College Prep During Your Summer Break
By Path Mentor J.L., a graduate of MIT majored in Computer Science (Originally Posted on July 11, 2019)
It’s that time of the year again.
For many, summer is a time to relax being off from school for several months; for others, it’s a time to get even more work done in preparation for college admissions looming ahead.
How should you spend your summer vacation as a high school student aspiring to attend an elite college? First you have to ask yourself, “do I want to attend an elite college that badly?” This is a necessary first question to ask oneself. The unfortunate reality of college admissions today is that it is an extremely competitive endeavor. You are almost required to invest more time being productive than the typical school year requires in order to compete adequately.
If you don’t have a strong desire to attend one of the very best colleges in the world, it is better to enjoy your summer break doing whatever you are most interested in, even if that means doing nothing.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” my grandmother used to always say to me growing up. I was always that person who constantly felt the need to spend his time productively, not so much for attending an elite college, but more because it was my personality. But even for myself, it was necessary to take many breaks and just relax. There are several ways, however, to “relax” and still be productive, though I only recommend this approach if you’re not capable of being productive all the time (most people aren’t, including myself) and you do wish to attend an elite college.
What was my approach then? Every summer break, and during the school year as well, I taught myself Japanese for fun.
Yes, for fun. I have always had a keen interest in foreign languages. Consequently, learning a new language was more fun than work for me. For the times when I was too exhausted to continue serious study, I could simply relax by watching an anime episode in Japanese, thus counting as both work and fun.
This habit that had spawned in high school has served me very well throughout my life; it made for a very compelling story to tell when I applied and got accepted to MIT, but it had a larger impact on my general life. I learned to appreciate more cultures and connecting with those who speak a foreign tongue.
Even now, several years since I graduated college, I find myself given many opportunities to speak in Spanish, Portuguese, French and Japanese with people from all over their world in their native languages. That is an extremely satisfying experience for me!
What then can you take from my experience to serve you well for applying to colleges in the near future? Find your passion in life. It does not need to necessarily be unique relative to others you know; it also does not necessitate extreme skill only you could possess. It could very well be just playing video games. But upon discovering and pursuing this passion, think about the narrative you are building. If you envision your future, in say 5 or 10 years, what would you wish to be able to do with this passion? Think carefully about the potential change this could have on your life. Now work towards that, and the narrative will fall into place without you having to think about it.
It is very likely you or your parents already have strict or standardized methodologies to apply to how you spend your summer break. I want you, if possible, to focus on one thing that brings you joy this summer. Invest a lot of time into it. Daydream about what it will be like continuing it far into the future. Seek out others who are also interested in it as you. Don’t stress about whether it is a productive use of your time. Productivity is simply a function of extracting value by applying effort. For you, that value should purely be fun.
If you are able to find a passion and spend all your summer break investing time into it, I am certain you will be pleasantly surprised the impact it will on our your life going forward.
Now, go on and enjoy your summer vacation!
