Do I study or take classes this summer?

It’s May. The last bell is about to ring. Your kid just survived a year of AP classes, extracurriculars, and the low-grade anxiety that follows every high schooler around like a shadow. And now someone, a neighbor, a blog post, a well-meaning aunt, has planted the question:

“So what are they doing this summer? Any programs lined up?”

Cue the panic.

Here’s the truth: the answer isn’t “yes, always” or “no, never.” It depends on where your student is in the process, what they’re trying to accomplish, and whether the activity actually moves the needle, or just looks like it does.

Let’s break it down by grade level, because a rising sophomore and a rising senior are in completely different situations.

Rising Sophomores and Juniors: Explore, Don’t Optimize

If your student has another year or two before applications, the summer is less about credential-building and more about discovery. Admissions officers aren’t looking for a 15-year-old with a packed résumé. They’re looking for a student who’s starting to figure out what they care about, and doing something about it.

That might look like a summer class. Or it might not.

Summer classes make sense when:

• Your student wants to explore a subject their school doesn’t offer, marine biology, philosophy, creative writing, computer science
• They need to get ahead on prerequisites so they can take more rigorous courses junior and senior year (taking geometry over the summer to get into AP Calc by 11th grade, for example)
• They genuinely want to, not because it’ll “look good,” but because they’re curious

Summer classes don’t make sense when:

• The only reason is résumé padding. Admissions officers can spot this. A $6,000 pre-college program at a name-brand university doesn’t carry the weight parents think it does, especially if the student can’t talk about what they actually learned
• Your student is already burning out. Academic fatigue is real, and a kid who’s exhausted going into junior year is worse off than one who spent the summer reading novels and working a part-time job
• The program is expensive and the family is stretching to afford it. That money might be better spent on SAT prep, campus visits, or, honestly, just saved for tuition

What actually helps at this stage:

Reading. Seriously. Students who read widely, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, whatever catches their interest, develop the kind of critical thinking and writing ability that shows up everywhere: in essays, in interviews, in how they talk about themselves. It’s the most underrated college prep activity that exists.

Beyond that: a summer job, a volunteer commitment, a personal project, time spent with family. These things build the kind of texture and self-awareness that makes a college essay compelling. You can’t write an interesting personal statement if you haven’t done anything interesting, and “interesting” doesn’t have to mean “impressive.”

Rising Seniors: This Is the Strategic Summer

Now we’re talking about a different animal entirely. The summer before senior year is the single most important window in the entire college admissions process. Not because you need to take classes, but because this is when the real application work begins.

The Common App opens August 1. Supplemental essay prompts start dropping in June and July. Teacher recommendation requests should go out before the school year ends. Your college list needs to be close to final.

So: should a rising senior take summer classes?

In most cases, no. Your time is better spent on the things that will directly impact your applications.

Here’s what rising seniors should actually be doing this summer:

1. ‍Lock in the college list. This means research, real research, not just rankings. What programs match your interests? What’s the campus culture like? What does the school actually cost your family after financial aid? A balanced list, a few ambitious reaches, several realistic targets, and two or three schools where admission is likely, is the foundation everything else sits on.‍
2. Start your essays. The personal statement is the hardest part of the application for most students, and it cannot be written in a weekend. Start brainstorming in June. Write bad drafts. Walk away. Come back. The students who start early write better essays, not because they spend more total hours, but because they give their ideas time to develop.‍
3. Prep for standardized tests if you’re retaking them. If you’re planning to take the SAT or ACT in the fall, summer is the time to study. This is one area where a structured program, whether it’s a class, a tutor, or a disciplined self-study plan, can be genuinely worth the investment.‍
4. Visit campuses. Yes, summer visits are quieter. But you can still get a feel for the physical environment, the surrounding area, and whether you can see yourself there. Plus, many schools track demonstrated interest, and a campus visit counts.‍
5. Ask for recommendation letters before school ends. This is a May task, not a summer task, but it matters. Teachers who know well in advance write better letters.

The exception: if your student needs a specific class to meet graduation requirements or to strengthen a weak spot on their transcript, say, they got a C in chemistry and want to show they can handle science, then yes, a summer course can help. But that’s a targeted fix, not a general strategy.

The Real Question Behind the Question

Most parents asking “should my kid study this summer?” are actually asking something deeper: “Are we doing enough?”

And the answer, more often than not, is: yes. You’re doing enough. The admissions process has a way of making every family feel like they’re behind, like there’s some secret playbook everyone else has. There isn’t. The students who stand out are the ones who’ve spent their time authentically, pursuing things that matter to them, developing their own voice, and building a genuine understanding of what they want from college.

That can absolutely include summer classes. But it doesn’t have to.