Summer Planning: How to Use the Summer to Build Real Readiness

Right now is the point in the year when many students and families begin thinking seriously about summer plans. Unlike the school year, which is structured around classes, schedules, and deadlines, summer is wide open. That freedom can be exciting—but it can also be overwhelming.

We often hear the same questions from students and parents:

• “What should I be doing this summer?”
• “Do I need to attend a prestigious program?”
• “How do I know if I’m using my time well?”

This article is meant to clarify how to think about summer planning strategically—and to show that there are many meaningful ways to have a productive summer that go far beyond attending brand-name programs.

Why Is Summer Planning So Important?

The simple answer is time.

During the school year, students are constrained by classes, homework, and extracurricular commitments. Summer, by contrast, offers a rare stretch of uninterrupted time. When used intentionally, it becomes one of the most powerful periods for growth.

Without a plan, however, many students fail to take advantage of this opportunity. Weeks pass quickly, and the summer ends without much to show for it.

When planned well, summer can be used to:

• develop foundational or advanced skills,
• build field readiness through coursework, research, or internships,
• prepare for standardized tests without competing academic pressures,
• develop leadership experiences with real impact,
• and ultimately lay the groundwork for a clear academic “spike.”

Colleges pay close attention to what students choose to do with their summers because activities reflect what students value and pursue when no one is telling them what to do

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Do I Need to Attend a Competitive or Prestigious Summer Program?

The short answer is no.

Attending a well-known summer program is not a requirement for admission to top colleges. Many successful applicants never attend a prestigious summer program at all.

There are multiple productive summer pathways, including:

• independent research projects,
• internships (formal or informal),
• community-based initiatives with measurable impact,
• skill-building coursework,
• competitions,
• or self-directed projects tied to a student’s interests.

That said, competitive summer programs can be valuable when they are a strong fit. Selective programs often signal intellectual curiosity and academic depth, especially when aligned with a student’s emerging academic focus

The key is not where a student spends the summer, but what they gain from it and how it fits into their broader trajectory.

Research and Internships: Why They Matter (and What to Watch Out For)

Research and internships are often among the most meaningful summer experiences—when done well.

Strong experiences typically involve:

• real mentorship,
• substantive work or inquiry,
• tangible outcomes (data, projects, presentations, products),
• and clear intellectual or practical growth.

Research does not need to be tied to a famous institution to be valuable. Mentored independent projects or community-based research can be just as compelling when they show initiative, depth, and problem-solving

At the same time, families should be cautious of “pay-to-play” research programs that promise guaranteed publications or vague mentorship. Substance matters far more than branding.

When Should Students Think About Standardized Testing?

For students targeting top-50 schools, we generally recommend taking the SAT or ACT, even in a test-optional landscape. While some schools remain test-optional, many highly selective institutions are returning to testing requirements.

As a rule of thumb:

• Students are best positioned to begin test prep after completing Algebra II, which covers the highest-level math tested.
• Many students aim to complete testing before junior year, freeing up time later.
• Get your desired scores no later than early fall of senior year, particularly if applying early.

Testing strategy is highly individualized, and summer can be an ideal time to prepare without competing academic demands.

How Summer Planning Varies by Grade Level

Summer priorities change significantly depending on where a student is in high school.

• Rising freshmen and sophomores are typically still exploring interests and building foundational skills. The goal at this stage is exposure, skill development, and experimentation—not prestige.
• Rising juniors begin moving from exploration toward focus. This is often when students start developing early versions of a spike through skill-building, coursework, or initial research.
• Rising seniors are usually refining an existing direction. Their summers may include advanced projects, leadership initiatives, final test prep, and early application work (including personal statements and UC PIQs).

It’s important for younger students to understand that they are not expected to have a fully developed spike yet. Early summers are about setting the stage so later experiences can be deeper, more focused, and more impactful.

How We Help Students Make the Most of Their Summers

At BEEC, we approach summer planning as part of a longer arc. We help students:

• identify strengths, interests, and experience gaps,
• design a purposeful plan with future steps in mind,
• connect with vetted research, internship, and mentorship opportunities,
• and ensure summer experiences align with long-term academic goals
  
  

Below are a couple examples of how this plays out in practice:

Student A: Student is a rising senior interested in medicine with strong volunteer and leadership experience. Although their goal is pre-med related, they lack research skills/experience. So we helped the student connect to one of our partner researchers to conduct training in Image Analysis software and then individualized research related to Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative diseases. The student later applied Early Decision to Johns Hopkins for Neuroscience and was accepted.

Student B: Student is a rising sophomore, interested in STEM but has little experience in the field. We helped connect to an exclusive opportunity for the student to learn data science skills and use them in a local project to collect and present pollution data to city council, helping to guide policy for the future. Through this experience, the student realized he actually preferred a different role in the project—building the pollution sensor (leveraging Python for Raspberry Pi) and pursued robotics / mechanical engineering when back in school.

Final Thought: Be Purposeful

A productive summer doesn’t have to look impressive on paper—it has to be meaningful in context.

After reading a student’s activities, admissions officers should walk away thinking:

• I understand what this student cares about.
• I see growth and initiative.
• I want to know more.

That’s the goal of thoughtful summer planning—and it’s something we’re proud to help students build.

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