The months long stretch of unscheduled summer vacation can be enticing to both teens and their parents. For teens, the idea of sleeping in until afternoon and no pressure about daily homework assignments is enthralling. For parents, summer can be an unrestricted time to explore other academic interests and hobbies. (And, in fairness, for teens too, attending a residential camp for a week or more on a college campus or other location away from home can be just as appealing as the idea is to their parents.) Then, the questions start: What opportunities are available? Where do I find the options? How do we pay for the costs? What’s the advantage of one program over another? Will summer activities add to my competitiveness for college admissions? In my experience, what families and teens are seeking how to make the most out of the summer break.
Following the order of the questions, here’s some short answers: Exploring potential college majors, experiencing a possible city or region before committing to colleges, being exposed to “college life” by living in the residence halls for a week, jumping into an unknown adventure, living abroad or deepening a community service commitment are all interests teens indulge during summer activities. There is no one place to look for summer opportunities and costs can vary to fit any budget. Word-of-mouth referrals can help teens size up the different opportunities and hear a first-hand testimonial of the good, the bad and the ugly of the experience. College campuses often sponsor programs for high school students–UCLA and Brown University being two. The advantages will vary based on the individual student, both in the short term during the experience, as well as for college admissions. Students and their parents who compare activities and location of the different programs can help find the camp that will best suit the student’s interests and needs. Also, because colleges evaluate the entirety of an individual’s application, no one experience or summer activity is going to be the pivotal deciding factor about admissions, so families are free to choose the experience that makes sense to the student.
Taking advantage of the summer break to explore additional interests that may get squeezed out during the bustle of the school year schedule makes sense. Starting now to search for summer programs, in the winter, may seem counterintuitive; yet, many have application deadlines and “early bird” prices during February and March. Plus, students don’t want to necessarily over-schedule themselves; after all, there will also likely be summer reading to complete. But, I’ll leave that issue to another post.
For advising about summer programs for your student, call Creative Marbles Consultancy at (916) 457-4090. We can recommend different opportunities, as well as consult your family about how summer activities will help your student stay competitive for college admissions.
