It may still be winter, but it's probably not too early to start thinking about what you want to do this summer. If you wait too long, you may find yourself sitting on the couch all summer or working at a job you don't really like. A little research and some planning ahead could help you make your summer a really valuable experience... and a big plus on your college application.
First off, it's important to take some time to consider what you want to get out of the summer. Do you want to make some money so you can put a little aside for college? Do you want to look for an exciting internship, getting a taste of the working world and exploring your career options? Do you want to take summer classes at a college campus, feeling out what university life is like?
For many of you, a summer academic program may be on your radar screen. No, we're not talking about summer school, where kids retake classes they may have failed the previous year. We're talking about hands-on academic experiences where you're likely to learn inside and outside the classroom. These summer programs can be a great option and offer some major benefits.
A Taste of College
Summer academic programs can be a great way to see what college life is like before you set foot on campus as a freshman. Many take place on major college campuses, have you living in actual college dorms, and taking classes from real college professors. It's almost like you get to take a test drive of college. You'll likely be tackling challenging academic topics and gaining a much better sense of the additional demands placed on college students. It's also a great way to really delve into an academic area like biology, photography, or business that you are passionate about.
A Real Plus on Your College Application
High school transcripts, admissions essays, SAT scores... they are all used by college admissions committees to determine if you will be a student who will excel at their college. But what better way is there to show you can do well in a college academic setting than by doing well in a college academic setting? Taking on the challenge of a college summer program may help you overcome an SAT score that is on the low end of the scale for a college or a little stumble on your high school transcript.
Actual College Credit
Not only could a summer program help you get into college, it may give you a head start once you get there. Many summer programs offer academic credit at the host college. You will need to check with whatever college you end up attending to see if you are able to transfer this credit.
Cost Can Be an Issue
Cost can vary pretty significantly from program to program. A summer college program can often cost thousands of dollars. But don't be discouraged if you can't afford that price tag. Many programs offer need-based scholarships. You might also take a look at Governor's Schools that many states have. These are typically free or very affordable summer residential programs for high-achieving students. Upward Bound programs might also be great options for lower-income students.
Summer Program Resources
We've provided links to a few sites that may be helpful in your search for some great summer programs:
We've also included links to summer programs at some of the top colleges:
Labels: admissions, college, summer
A few months back, the 2008 U.S. News College Rankings were released. Princeton topped this year's list, edging out Harvard and Yale. As usual, the release of the U.S. News rankings sparked considerable debate about whether they help or hurt students' efforts to find colleges that are a good fit.
Some argue that high school seniors get caught up worrying about where a college is ranked rather than focusing on their own preferences and finding a college that matches these preferences.
Proponents counter that the U.S. News college rankings can be used as one of many tools to help high school seniors and their parents assess the quality of colleges.
How You Can Effectively Use College Rankings
We do not recommend basing your college decision solely on the U.S. News College Rankings or any other ranking system (unless you've devised your own personal ranking system). However, these rankings can often have significant value for you in your research. If you take some time to look beyond the actual ranking of a college and look into the underlying data, you can uncover some very useful information.
First, these rankings can often serve as a quick barometer for how competitive a college will be to get into. The top colleges on the list will generally be the most selective colleges in the U.S. Colleges further down are generally a little easier to get into. That can be a huge help as you start narrowing down the list of colleges you want to apply to. You should be thinking about whether a college is a reach, a good fit, or a safety school. You ideally want to have a school or two in each of these categories when you are applying to colleges.
Second, the U.S. News College Rankings, as well as other rankings, often provide quick snippets of data in a single location on a number of colleges. The U.S. News College Rankings can be a useful place to go to find SAT Scores for the 25th and 75th percentiles of the incoming freshman class. The Washington Monthly does their own college ranking, scoring colleges on what they are "doing for the country". These rankings provide interesting data for students who might be interested in ROTC or public service. You can find out which colleges have the most graduates go on to serve in the Peace Corps or which university work-study programs have the most money going to community-service efforts.
Finally, a major bi-product of rankings efforts is that they encourage colleges to share information. The Common Data Set, an effort to standardize data reporting and data sharing by colleges, was largely a result of the proliferation of college rankings. All college-bound students have benefited from this data being more readily available.
Create Your Own College Ranking System
We've created a tool that allows you to come up with your own college ranking system. Our College Scorecard lets you to decide what criteria are important to you and then allows you to rank up to 4 colleges using these criteria. You'll end up with your own personal college rankings... which are the best college rankings of all!
U.S. News College Rankings - Top 50 Colleges with Links to their College Profiles
1. Princeton University (Private)
2. Harvard University (Private)
3. Yale University (Private)
4. Stanford University (Private)
5. California Institute of Technology (Private)
5. University of Pennsylvania (Private)
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Private)
8. Duke University (Private)
9. Columbia University (Private)
9. University of Chicago (Private)
11. Dartmouth College (Private)
12. Cornell University (Private)
12. Washington University in St. Louis (Private)
14. Brown University (Private)
14. Johns Hopkins University (Private)
14. Northwestern University (Private)
17. Emory University (Private)
17. Rice University (Private)
19. University of Notre Dame (Private)
19. Vanderbilt University (Private)
21. University of California-Berkeley (Public)
22. Carnegie Mellon University (Private)
23. Georgetown University (Private)
23. University of Virginia (Public)
25. University of California-Los Angeles (Public)
25. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Public)
27. University of Southern California (Private)
28. Tufts University (Private)
28. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (Public)
30. Wake Forest University (Private)
31. Brandeis University (Private)
31. Lehigh University (Private)
33. College of William and Mary (Public)
34. New York University (Private)
35. Boston College (Private)
35. Georgia Institute of Technology (Public)
35. University of Rochester (Private)
38. University of California-San Diego (Public)
38. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Public)
38. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Public)
41. Case Western Reserve University (Private)
42. University of California-Davis (Public)
42. University of Washington (Public)
44. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Private)
44. University of California-Irvine (Public)
44. University of California-Santa Barbara (Public)
44. University of Texas-Austin (Public)
48. Pennsylvania State University-University Park (Public)
49. University of Florida (Public)
50. Syracuse University (Private)
50. Tulane University (Private)
Labels: admissions, college, college search, rankings, selective, U.S. News