Spring has sprung. Summer is coming. That means high school students will have hours of unstructured time. With that comes the opportunity to plan a break that is both restorative and meaningful: a time to rest, explore, contribute, learn, and grow.

Summer can be a time to build experiences that support college applications. But that should not be the only goal—or even the primary one.

The most meaningful summer experiences are usually not the ones designed to “look impressive.” They are the ones rooted in genuine curiosity, responsibility, service, creativity, skill-building, or self-discovery. In other words, summer should be guided by intention and motivation, not by an attempt to socially or academically engineer students into becoming what one might imagine a certain type of college is looking for.

That distinction matters.

A recent Atlantic article (click HERE for a gift link) about Stanford and Silicon Valley culture describes a very specific kind of high-achieving, high-access student world—one shaped by entrepreneurship, venture capital, status, and intense pressure to perform with extraordinary ambition. Although fascinating, it must not be taken as a suggested blueprint for every teenager. Most students are not—and will not be—teenage founders, researchers, nonprofit creators, or future venture-backed CEOs. More importantly, trying to force students into those roles can backfire when the activity is developmentally inappropriate and/or not authentic to who they are.

So, as you think about summer, ask important questions:

What does a student genuinely want to learn?
Where could they contribute?
What responsibilities would help them mature?
What experiences might help them better understand themselves?

What kind of rest do they need?

With that in mind, here are 12 smart, realistic, and potentially satisfying ways to make the most of summer.

ONE: College Applications and Admissions Prep

Class of 2027: The Common Application essay prompts are confirmed. While individual college applications typically open on August 1, students can complete much of the Common App ahead of time.

Expert Tip:💡Draft your personal statement, finalize your college list, organize deadlines, and complete as much of the Common Application in June and July.

Class of 2028: Lay a strong foundation now. Reflect on your interests, explore potential majors, make an SAT/ACT plan, and take stock of your academic and extracurricular profile by creating or updating a resume. Start visiting campuses, virtually or in person, and begin learning what makes a college a good fit. Some colleges also consider demonstrated interest as part of their holistic review process, so learning how and when to engage with colleges can be useful. To learn more about demonstrated interest, read Demonstrated Interest: What it Is, Does it Matter, and How do You Show It?

Expert Tip:💡 Strategic planning reduces stress and helps students apply with purpose and intentionality rather than panic.

TWO: Volunteer

Volunteering is good for the community, but it is also good for those who are giving back. Research shows that volunteering can build confidence, empathy, perspective, and a stronger sense of responsibility. In fact, a 2023 JAMA Network Open study found associations between volunteering and several positive outcomes among children and adolescents, including better overall health, greater flourishing, and fewer behavioral problems.

Service-learning appears most powerful when students do more than log hours: they connect their service to reflection, learning, community needs, and personal growth. Opportunities are everywhere: food banks, libraries, museums, animal shelters, hospitals, religious institutions, community centers, camps, and local nonprofits. Students can also ask teachers, coaches, family friends, or community leaders where help is needed.

Service work need not be sophisticated. A student who shows up consistently, serves humbly, and reflects thoughtfully will accomplish meaningful goals.

Expert Tip:💡 Authentic service demonstrates compassion, maturity, and social awareness.

THREE: Get a Job

A summer job seems to have become a less popular and less valued college-preparation experience.

Working at a restaurant, grocery store, camp, pool, retail shop, coffee shop, or local business teaches responsibility, communication, teamwork, punctuality, problem-solving, and humility. It also gives students the satisfaction of earning money and learning how to manage it.

Colleges do not look down on paid work. In fact, employment demonstrates maturity, independence, and real-world readiness, qualities that colleges and employers value.

Expert Tip:💡Working builds confidence, discipline, and independence.

FOUR: Intern or Shadow a Professional

Internships and shadowing experiences can help students explore careers that interest them. These opportunities may be harder for teens to find than volunteer work or paid jobs, but they can be valuable when approached thoughtfully.

Students can ask parents, high school counselors, teachers, mentors, neighbors, or family friends for introductions. They can also reach out directly to professionals for a short informational interview or a shadowing opportunity.

In some instances, professional exposure, like other extracurricular activities, can strengthen an application to a competitive major by helping students demonstrate interest in the field.

Expert Tip:💡 Career exploration demonstrates curiosity, initiative, and growing self-awareness.

FIVE: Read

Reading helps students think deeply, write clearly, and expand their understanding of the world. Those skills matter in college, in careers, and in life.

Students might choose novels, memoirs, nonfiction, biographies, essays, or books connected to a possible major or career interest. The best book is not necessarily the most impressive-sounding one. It is the one a student will actually read and think about.

Expert Tip:💡 Reading enhances analytical thinking, vocabulary, perspective, and leads to stronger writing skills.

SIX: Write

Journaling or free writing a few times a week can help students build self-awareness, fluency, and confidence. It can also make the college essay process less intimidating later.

Students can write about ordinary moments, questions they are wrestling with, things they notice, challenges they face, or experiences that have changed how they think.

This matters because strong college essays rarely come from being extraordinary. They come from reflection, honesty, and the ability to make meaning from experience.

For students who benefit from structure, click HERE for a free copy of the Fine Educational Solutions Summer Journaling resource, which includes a list of thought-provoking prompts in an easy-to-use electronic format.

Expert Tip:💡 Consistent writing builds creativity, clarity, confidence, and self-awareness.

SEVEN: Take a Free or Low-Cost Online Course

Students can use the summer to explore a subject simply because it interests them, or to sharpen their academic skills. Platforms such as the ones below offer courses in everything from coding and business to psychology, creative writing, languages, medicine, engineering, and the arts.

A student might discover that they love neuroscience, hate accounting, are intrigued by public health, or want to learn Python. That kind of discovery can shape future course choices, college lists, and career exploration.

This is not about collecting certificates. It is about following curiosity.

Expert Tip:💡Learning “just because” demonstrates intellectual curiosity and internal motivation.

EIGHT: Conduct Research

Students do not need a lab coat, a university affiliation, or an expensive program to conduct meaningful research.

They can investigate a question that genuinely interests them, read academic articles, interview professionals, analyze public data, create a literature review, design a survey, or explore a local issue. Some students may also reach out to professors or organizations to ask about research opportunities, though those are extraordinarily difficult to secure.

What matters most is that the work begins with a real question—not with the hope that “research” will impress an admissions office.

Expert Tip:💡Independent inquiry demonstrates independence, initiative, persistence, and intellectual engagement.

NINE: Finish a Project You’ve Been Working On

Summer is a great time to finish something that has been sitting unfinished.

That might be an Eagle Scout or Gold Award project, a creative portfolio, a blog, a fitness goal, a coding project, a personal website, a community initiative, or even cleaning and organizing a workspace before the school year begins.

Colleges value follow-through because success in college and life requires follow-through.

Expert Tip:💡Completing a project demonstrates perseverance, planning, and commitment.

TEN: Listen to Podcasts

Podcasts are a low-pressure way to learn while walking the dog, cleaning your room, driving, exercising, or relaxing.

Students can listen to shows about science, history, business, sports, storytelling, psychology, politics, medicine, technology, culture, or current events. The goal is not passive consumption, but exposure to new ideas.

A student might even keep a short note in their phone: “What did I learn?” or “What question did this make me ask?”

Expert Tip:💡Podcasts can generate curiosity, broaden perspectives, and spark conversation.

ELEVEN: Make a Testing Plan

While most colleges are, on paper at least, test-optional, the data show that the actual value of standardized test scores varies by student and institution.

For students planning to take the SAT or ACT and who have completed math through Algebra II, summer is an idea time to prepare without the school-year pressure.

Students should begin by assessing whether the SAT or ACT is a better fit. A relatively quick and free way to do that is to take the diagnostic test created by Enhanced Prep, found HERE. From there, they can set a goal, create a strategic test-prep plan, and sign up for an official test.

Testing should be strategic—not frantic and haphazard. And once scores are available, students should review the data to determine whether submitting them will help at each college on their list.

Expert Tip:💡A thoughtful testing plan can reduce stress and improve decision-making.

TWELVE: Explore a Summer Program

Summer programs can be enriching, enjoyable, and intellectually stimulating. While a few are selective and genuinely impressive, many are expensive, open-enrollment, or “pay-to-play” experiences that may provide value but are unlikely to transform a college application.

That does not mean students should avoid them. It means families should be informed.

A summer program may be worthwhile if the student is genuinely excited about the topic, the cost works for the family, and the experience offers meaningful learning or mentorship. But families should be cautious about assuming that a high price tag equates to an admissions impact.

For a deeper look at this issue, read my article: Do High-Cost Summer Programs Pay Off? A Measured Look at ROI and Admissions Impact.

Expert Tip:💡 Choose summer enrichment based on fit, goals, motivation, and budget—not marketing pressure.

The Bottom Line

Summer is more than a break, but it should still feel like one.

Students need rest. They need time to think, explore, work, contribute, read, write, move their bodies, spend time with friends and family, and sometimes do nothing at all. Downtime is not wasted time; it is often where self-awareness and creativity begin.

Yes, summer can be part of the runway toward college and life after high school. But it should not become another arena for anxiety, comparison, or performance.

The goal is not to artificially engineer a teenager who looks like someone else’s idea of a perfect applicant. The goal is to help students become more responsible, reflective, curious, capable, and grounded versions of themselves.

Need help building a summer plan that is both meaningful and enjoyable? I’m here to help. Reach out anytime at kathy@fineeducationalsolutions.com.

0 Comments

Summer With Intention: Meaningful Ways for Teens to Rest, Grow, and Explore