Summer Activities for STEM Majors
Elton Lin
Summer is a crucial time for students, who can use this time outside of school hours to get insight into their field of interest and build proof of demonstrated interest for their major. Pursuing passions, gaining experience, developing skills – while it’s important for students to take a breather over break, they can rest while also having a productive summer!
Does your STEM-minded student have their summer plans in place yet? Here are some activities they can add to their itinerary:
SUMMER CLASSES
Summer classes give STEM students a great opportunity to gain some technical skills or take some intro-level courses for credit. This could also involve lab-oriented classrooms, hands-on engineering work, coding practice, and more! There are many free or low-cost classes available over the summer, and can be taken online, at community colleges, or even at your local university.
PAID JOBS OR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Students can do a search online for available summer jobs at science camps, local science museums, blood banks, zoos, hospitals, tutoring programs, museums, etc. They can even ask their math or science teachers if there are any paid or volunteer positions in their school district science departments – schools are often looking for help cleaning out the classroom labs or preparing for the next school year!
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Getting some hands-on experience in an actual laboratory or on the field is an incredible summer opportunity for any STEM student. Even if your student isn’t participating in a research mentorship program or internship this summer, there are still research opportunities available (the Smithsonian Digital Volunteer program and Zooniverse, to name just a few).
SUMMER PROGRAMS
While many summer programs have closed their applications months before, there still remain programs with rolling or May deadlines. Here are a few your student may be interested in, before they start their own search:
Coriell Institute for Medical Research Summer Experience for Students
Application Deadline: May 10, 2023
Inspirit A.I. Scholars Live Online
Application Deadline: May 15, 2023 (Rolling)
User Experience at NYU
Application Deadline: May 31, 2023
Smith Summer Science & Engineering Program (SSEP)
Application Deadline: Rolling
WORK ON YOUR OWN PROJECT
Working on a personal project can be an extremely valuable summer experience, too! Maybe you want to create your own science program, develop an app, run some experiments at home, engineer your own solution to a problem you see in your community, etc. There are so many creative, STEM-oriented possibilities that you can with your own space, time, and effort.
If you want to learn more about high school coaching and how we at ILUMIN can tailor a specific plan for your student (for both the summer and the school year), feel free to set up a free consultation with us!