In our previous blog of the Summer Series, you saw how you can work towards building a strong academic profile during your vacations. In this second part of the series, you will learn how to develop a holistic student profile and gain experience outside your academics. 

As a thumb rule, the country of your choice and overall profile should drive your efforts. For instance, if you plan to apply to the UK, your experience should be more academic. The universities in the UK want to see your efforts in exploring a subject outside your classroom. For the US, a more holistic profile is needed to race ahead of your peers. 

Please note that you need not do everything as that would reduce the quality of your output. Instead, choose something that makes the most sense to your individual case.

Also Read: A 5-Step Guide For High School Students to Learn a New Concept

Internship

An internship can be a valuable experience for a high school student set to enter university in the next 1-2 years. A routine of 3-4 weeks in a field of your interest would make you more aware and enhance your knowledge apart from giving hands-on experience. Moreover, it will convey to the admissions team that you are genuinely interested in pursuing your course.

The most crucial aspect here is to find an option that matches your interest. To find the best opportunity, we suggest you activate your existing network and get help from your parents. Check with your friends if their parents can help you too. You can also reach out to people on LinkedIn to find the most suitable opportunity. In a way, this can be a good networking exercise for you that will come in handy later when you have to find a job.

Shadowing a Professional

We advise our students to know the extremes of a profession they are considering to pursue. It is necessary to know both the good and not-so-good aspects of a job. There is nothing better to know about that field than to shadow a professional already doing the job you wish to do in the future.

By doing so, you will get face-to-face with the nuances of a profession that could seem glamorous to you. For instance, you can shadow a practising psychologist to see the amount of record-keeping they have to do to track the history of a patient. You will also learn how they protect their sanity from the emotional baggage of their patients.

All professionals have to update themselves continually to stay relevant in their fields. You can learn how they do it and start working on it from now on. It is never too early to do that.

Also Read: How To Prepare In The Days Before The Exam

Research Paper

Working with a professor and assisting them with a research paper is another idea you can explore to strengthen your profile. Research is academically intensive work, and at this age, aiming to write a full paper is a far-fetched idea. Instead, approach professors in your area of interest and explore the possibility of assisting them. 

This activity will demonstrate to the admissions officer that you are ready for university and have critical thinking and analytical skills to take on a demanding course. Moreover, a letter of recommendation from your mentoring professor would add significant weight to your application.

White Paper

Unlike a research paper, a white paper is not overly academic and may not require a high level of primary/secondary research and analysis work. Nevertheless, it will showcase your commitment to furthering your knowledge and diving deep into a subject.

A white paper typically aims to find a solution to a problem. It is a well-researched essay with facts and figures to support a viewpoint. The content of your white paper should be factually correct, explore a topic in detail, and if possible, provide important information to businesses/students. A well-written white paper should be at least 3000 words long. 

White paper recommendations for psychology students

• The Impact of Cyberbullying on Teenagers
• Coping Mechanisms to Manage Stress
• Stereotypes and Implicit Bias in our Society
• The Importance of Sleep on Physical and Mental Health
• Support Strategies for People with ADHD
• Psychology of Motivation for Academic Results
• The Psychology of Procrastination and Time Management

White paper recommendations for economics students

• Impact of Economic Policies on Income Inequality in India
• Digital India Stack – The Role of Technology in India’s Economic Growth
• Financial Inclusion and Access to Banking Services in Rural India
• Urbanization and Sustainable Development in India
• Digital Payments and Financial Inclusion

White paper recommendations for biotech students

• Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Technology on agriculture
• Biopharmaceutical Drug Development like monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, and gene therapies
• Examine bioremediation techniques for cleaning up environmental contaminants
• The potential of stem cell therapy and regenerative medicine
• Examine biotechnological approaches to improving crop yields

Also Read: Math AA Vs AI – What Should You Select?

Volunteer Work

We see a lot of students who participate in volunteer work with no agenda in mind. They do it to tick off a box in their university applications instead of pursuing a larger goal. 

Firstly, we would like to break the myth that volunteer work is necessary for all universities. There are, in fact, fewer universities than you think that want to see this activity in your application. You can connect us to know the universities that will give you extra merit for volunteer work.

If you are passionate about a cause, we encourage you to make a difference through your well-thought-out efforts. Start with a plan instead of diving headlong into it. When you have a plan, you are more likely to make an impact instead of doing a check-box activity. And that is what the universities want to see – the impact of your efforts. The idea is not to participate in a sundry activity for 2-3 days but to make a dedicated and consistent effort towards a direction. It could be as simple as setting up a compost pit in your housing society to manage green waste or setting aside a few hours every week to assist the elderly with digital apps. 

Final Word

When you have a strategy in place, you can make the most out of your summers. The ideas shared here will not only help you strengthen your profile but also make you more aware of the professional world.