One Thing to Know about the Upcoming Summer

This is the time of year when many high school juniors look forward to summer “vacation.” Who can blame them? After all, images of going to the beach or lakeshore, socializing with friends, and simply hanging out are very attractive. And frankly, for many highly-stressed high school students, a nice break in the summer is something to rightfully look forward to.

I’m certainly not someone who is anti-fun, but let me strongly recommend to all high school students that using your summer wisely has become an integral part to improving your college application.

This is especially true for juniors. Juniors need to improve and/or fix problems with their upcoming college applications during the summer before senior year. Working with a private education consultant – be it myself or someone else – is something that is well worth your time and money. Having an independent third-party look at your resume and give you honest feedback will give you a lot of useful information about what to do over the summer.

In my practice, most students tend to have gaping holes regarding their volunteerism. They simply don’t volunteer enough. Well, the summer is a great time to remedy that. In addition, if you know you have extremely tough classes coming up in the fall, why not get a head start on them during your summer? If you know that AP Chemistry in your high school is the hardest class offered, why not take a chemistry class over the summer at a local university?

One thing I saw this past application season is that virtually every student I worked with who did very well in the application process planned their summers wisely, made maximum use of opportunities to volunteer and to do internships, and also did quite a bit of study. I should also add that every one of my students enjoyed their summer and had plenty of time to socialize, and many took a much-needed vacation.

Bottom line: the days when you could think about summer as taking time off from school is essentially over if you’re looking at top-tier universities and colleges. Summers have become virtual extensions of the school year, and those students who choose not to maximize opportunities during June, July, and August, do so at their peril.