Summer ProjectAnswered
Hi, I am currently a junior and I'm trying to brainstorm some summer projects that I could put on my application. I am going to pursue physics, which makes the brainstorming process a little difficult, as I'm not sure how I could implement physics into a project. Over the summer I shouldn't be working more than 25 hours, so I'll likely have lots of free time. I am pretty creative, so that isn't really a restriction for me. I've heard suggestions for making a youtube channel based around or having an internship with a teacher, and I am currently working on the latter (for my senior year), but the first one doesn't seem to spark my interest and I'm not sure if colleges would be very interested in it.
Does anyone know of some good ideas that you've seen/done that includes some sort of physics or even chemistry?
An academic advisor to help, I’m sure someone would be eager to. It could be someone like a past teacher, who probably already knows people in the field. From what I’ve seen, colleges don’t look for random volunteer events. They look for people who have an increased interest in a specific field, so that they may add that name to their alumni list later. At least, that’s what I’m doing. Good luck, I hope you get into a really good college. You seem very professional and motivated :)
Earn karma by helping others:
2 answers
Hi @pieces2004! I'm glad that you've found what you're really interested in. Now, the tough part is figuring out how you can channel all that energy and passion into a project. I think your idea of creating physics YouTube videos is great, but if education is not something that you're very interested in, I wouldn't pursue this option.
I think the best way to find a summer project centered around physics is by simply cold-emailing a lot of physics teachers/professors at local universities and asking them if they have any opportunities available. Let them know what your interests are and how those interests developed, ask them if they have the availability to mentor you, and if not, ask them if they can direct you to someone else who may be able to help you out. First, start off by talking to your high school physics teacher and then branch out to professors at universities. This whole process may take a while, but I bet you'd be able to find at least one person who is willing to mentor you for the summer and have you help out on their physics research.
I hope that helps!
There might still be a few summer programs open (but many deadlines are in February or even January).
The Cooper Union:
https://cooper.edu/engineering/stem/summer
Miami University:
https://www.miamioh.edu/admission/high-school/summer-scholars/
Anson L. Clark Scholars:
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/academicsandenrichment/affiliatedandhighschool/clarks/
Yale Young Global Scholars:
https://globalscholars.yale.edu/
MITES:
http://oeop.mit.edu/programs/mites
Simons Summer Research Program:
https://www.stonybrook.edu/simons/
The Summer Science Program:
Michigan State University:
Boston University:
https://www.bu.edu/summer/high-school-programs/
Perimeter Institue:
https://perimeterinstitute.ca/issyp
Stanford Medicine:
Sorry for the long list of links, but some of these programs do cost money but there's financial aid, or they are free and include a stipend. But, if you're not interested in any of those then there are also online courses you could take.
BYU Independent Study Program: https://is.byu.edu/
Honestly, though I'm not really a science person, so I don't really know any out-of-the-box ideas. My first thought is almost always taking classes over the summer, either online through your school or at a local community college. Instead of interning somewhere, you could also see if you could shadow people. Again, not really a science person, but good luck!
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!
I’m in the same boat. Like, almost exactly. I’m considering pursuing physics or chemistry, but my gpa sits at a 3.1 unweighted. It’s okay, for sure, I just don’t know how to increase my chances. My SAT is okay, I’ve been active in JROTC for three years, but my chances are still fairly low. I don’t know what you could do, but I do know that sometimes people in the field are eager to help an upcoming researcher. So, if you were to develop a small project dealing with physics and ask around for