Newsletter
June 2006 Newsletter
If you’re a high school student, your summer break is not the time to watch tv, play video games, IM your friends, or hang out at the beach, unless of course any of these activities involve your employment, internship or research project. Your summer vacation is the time to expand your mind and your experiences by working at a real job, doing volunteer work, conducting research, attending a sports camp to improve your skills as an athlete, having an internship experience or taking courses at a local or residential college.
On most college applications, in addition to an activity sheet, there is a space for you to either list or write a few lines about your summer activities. College admissions counselors want to know that you have spent your summers productively, pursuing your talents and passions.
How you choose to spend your summer vacations can have a definite impact on whether or not you are admitted to the college of your choice. This is not to say that students with substandard test scores and grades will be admitted simply because they have had a productive summer. However, assuming you meet the academic criteria of the colleges to which you’re applying, if you have pursued positive summer experiences you may be viewed as a more attractive candidate for admission.
Whatever it is that you plan to do during your summer break, you need to begin making plans. So think about what it is that you enjoy the most and then do something where you can further enhance your talents, skills and interests. An exciting summer experience can help you to discover something new about yourself and the world around you, and it just might also help you to gain acceptance to the college of your choice.
