Interesting things to do over the summer

If you don't know what major you're going to pick yet, do something that is going to help you along in your decision making. Where are you living this summer? That would certainly help. It may be too late to get into the volunteering abroad programs. If you really want to look though, either try your college career office or google "volunteer abroad university" I'd recommend to get an internship at a local non-profit. They need the help, you need the experience. It'll be good to have people to give you references once you look for a real job when you're done with school. If you end up doing any international cultural work, they'll appreciate that you've gotten acquainted with the non-profit lifestyle. There is usually some sort of list of non-profits for every city... send them an e-mail with your resume and a cover letter. You'll get some bites from them. Or if you want to work, why not do a job that makes you look super responsible -- working with children, the elderly, or the disabled. This will also give you a variety of "stories" to tell during interviews. Why not take a summer term of Chinese too, to get yourself ahead... that is if you're living near your university and they offer summer courses. Or why not take some classes this summer and get your degree faster?

I spent a summer in high school volunteering for our city's science museum. I got to spend my days teaching kids how to make silly putty and making foam hats ("cheeseheads"). It was a lot of time and it got boring every once and a while, but it was very rewarding and I wish I had done it more often.

You don't say where you are, but you might want to consider helping with the rebuilding of New Orleans. I've had a number of friends do 2-6 week stints down there recently and have said it was amazing experience. Another option, if you are at all politically-minded, is to work on a campaign this summer. You learn a lot and it can be quite fun. And depending on the campaign, you may very well get paid for your efforts.

http://www.volunteermatch.org/ http://idealist.org/if/idealist/en/AdvancedSearch/VolunteerOpportunity/default?sid=50571405-102-hqAVG , which includes paid positions with non-profits as well as volunteering ooportunities. If you choose to go the volunteer route, may I suggest doing something with kids and/or animals? The pure joy of kids and puppies can fill your heart.

Your school's career center should have a ton of summer internships that could help place you in. For example, the Aga Khan Education Services offers two Wellesley students a summer program in Hyderabad with a $3000 stipend plus lodging and airfare. The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture offers positions for MIT architecture and planning students and that's just a couple of spots from one organization!

You might be too late to apply for this round of offerings, so you might have to wait until summer 2007, but the National Science Foundation's http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5517&org=NSF offers all sorts of opportunities for people like you to get involved in academic research. These programs come with a decent stipend, so that's a big advantage. They mostly won't offer a chance to go abroad or learn a foreign language (although some will; I had an REU fellowship that sent me to Chile for several weeks), but they would give you a chance to go somewhere new in the US and do something interesting. The offerings are http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm, spanning the range of physical, biological, social, and many other sciences.

Dude! http://www.burningman.com/ See you there. They have discount 'scholarship' passes for students, too.

If you're interested in education as a major, consider interning at a private school's summer school. I taught at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass. The deadlines have passed a bit, but they might still have openings. They provide room and board, and you get to learn to teach international kids-- (400 kids, 100 from America, the rest from 40 countries-- wild experience!). Try www.cushing.org and look for Summer Session. There are also dozens of private schools especially in the northeast that have summer schools like these. Also check into summer programs for high schoolers at large universities-- Northwestern, Harvard, etc.

Volunteer for the National Park Service. Generally you get housing and a small stipend. Back in the day when I worked for the NPS there were two volunteer programs: Volunteers in Parks (VIP) and the SCA, I can't recall what it stands for. There are parks in all 50 states, many of them stunningly beautiful, and you work with other young people from all over the country. Huge fun!