It's a Junior Summer
Job or volunteer selection should be done with next year’s applications in mind. This summer’s choice between being a fast food server for pay and a volunteer aide for no pay at your local day care center may seem like a no-brainer, but an early interest in helping others may be more impressive on a college application than the “Do-you-want-fries–with-that?” choice.
One Dad I know paid the hourly food server rate to his daughter while she volunteered at the church child care center. Dad knew what would be best in the long term.
The Application Process
You would think that grades, test scores and class rank would just about cover the important points of next year’s college applications. But those numbers will only put the application in a file drawer of others with almost identical academic records. Past summer activities and recommendations can make your student’s application outstanding.
With some exceptions, application deadlines occur in January and February. A good rule for your upcoming high school senior is to make your selections by Thanksgiving and finish applications before Christmas.
Requests for recommendations will need to be done in late summer or this fall also. Your son or daughter should be clear what she expects when asking someone for a recommendation. If a parent was grateful to your daughter for helping his toddler at day care, she should suggest that her letter-writer mention that event. Recommendations from persons who are not specific about personal qualities or are unrelated to your student’s academic or community activities are not helpful.
If a family vacation is part of this summer’s plan, choose a route that comes close to some colleges of interest. Even if your high school student has no idea about his or her future, don’t put off college visits. These experiences will determine future directions.
Summer shadowing is another great way to spend a few summer days. Ask your son or daughter to call a nurse, doctor, lawyer or person working in a field of interest to ask if he/she could be a background visitor for a typical working day.
Daughters particularly need parental support for exploring careers. She is 50 percent more likely to finish college than her brother and the majority of students in law school, medical school, and graduate school are women.
Over 90 percent of college freshmen will change their major, and 50 percent will change at least twice. So don’t put off college visits because no main field of study has come into focus. College offers, first of all, a way to learn about yourself and how your own special talents fit the possibilities.
Even now, your budding college student should interrupt his or her computer-game time to visit web sites of likely colleges. Collegesource.org is a good place to start.
Stopping off during your vacation trip to “just look around” is likely to meet with a lot of closed buildings. Have your student call ahead to the college admissions office. He or she can simply tell them of his interest in scheduling a tour of the campus, a talk with an admissions person, a visit to a dorm, and a chance to speak to someone about financial aid programs.
Kids should enjoy the summer vacation, but plans for the future also need to be part of the summer weeks.
For more information, head back to the Parenting Tips: College archive, or check out these related parenting tips:
Tips for Applications: Read up on some crucial tips to consider in the college application process.
Don't Miss Graduation: Graduation ceremonies, whether from college or middle school, can have greater importance than many parents realize!
Parent Power in Schools: How one parent's idea can make a big difference in schools!
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