Do Colleges Really Care How You Spend Your Summer?

As you begin planning ahead and thinking about colleges, one thing to keep in mind is that colleges are interested in how you spend your time out of school, including during the summers. One way to make yourself stand out from many other qualified applicants is the way that you choose to use that time. 

There are many interesting and exciting things that you can do over the summer, such as working as a camp counselor, having a summer job, or having an internship in a field which interests you, as just a few examples. In addition, there are a multitude of opportunities available to you on college campuses.

Many colleges offer pre-college summer programs for high school students. Most are for rising juniors and seniors, but some are even for rising sophomores. These are wonderful opportunities for you to explore a field of interest, study something that you have always wanted to learn about, or to enhance your academic record. Programs are available in a wide range of study: engineering, architecture, art, music, literature, math and science, liberal arts, business, theater, writing, riding, leadership, study abroad, and many other areas.

These programs also give you an excellent opportunity to find out more about a particular college and to experience a bit of what life is really like on a college campus.

If you are interested in finding out more about some of these programs, please feel free to drop by my office at any time. You may also search through Naviance by clicking on "Family Connection," then "Colleges," then "Enrichment Opportunities."

Currently, I have information available from the following colleges:
Georgia Tech
Auburn
Harvard
Samford
WPI
University of Dayton
Xavier
Mississippi State
Carleton
Boston University
Wake Forest
Cornell
Tufts
Hollins
George Washington University 
Syracuse
University of Virginia
Furman
Washington University 
Smith
Rochester - RIT
Rice
Carnegie-Mellon
Stanford
Babson
Brandeis
Maryland Institute of Art
SCAD
St. Andrew's - Scotland
Oxford & Cambridge
Barnard
St. Johns 

If you would like to consider applying for any of these programs, Ms. Brewer and I would be happy to talk with you at any time.