How to Write for Summer Programs?

by Albert L.

As the application season is nearing its end for most schools, I want to congratulate this year’s seniors for going through the gauntlet of essay writing. It’s been a pleasure guiding our EssayNarwhals with writing and story principles to show the diversity in values and experiences I know many colleges will deeply connect with.

But as one class’s college application journey is about to end, another is about to begin. Current sophomores and juniors are in the middle of school, most likely steeped in AP classes and studying for SATs. Although it might seem like college apps are months away, now is a crucial time to start thinking about your summer plans. With many summer programs now accepting applications with summer essays, it’s important to think about how you want to utilize your summer.

So, what are the steps?

First, do some deep reflections about your interests. Summer is a time to explore beyond the confines of classes. You don’t have to commit to anything, but for your own sanity and personal growth, find what your potential passions could be and explore. From leadership camps to STEM programs, writing retreats, language immersion programs, there are a whole host of opportunities for you to explore.

This is a chance to really dig into new subject areas, meet professors and professionals in the field, and network with a new cohort of friends with interests outside of school.

If you’ve taken a few introductory programming classes, summer may be the chance to take part in an AI summer session where you can build your own chatbot. If you love writing up labs, maybe you want to venture into the unknown by delving into research. Or maybe you’ve already done a lot of robotics work at school already, and so maybe you want to learn more about sustainable technologies. There’s probably a program for that.

Second, once you’ve chosen an area, make sure you do the research about the types of programs that are out there. Each program will have its own requirements and competition. Some might require you to stay on campus far away from home, some might be quite expensive, some might be free, some might even pay you a stipend for attending based on the work you do.

If you need more directed guidance, IvyBoost’s counselors offer both counseling service packages as well as one-time consultations to help keep you on track and help find activities and programs that can enrich your summers.

Third, tackle the essays for the summer applications. For many students, this will be the first time they’ll have to actually write about themselves. This will be a completely foreign experience and many students’ first instincts will be to rewrite the prompt in the most uninspiring and generic way.

There are generally two types of common questions in these applications.

The interest essay – This essay will be more tailored around the specific program and subject. To approach this essay, I would talk to specifics about where your inspirations to explore this interest came from. Focus on how your experience in the subject drew you to find the initiative to explore these concepts in greater detail.

Whenever you can, choose action and specific activities you’ve accomplished over vague aspirations. As you’re still in high school, many of these schools don’t expect you to have a whole lot of experience, but even the smallest experiences can be transferable.

For example, one of my students wanted to get into engineering. She could have said the same thing almost anything else would by saying she wanted to solve problems, but instead I pushed her to think about how she’s already done so. She decided to talk about how she spent a summer trying to design and build a birdhouse from scratch.

The personal statement – This essay is more open-ended and will probably ask more about anything about your life that shows something interesting or unique about you. In some schools, this might include your interest, but if an application requires you to do both, you want to show an aspect about your values that goes beyond your transcript.

So instead of repeating that you might want to be a doctor some day and that’s why you want to join the oncology summer program, I instead diverted one of my students to talk about how she made the tough decision to move in with her grandmother who lived near a more STEM focused school. But beyond what she learned in classes, she discovered how much she missed her family. But she also found the importance of family by learning to advocate for her grandmother who spoke limited English when the power went out.

But this is just the tip of the icebergs. To really give your summer school applications that extra level of polish, our essay mentors at IvyBoost would be more than happy to guide you through the process of composing that fantastic essay. From brainstorming the right idea, to executing that emotionally raw story, don’t take these apps for granted.

The future version of you who is mentally stimulated by enrichening activities and learning will thank you.

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