Newsletter
May 2009 Newsletter
Your summer break can be a wonderful opportunity for you to do something that you don’t ordinarily have the time to do during the school year. You can work full-time, conduct research, initiate a community service project, attend a sports camp to improve your athletic skills, engage in an internship experience, or take a course or two online or at a local college.
While you may not be required to write an essay on “how you spent your summer vacation,” when it comes time for you to fill out your college applications, you will be required to complete an activity sheet that includes a section for you to describe your summer activities. Also, when writing your personal statement by using an anecdote from a productive summer experience you can demonstrate support for your passion. You want to show that you spent your summers wisely and productively, that you pursued your interests and developed your talents.
In recent years, expensive summer programs have become pervasive. In an effort to make their college bound children’s extracurricular involvements stand out, parents are paying thousands of dollars for non-paid internships or community service projects in exotic lands. What many students and their parents don’t realize is that an extraordinary summer experience can be had in a variety of ways, and that you don’t have to travel to Costa Rica to have something interesting to write about. Nor, can you count on these programs to give you an edge in the college admissions process, especially when an underpaid admissions counselor who is reading your application knows that she didn’t have the same opportunity when she applied to college.
In addition to whatever it is that you choose to do this summer, if you’re currently a high school junior, consider joining us for our intensive 3 day Admission Assurance Workshop in NY, Chicago or LA. With Ivy Coach’s help, you will complete your college application, develop a list with at least 12 colleges that are appropriate matches for your achievements, interests, and goals, learn interviewing techniques, and happily begin your senior year stress free.
It’s time to begin making plans for your summer vacation. So think about choosing something that can further enhance your passions, talents and skills. An exciting and productive summer experience can help you to discover something new about yourself and the world around you, and it just might also help you gain admission to the college of your choice.