 Congratulations on finishing another year of school! Your hard work during the school year is commendable, but summer is upon us, and we don't want you rest on your laurels. A productive summer will pay dividends in your personal, professional, and academic development. This guide is tailored specifically for you to maximize your summer. After all, keeping your mind engaged is critical to avoid "summer slide." Summer slide means that a month of the school year is lost to one month of hanging out over the summer without keeping your mind stimulated. 

Check out the ideas below and see what appeals to you! Make a Google Doc, share your parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and anyone else you would like to consult with your list of fun and substantive opportunities for growth this summer.

What Should High Schoolers Do Over the Summer to Impress Colleges?

Although certain summer opportunities are extremely selective and prestigious, no one activity will impress colleges in and of itself. It’s important to remember that colleges are trying to get a sense of you as a complete person. What we always emphasize to our students is the importance of telling a story with your application, and part of the story is what you choose to do over the summer. Presenting colleges with your unique compelling story will get you much more mileage than just listing your achievements. For example, if you want to study architecture, interning with an architecture firm over the summer demonstrates that interest and becomes a plot point in your overall journey as an aspiring architect. This is more effective than getting the most prestigious cancer research internship, or volunteering for a prominent politician’s campaign, because those things are not necessarily part of the narrative you’re presenting. The question should not be “does this look good on a college application?” Instead ask, “does this contribute to my story?”, because a great story is exactly what does look good on a college application. Context and story are everything, so make sure to consider this when making your choice.

What Type of Summer Opportunities are Available to High Schoolers?

The "summer job" is a classic, and there's a reason for that. Jobs and internships are a great way to gain real world experience in a field of your interest (or even find out that you're not actually interested in something!). Having a summer job can also show colleges that you have drive and work ethic, but more importantly, can show real demonstrable interest in whatever it is you want to pursue or study.

Here are a few ideas for summer jobs and internships.

Reach out to local nonprofits doing great work in your community if they need help (hint: nonprofits always need a helping hand!)

When it comes to the more prestigious summer internships, it's very important to plan ahead for these, as most of the application deadlines ranges from March - May. 

Does a summer job look good on college apps?

, “Colleges always want to see students who are willing to work hard in any context. Finding—and sticking with—a job is an excellent way to demonstrate a commitment to hard work. And it’s always great to earn some spending money.”

But remember to think about how what you’re doing can potentially inform your story as an applicant. You don’t have to just accept the first job presented to you. Working at the neighborhood pizza parlor is great, but unless you want to study pizza making in college, there’s probably a better choice out there for you.

In recent years, community service has diminished in its importance for college applications. While it practically used to be a requirement (and still is for many high schools), it’s now just something that’s nice to have. That being said, volunteer and service work is still a FANTASTIC way to spend your summer, especially if it’s something related to your interests and can contribute to your application story. 

What are good community service ideas for college?

Looking for a local way to give back and serve others? New York City Department of Youth & Community Development offers the 

 to make a difference here in New York! Also, be sure to check out 

 offers some wonderful ways to make a difference this summer.

Would you rather start your own initiative? Is your focus this summer on helping people? Passionate about making the world a better place as a social justice advocate? We teach students how to build a nonprofit project of their own. Learn more 

Taking a course or enrolling in a pre-college program is another great option for summer enrichment. There are several benefits to this approach. It shows colleges that you're intellectually curious, allows you to take more challenging courses that your high school may not otherwise offer and get ahead academically, and can also help you find out what you're passionate about and what direction you want to go in for your studies or career. Most top universities and colleges offer summer courses and pre-colleges, and some can be quite expensive and/or competitive. These are great, but there’s also nothing wrong with enrolling in courses at your local community college or doing one online.

This is the most “off-book” approach, but designing and executing an independent project is the perfect way to make your college application stand out. Do you want to write a book, curate a photography exhibition, or conduct independent research? The sky’s the limit. If you’re interested in pursuing an independent project and want some support, check out our partner, 

. Their expert coaches help students develop independent projects and entrepreneurial endeavors in a truly unique way.

How Can I Make the Most of my Summer in High School?

To make the most of your summer, ensure that the opportunity you are choosing can contribute to your story as a person and applicant. The most important guiding principle is to be able to tell a story before, during, and after as to why you are pursuing the opportunity. 

Check out some tips for navigating your summer opportunities:

Match an opportunity with the goals for your incoming grade

 - example: my goal as an incoming freshman is to read a lot and get excited about school. Therefore, I am going to subscribe to the New York Times and learn as much as I can about my upcoming social studies class by volunteering on a political campaign.

 - Make sure to invest in the depth of a project. Dive deep and become an expert!

- Your ‘why’ is your motivation, mission, and passion driving you to pursue your summer opportunity.

 - Very important: think about the leadership and teamwork skills you could build this summer.

 - Take initiative! Important lesson: a proactive mindset will take you places.

 - Step outside your comfort zone! Grow your skills and make some moves!

 - Open up your mind to the world of critical thinking in real-world situations.

 - Perhaps most important - and related to your ‘why’ - stick with your passion. For example: passion for helping people, passion for science, or passion for history. Passion gets you through long days and acute challenges.

Last but not least: HAVE FUN! It is summer, after all, so fun should be top of mind. If you're enjoying yourself, you're much more likely to get the most out of the experience. 

Summer Opportunities for High Schoolers: How to Choose 

You might be worried if you fail an AP exam (where failing is receiving a score less than 3), but don’t worry! Passing an AP exam has many benefits: you may receive college credit, it may help you win an AP Scholars award, and it may add to a larger picture of your academic success that can help you get into colleges. Failing an AP exam won’t grant you these advantages, but doesn’t carry any additional weight beyond that. You can certainly still get into colleges, however, you may need to take additional courses once you attend university than you would have with a passing AP score. It’s also worth noting that a failing AP score is evidence that you likely have not grasped the course material, and is an opportunity for you to rethink your study habits.

First of all, it’s important to know that if you fail an AP exam, you are not obligated to report that score to the universities you’re applying to. This reflects the fact that, in general, your grades will have a bigger impact on admissions than your AP scores. It may be a red flag to universities if you consistently have much higher grades in your AP classes than AP scores and/or have consistently low AP scores in areas relevant to your intended major, but one or two poor (or omitted) AP scores won’t make much of a difference. That being said, if you do pass, you should definitely report your score, since the colleges may presume a lower score than you actually received if you do not report.

Colleges do not see your AP scores unless you report them. So no, colleges do not look at failed AP tests.

Your grades in your AP courses can contribute to your weighted GPA, in which AP and honors classes are graded on a 5 point scale rather than the traditional 4 point scale. Thus, taking AP classes can improve your weighted GPA by up to 1 point, and can potentially raise your weighted GPA above a 4.0. This is because colleges recognize that AP classes are more challenging and require more work than a traditional course. The weighted GPA therefore rewards students who challenge themselves by taking advanced courses. However, your AP exam score does not impact your grade for the class, and therefore does not affect your GPA.

On the whole, a bad AP probably won’t hurt you in and of itself, but it can be related to other concerns. A bad AP score is often correlated with a poor grade in the corresponding course, which can hurt your GPA. While AP courses benefit you by improving your weighted GPA, it may not be worth it if your overall grade in the course is very poor. Additionally, AP courses aren’t cheap, so it may feel like a waste to pay to take the test and not earn college credit by not passing the test. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, AP scores are generally not a big part of colleges’ admissions decisions. So, while having a lot of failing AP scores might raise some concern, a single failing AP score is unlikely to affect your college acceptances.

What Happens If You Fail an AP Exam but Pass the Class?

Your grades are generally more important for college admissions than AP scores, so you’re not in a bad position if you fail the exam but do well in the class. That being said, your grade in the class won’t earn you college credit the way that a passing AP exam will, so you will likely have to retake the corresponding introductory class in college. On the other hand, if you fail the class but pass the exam, the outcome depends a bit on your school’s grade policy. Some schools might allow failed grades to be changed on a transcript with a passing AP score, but these policies vary from school to school. However, a passing AP exam will allow you to earn college credit regardless of what your grade in the class is.

All AP exams have a passing rate of at least 50%. The most failed AP exams are 

 (failed by 48.4% of all students), Environmental Science (failed by 46.6% of all students), and 

 (failed by 43.9% of all students). For a full chart of the hardest AP exams (those with the lowest passing rate), check out 

. However, please note that a test’s pass rate is not a perfect indicator of how difficult the corresponding class or AP exam is. Many factors impact the pass/fail rates of an AP exam, including how many students take it, which kinds of students tend to take it, etc.

The main thing to know if you fail an AP exam is that you won’t receive college credit in that subject. This may affect the kinds of courses you take in your first year of university as well as how long it takes you to complete college. Additionally, a failed AP exam will not help you towards winning AP Scholars awards. The College Board awards a variety of honors to students who pass AP exams, and the type of award you can receive depends on how many AP exams you pass. Therefore, if you fail an AP exam, this might prevent you from winning certain AP Scholars awards. These awards are good to put on college and scholarship applications, though they aren’t usually the biggest deciding factors, so a failed AP exam may present a (likely small) obstacle towards getting into certain colleges or scholarship programs.

 Sometimes students try taking AP exams without having taken a course in that subject, but it’s much harder to pass this way. AP courses offered by high schools cover the material on the exams, so it’s a great way to prepare all year long.

College Board provides example questions from past tests, and you can also buy prep books that have practice tests that are formulated to be similar to the real thing. If you take an AP class in school, your teacher will also be able to provide you with practice questions.

Be familiar with the format of the test. 

Similar to other standardized tests, it’s helpful to know what to expect before the test date. You should know questions like: How long is the test? How many questions are multiple choice or free response? Can you get partial credit, and if so, how? What are you allowed to bring with you to the testing site?

The material on AP exams is designed to be challenging. Studying together is a good way to learn from your peers, talk through your thinking, and make studying more fun.

 with years of experience helping students master AP course material. We’d be happy to help you achieve your goals, work through tricky concepts, and earn college credit!

What Happens If You Fail an AP Exam?

The ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam) is the exam used by most private schools to evaluate candidates for admission. There are three ISEE levels, but the Upper Level Test is the one taken by middle school students applying to high school. 

Traditionally, the ISEE was required for independent day school, while the SSAT was required for private boarding schools. Nowadays, most schools accept either test, but one should always check the requirements of individual schools before deciding whether to take just one or both.

It is important to note that students may 

 – August, September, October, and November

 – December, January, February, and March

The Upper Level ISEE is 3 hours long, including breaks.

There are four multiple choice sections on the Upper Level ISEE, Verbal Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Reasoning, Mathematics Achievement, as well as an ungraded essay section.

The Verbal Reasoning section of the ISEE is primarily vocab based. There are both synonym and sentence completion questions. For the synonym question, students are given a word and then must choose the synonym for it out of 4 other word choices. For sentence completion questions, students must fill in one or two blanks in a sentence with the best word(3) among the answer choices. Students are given 20 minutes for 40 questions, so this section goes fast.

There are two types of problems on the Quantitative Reasoning section of the Upper Level ISEE: word problems and quantitative comparisons. For quantitative comparison, students must determine which of the quantities in column A or B is greater, if they are equal, or if this cannot be determined from the information given. This section is 35 minutes long and there are 37 questions.

The Reading Comprehension section of the Upper Level ISEE is 35 minutes long and consists of 6 passages, for a total of 36 questions. For each passage, students must answer a series of multiple choice questions, which will ask them to identify main and supporting ideas, draw inferences, and analyze the vocabulary, organization, tone, and figurative language used in the passage

The Mathematics Achievement section of the Upper Level ISEE is 40 minutes long with 47 questions. This section is less about reasoning and more about testing students on specific math concepts. Here are the broad content areas covered:

Data Analysis and Probability Problem Solving

Students are NOT allowed to use a calculator. So it’s important they memorize essential formulas needed to solve problems.

This 30 min essay provides students with a prompt for which they need to write a coherent, (ideally) 5-paragraph essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The essay is NOT graded. Instead, it functions as a writing sample that is sent out to all the schools a student applies to with the ISEE.

The Upper Level ISEE contains content that most students taking it should be familiar with from their normal coursework in school. If students are keeping up with their schoolwork and doing well in their classes, the ISEE should not be too difficult. However, some students may be behind in school due to a variety of factors, or may not be comfortable with taking timed tests, which can make the ISEE a lot harder for them. This is why it is paramount to start studying for the ISEE early, in order to fill in content gaps and practice test taking strategy.

What is the hardest section of the Upper Level ISEE ?

This will vary depending on the student. Many students find the Verbal Reasoning section difficult because of the amount of vocabulary, especially if they are not consistently reading and acquiring new words. Others may find the Mathematics Achievement section more challenging because it contains a few more advanced math topics that students may not have covered yet in school.

For each section of the ISEE, students receive a “Stanine” Score ranging from 1 to 9. Students receive a Raw Score based on the number of questions answered correctly. There is no guessing penalty (this is one of the important 

, which does take off points for wrong answers). This is then converted to a Scaled Score between 760 and 940, which is then used to generate the Percentile Rank and Stanine Score. The Percentile Rank shows how well you did compared to all students of the same grade level who took the ISEE in the last three years. Finally, the Stanine Score (1-9) indicates if you fall into an average, below average, or above average percentile for a given section.

What Is a Good Score on the Upper Level ISEE?

Ideally, we like to see all our students scoring above a 7 in each of the four sections. A 7, 8, or 9 are all “good” scores.

We recommend that students start studying for the ISEE at least three months before the first intended test date. Students should start by taking a 

. This will allow you to see what areas need improvement and help to establish a study plan. Ivy Tutors can administer this exam for students and provide a detailed diagnostic report to function as a road map for future study.

From there, students should work with a prep book, or an experienced tutor, to begin 

 is VERY important. The Verbal Reasoning section is essentially a vocabulary test, and many students make the mistake of not starting to drill their words early enough. There are many ISEE vocabulary lists in books or online. Students should make flashcards, either physically or virtually, and work through their words consistently (every day leading up to the test, ideally).

 is also essential for helping students improve on the Reading Comprehension section. Reading a novel, short story, or newspaper or magazine article and then writing down the main ideas can be a great way to exercise your ability to absorb and synthesize textual information.

 are the best way to reinforce content, track progress, and practice test-taking strategies. At Ivy Tutors Network, we provide our students with a 3-pronged test prep approach: 

. After the initial diagnostic, students work with a seasoned tutor to learn all the 

 they need to know on the test and reinforce it with homework and exercises. Tutors also provide students with invaluable 

 tips for pacing, guessing, and answering questions more quickly. The right strategy is essential for standardized tests, and can really make a difference in helping students earn more points. Last but not least, Ivy offers all our students unlimited mock testing included with tutoring, so students can 

 as much as possible to improve their score.


We hope this overview was helpful. Please reach out to us to find a tutor, book a free consultation, or schedule a diagnostic exam. Wherever you are in the testing process, Ivy’s 

 are here to support and guide you every step of the way!



 If you have your ISEE in the next few days, feel free to check out our 

The Upper Level ISEE: What to Expect 

There's so much to consider. We're here to help you through it every step of the way. Prices start at $30/hr for larger groups.

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