best to find one in a field you care about and offering genuine opportunities for training and exploration.

Boost your options by researching organizations that help high school students connect with prominent internship opportunities, such as World Scholars Academy as one example, or The Intern Group. And, SummerApply! is another resource for finding internship programs.

Your Next Steps

We know that extracurriculars are as important as ever in the application process to college, especially when a high school student has eyes on more competitive schools in the US or UK. 

So, it is important that your enthusiasm and abilities to be innovative or think outside the box, along with your self awareness and sense of direction are all exemplified in your application. Taking advantage of summertime to get involved in an extracurricular activity that you truly love is a great way forward! 

Whatever you choose to do over the summer, spend your time wisely. In this way, you are consistently building towards becoming a multi-skilled, diverse individual who stands out from the rest of the crowd. It will shape your future and who you want to become, plus give you an insight into what excites you in life, including what type of career you may want after college.

And there you have it, lots of different ideas on how to spend your summer and the benefits of extracurricular activities. Make your summers full of rewarding experiences!

Don’t forget to visit Summerapply! to explore other exciting summer programs!