2020 has been no normal year. And while we’re all ready to be done with it, it’s proving challenging to plan a different future. A lot of kids might be wondering what their options are for summer 2021. We always encourage students to plan well in advance, to get a leg up on competitive summer programs, and secure good jobs and internships. Our advice for summer 2021 is as unusual as the year itself: while we do recommend getting a head start (more on that below) you’ve got to be a little flexible, too.
Summer Programs
We often encourage our students to apply to rigorous summer programs, usually in a field in which they’ve demonstrated interest throughout high school. We generally tell kids to aim high—only choose the most competitive programs. These should be challenging courses relevant to the academic niche you’ve been carving out. In-person summer programs are in question as of now. There’s a chance that with the introduction of the vaccine, they’ll proceed as normal without much modification, but it’s too early to tell. Some schools might be preemptively offering remote classes. We realize that if the world does return to normal, you might not want to be locked into yet another Zoom semester. So, we recommend you apply for summer programs (again, only programs at competitive schools) and be prepared for them not to happen.
Honing in on Your Field
Given the unknown elements, you’re going to need to be self-reliant. The pre-programmed stuff might not happen and you might not know it’s not happening until it’s too late. You don’t want to be without summer plans next year in the event we’re not out of the pandemic yet, so, we recommend creating your own adventure. The first thing to do is to hone in on your academic area of interest. As mentioned above, you should’ve been cultivating one, very specific academic trajectory for yourself these last few years. Perhaps you’re headed for a career in marine biology or maybe you’ve been focused on American politics. Make sure you’re very clear on your area of interest.
Alternative Options
Now that you’ve identified your academic niche, have a brainstorming session. Write down all of the opportunities you might have for summer within your field. The first and obvious choice is a summer class. But perhaps there are other, more creative options too. We recommend avoiding pre-packaged internships in general. They usually involve high schoolers getting coffee. You don’t want to do that. The purpose of your summer should be to show that you worked hard in your specific field and learned something.
Creating Opportunities
Instead, think of the companies in your hometown. Let’s say you’re focused on political communications. Is there a political consultant in town who advises local or state-level candidates? Let’s say you’re interested in veterinary medicine, is there a well-respected vet in town whom you might work with? Keep these ideas on the list. What about jobs? Jobs are perfectly respectable summer activities. We routinely encourage our students to get paying summer jobs. Colleges will understand that you needed to make a living and you worked hard doing it. After internships and jobs, think about an entirely self-generated category. Let’s say you’re a future entrepreneur, what business ideas have you been circulating in your head? This might be the perfect summer to go ahead and launch. Start thinking of a business plan and how you might execute it in this environment. Next you should consider research opportunities, ideally with professors who work at universities near where you live. Reach out and establish a connection. For all of these opportunities, think about how you might make them work both if the world opens back up and if it doesn’t. So, let’s say you’d like to be a research assistant with a professor. Have a conversation and see if you can propose both an in-person plan and a remote plan should the in-person not work out.
The key to 2021 is going to be having multiple options and being self-motivated. So, plan out at least 2-3 viable opportunities for yourself. Schools will be impressed by your tenacity and ability to self-start in a challenging year.
Need some help coming up with a summer plan? Call us. We’re great at helping students continue to build impressive resumes in spite of the pandemic’s challenges.