School’s out for the summer and it won’t be long before you hear those dreaded words, “I’m bored.” My grandsons have already uttered them!
Personally, I never liked those words. I don’t use them myself and I taught my kids not to use them. They knew if they used them, I would find them something to occupy their time and they wouldn’t like it.
While you can’t jam college prep down your teen’s throat this summer, you can prepare for those “I’m bored” moments and take advantage of the opportunity to help them find something to occupy their time.
Here are some suggestions to crush the summer boredom:
Summer is here and the last thing you probably want to hear about is college prep. Summer is supposed to be a time for fun, relaxation and a break from academics. But what if I told you that you can kill two birds with one stone: have fun and improve your college chances? Believe it or not, it’s possible through a variety of teen summer programs and strategies to use the summer to enhance your high school resume.
Find something you love and volunteer
You don’t have to travel abroad to do community service and it doesn’t have to be a chore. Find something you are passionate about and spend the summer doing it. Are you interested in construction? Work for Habitat for Humanity. Do politics interest you? Work on a local political campaign. Are you concerned about the environment? Help with local environmental cleanup projects. VolunteerMatch helps you to find just the right activity that suits your interests.
Start a charity or a campaign
It’s not work if it’s something you love. Think outside the box. Gather used books for nursing homes and recruit volunteers to read to them. Create activity books for children in hospitals and deliver them. Gather used test prep books and donate them to local libraries. The possibilities are endless. Need some ideas? DoSomething.org can get you started.
Work on your social media profile
You’re going to be online anyway. Why not clean up your profiles? Colleges look at social media profiles when reviewing applicants. Boost your presence online by creating your very own personal website to brag about your achievements and your passions. If you’re an arts kids, social media could help you find an arts audience. While you’re at it, follow some colleges on any number of social media channels to learn more about them.
I’ve had several parents ask me recently about activities I recommend over the summer during high school. Summers are a great time to take advantage of the days and make a future impression on your high school resume.
Here is my list of the Top 10 summer activities:
SAT/ACT Prep–summer is the best time to spend doing some SAT prep and improving vocabulary. There are awesome sites online for this. Just check out my post Top 5 SAT Prep Sites.
Scholarship Searches–Even if your teen isn’t a senior yet, it’s a good practice to do some preliminary searching to make note of qualifications and deadlines. Note: Look locally first. Local scholarships are less competitive and often easily earned. For some search sites, check out my post of the Top 10 Scholarship Search sites.
Volunteer–Encourage your teen to start volunteering in his/her community. A consistent pattern of volunteering each summer looks great on applications and shows colleges that your teen is concerned about giving back.
Get a job or start a business–Summer is a good time to make some cash for that college fund and also demonstrate responsibility. Many teens actually go the entrepreneurial route and start a business: lawn mowing, babysitting, tutoring, etc.
Write–Probably the last thing your teen wants to do over the summer is write. But writing is good preparation for the college essay and the writing portion of the SAT. Journaling is a great way to do this and will also serve to spur your teen’s creativity.
Make some preliminary college visits–I stress “preliminary” here since visiting colleges in the summer isn’t the best time to get a clear picture of college life. But it’s a great time to wander around and explore the campuses.
iTunes University—iTunes University is an excellent way for your teen to get an idea of what college courses might be like. It’s free and there is a wide array of subject matter to choose from. You can access it on your iPhone or iTouch or by downloading iTunes on your computer.
Start or focus on a hobby–Hobbies are great ways that your teen can stand out from the pack on his/her college application. But it needs to be consistent throughout high school.
Spend some time on social media–You won’t have to pull their arms to get them to do this; but it needs to be focused. Have them spend some time on Twitter to follow some college tweets. They should also read some blogs from college students and perhaps connect with some on Facebook from the colleges they are considering. Check out my list of the Top 30 College Info Twitterers.
Read–Yes. I know…I can hear it now…BORING. But honestly, reading is one of the BEST summer activities to enhance their academic success and improve their vocabulary. And if he/she likes Ayn Rand, there are several big money scholarships given each year for essays on her books!
What are your favorite summer activities with your college-bound teens? Do you have any other suggestions?
