For most students, summer is a time to tan, relax around the pool, hang out with friends and go on a family vacation. But, for some, July and August are dedicated to sitting in stuffy classrooms.

Students today overbook their summers  just to improve their college résumés, psychologist Allison St. John says.

“Not only do [students] have so many activities on their plates, but they’re also emotionally strained,” she says. “They’re always thinking, ‘Will this activity look good on my college applications?’”

The pressure to stand out can sometimes lead students to participate in too many summertime educational activities, according to counselor Kenneth Putt.

“Kids are saying ‘I’m going to go take a summer course at Brown because it’s going to get me into college,’” Putt says.

Students do activities that they’re not interested in to build impressive high school transcripts, according to Putt.

But, St. John fears that too much stress during the summer will shake the balance between work and play.

“High school students, especially, can really over-function during the school year,” she says. “And when that extends into the summer months, they don’t have a break at all. Not to say that you should do nothing and cut all summer activities, but it’s important to have a balance.”

Summer is the time to explore areas you are interested in, but some educational activities during the summer can be too much to handle.

“If someone had a hard year emotionally or socially, then summer is a great time to relax and get back in shape,” psychologist Mandi Mader says. “If your life is really out of whack during the school year, then you could benefit from down time over the summer.”

Putt believes doing something you enjoy often looks better on a résumé than any forced activity.

“If you’re doing a summer program to look good, it doesn’t really come across as ringing very true to the colleges, and so its really not that beneficial,” Putt says. “My attitude is to spend your summers doing something that you really want to do.”