A high school student doesn’t always need to do something difficult to learn a lot, make an impact, and impress colleges. Sometimes the easy way is the best way.
Yes, you could pay to travel over the summer to do volunteer work in South America. Or you could volunteer at a local non-profit right in your hometown.
Most of the material you might learn in an expensive summer program could also be learned in a local course, or in a free online offering, or from a book, or even on YouTube.
You could spend many hours and late nights studying for your next trig exam. Or you could spend ten minutes after you do your trig homework each night and pretend that you now have to teach the material back to an imaginary class.
You could spend your days frantically trying to fulfill your commitments in a long list of activities. Or you could prune that list and commit only to a few things that mean the most to you.
You could spend your high school years working hard to please those ultra-selective colleges that are most likely to deny you (and most of the other students who apply). Or you could work just as hard, but find colleges that are predisposed to appreciate what you have to offer, and who in return are most likely to offer you admission.
Sometimes easier is actually much better.