Summer Survey

As the weather starts turning chillier and the last few 8:00 p.m. sunsets leave New York City, summer 2026 slowly flickers out and the hallways of Stuyvesant fill with backpacks and fluorescent lights. Whether it’s tanning on a beach in Hawaii or studying for the SAT, Stuyvesant students have never been ones to let this season go to waste. Let’s see what Stuyvesant has been up to this summer!

Enjoyment / Productivity

Stuyvesant students had a genuinely enjoyable summer break! The average enjoyment rating came in at just above a four out of five. However, productivity was much more varied. While most students accomplished at least one goal they had set for themselves, the ratings were much more spread out compared to enjoyment. Interestingly, there was only a low correlation between enjoyment and productivity. Productivity varies from student to student: one student may be running everyday to exercise, and one student may be catching up on sleep. Some of the busiest summers weren’t the most enjoyable, and the most hardworking students didn’t always feel the most fulfilled. 

Productivity / Goals

Great job, Stuyvesant! This summer, students worked toward a wide range of goals, from studying for the SAT and working on college applications to getting a first job, completing research, and volunteering. Others used the summer to enjoy hobbies like drawing, guitar, cooking, reading, and writing, while many focused on spending more time with friends and family or trying new activities. Some students also made rest a priority, choosing to enjoy their summer and decompress from a long school year. Overall, students found different ways to make the most of their time away from school, whether by preparing for the future or simply making time for themselves.  

Stressors

While summer brought many fun days in the sun, it didn’t come without its stress. Many rising seniors worried about personal statements, studying for the SAT and ACT, writing supplemental essays, and the impending doom of senior year. Additionally, many students felt overwhelmed with the sheer amount they had taken upon themselves during the summer. On the contrary, many students felt unproductive as they didn’t have a schedule to follow or assignments to complete.

• “Feeling so overwhelmed with research and assignments to the point where I doomscrolled the day away because I was so scared of starting.”
• “Working on college apps, doomscrolling on Instagram.”
• “Waking up and knowing there is a practice SAT in my future.”
• “The sinking feeling I get when I realize the school year is approaching. I could never go to another school, but I just wasn’t excited for the stress.”
• “Any days wasted on just doomscrolling and nothing actually done.”

Memories

Over the summer, Stuyvesant students made memories worth remembering, whether they left the summer smiling or wishing they could forget.

Happy Times

• “Seeing my first concert.”
• “Hanging out with my family in Korea and eating delicious food!”
• “Watching the world cup [with my] friends.”
• “Performing in music camp!”
• “Going to a waterpark.”
• “Going to a difficult escape room and completing the room without hints.”
• “Trying froyo with my friends!”
• “Playing Jenga with my friends.”
• “Getting to meet a bunch of new high schoolers in NYC who worked at the same program as me over the summer.”
• “Travelling and staying in an Airbnb.”
• “Biking with my grandpa.”
• “Playing board games and going to the beach with my cousins in Connecticut.”
• “Watching The Odyssey with my friends.”
• “Watching Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack being performed by the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.”
• “Playing badminton with my friend in the park and getting Baskin Robbins ice cream after, learning about other cultures while traveling, and meeting so many people and learning new skills at my lab.”
• “[Going] on a 22 mile bike ride with my dad super early in the morning!”
• “Having sleepovers with my cousins at my grandma’s house.”
• “Watching Six on Broadway.”
• “Watching the sunset with my friend.”
• “Going out for karaoke and sending my older sister off to college.”
• “Meeting up with my friends from Singapore after three years!”
• “Seeing family and friends in Ireland and Turkey.”
• “My favorite memory from this summer would definitely be going to CocoCay in the Bahamas, which is Royal Caribbean’s private island. There was so much to do, it was super pretty, and it was really nice to have a beach day.”
• “Going to the beach with my family!”

Less Happy Times

• “Being forced to run a mile in the hot humidity of Prospect Park with my sister.”
• “Finding a cockroach in my mom’s room when I went to wish her goodnight and then chasing it around and killing it with a ruler.”
• “Studying for the SAT.”
• “My phone exploding.”
• “Doing an online course.”
• “Working on my college applications.”
• “My least favorite memory from this summer was having to study for assessments.”
• “Getting rained on [at an] anime convention.”
• “Being generally unproductive and doing nothing.”
• “My least favorite memory this summer is probably the fact that my MacBook broke and I had to buy a new one with my internship stipend.”
• “My least favorite memory from this summer was doing nothing at home on rainy days.”
• “My family and I went to Canada during a heatwave so it was really hot.”
• “Meetings with college counselor.”
• “[The] strings of my guitar breaking and having to replace them.”
• “Going out in the extreme heat and almost passing out.”

Top Travel Destinations

DOMESTIC

• California
• Massachusetts
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Colorado
• Wyoming
• Washington State
• Michigan
• New York (Long Island, Fire Island, upstate)

INTERNATIONAL

• France
• Spain
• Portugal
• South Korea
• Japan
• India
• Scotland
• Egypt
• Canada
• Mexico
• Tanzania
• Poland
• Tajikistan
• Uzbekistan
• Ireland
• Turkey
• Singapore
• Thailand
• China
• Kenya
• Bahamas

Summer Playlist

SONGS

“stupid song” - Olivia Rodrigo

“Someday” - One Republic

“Don’t Stop Me Now” - Queen
“Heart Shaped Box” - Nirvana

“Clarity” - Zedd

“Hey Jude” - The Beatles

ARTISTS/BANDS

Tinashe

Doja Cat

ROLE MODEL

Madonna

Tame Impala

What’s Streaming?

MOVIES

Obsession

Moana 2

Spiderman: Brand New Day

The Odyssey

Interstellar

Backrooms

SHOWS

The Office

Love Island

Friends

Stranger Things

Modern Family

Gossip Girl

On the Bookshelf 

BOOKS
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Little Women

Let Me Tell You What I Mean

Pride And Prejudice

Not Quite Dead Yet

AUTHORS

Freida McFadden

Emily Henry

J.R.R. Tolkien

Ted Chiang

Cixin Liu