Sophia E. 

Girl Reporter

When you think of summer vacation, what comes to mind?  Summer homework, relaxing, staying up and sleeping in.  However, this summer challenge yourself and work on your college application. When it comes to college applications, there are a lot of myths and rumors about what colleges want to see. It can be confirmed that admission officers pay attention to how you utilize your time outside of school. How did you spend it, did you volunteer, enroll in college courses, or study abroad? Admissions officers want to see that you pushed yourself and committed to something during the summer. Ensuring that you have a productive summer vacation will give you a competitive edge for your college application. What they do not want to see is that you have stayed home everyday, binge watching Netflix. So get out there- the time has come to begin thinking about summer plans! There are so many opportunities for you to take advantage of, you just have to find something that interests you. If you’re scouring the internet for interesting summer activities and academic programs to beef up your college applications, look no more – below is a compilation of amazing, local summer programs to help you get started.

• Campus Exploration Day Camp
  • Through this Girl Scout Day Camp, you can explore different college campuses and find one that interests you! This camp will also discuss careers in the technical field. The cost is $125.
  • For more information visit here
• SR Session C: CIT 1
• • Become a leader! Enroll in these courses and learn essential leadership skills that will help you succeed as a camp counselor. You will learn the basics of how to run a program and daily camp processes.
  • For more information visit here

• UCR Summer Academy for Advanced High School Students:
  • From a first hand experience this is an amazing program. With this program, you have the opportunity to earn University credits that appear on your official transcript. Interacting with Undergrads and Grads, exploring the campus, and meeting new faculty are included in your experience with this program. Similar programs to this can be found on the campuses of UCI, UCLA, UCSD, and USC.  Financial aid is available.
  • For More information visit the website at http://summeracademy.ucr.edu/
  • Applications close June 10th.
  • USC : https://summerprograms.usc.edu
  • UCI : https://summer.uci.edu/programs/highschool/
• Kids that Code
• • This programs offers a more modern take on computer programming and game development. The basics of game development is taught with “Engineering with Minecraft”; those enrolled in this class will be able to learn the mechanics behind Minecraft. The next workshop is Game Programing with Scratch, where students are taught fundamental computer programming skills, the methods and formulas they are taught during this workshop are very essential to coding. “Introduction to Electronics with Arduino,” is a workshop that offers a tool, Arduino, to teach the students about programming and the fundamentals of electrical engineering.
  • For more information visit: https://kidsthatcode.org/programs/
• Engineering for Kids Summer Camp
• • This programs brings STEM topics to life with interactive workshops and classes. During these sessions they discuss a handful of topics. Check out their website to learn more:
  • https://www.iclassprov2.com/parentportal/iewest/camps?camptype=13

• For more information on summer programs and to do a little research yourself visit these websites:
  • https://www.teenlife.com/
  • https://www.Fastweb.com/
  • https://www.volunteermatch.org/

Remember, you don’t have to be a part of a program to work on your application. Volunteer within your local community  and log your hours. Work on scholarship essays and apply for grants. Visit your local community center for more information about recreational classes or volunteer opportunities. Get ahead and take summer courses through your school or through a college.

In my experience, doing something productive over the summer is a great way to spend your vacation. When I completed my course at UCR, I felt very accomplished and my summer had been well spent. During my course I got to make more friends and make connections with college students. It definitely kept me busy during my vacation, and I would recommend it to anyone.