<p>vicariously? oops ;)</p>
<p>This is a long shot but I really want to guess that you saw the Dos Equis commercial and misinterpreted the word’s definition :D</p>
<p>Oopsies, I meant vivaciously (or some synonym of that). My bad.</p>
<p>Begin reading a newspaper daily if you don’t already do. It was a little shocking to see some of my fellow frosh classmates not knowing what was going on in the world (or even their backyard) when the global politics prof asked them about current events. It feels great when you can participate in a well informed discussion not only in class but also with your peers.</p>
<p>Personally, I love the New York Times and have been a subscriber since middle school (after using it for project, I was hooked!), but most of the articles are free to the public on the website. The WaPo and WSJ are also great! Some of the publications’ blogs are very interesting and informative, especially on hot button issues. Also, some unviersities have direct subscriptions with certain publications and you can pick up a copy at a designated area on campus.</p>
<p>On a nerdier note, I love Open Yale Courses ([Online</a> Video Lectures and Course Materials: Open Yale Courses](<a href=“http://oyc.yale.edu/]Online”>http://oyc.yale.edu/)). I found them recently as my Spring semester came to a close and I realized I wanted to find some lectures on topics of my interest at a collegiate level. Their website explains it as “providing free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.” I realize I sound like a commercial :), but I find the breadth of the lectures choices as giving everyone a little of what they like–apparently many colleges (Notre Dame is one, I believe) now offer similar programs on their websites.</p>
<p>Best of luck on your collegiate journey!</p>
<p>think of all the stuff you didn’t feel like fitting into your high school schedule and do it now. read books that you’ve been putting off, or just find random books that might be fun. when you’re at school these can be good icebreakers, but don’t just read what you’re supposed to read!
help your family/parents out around the house, or help with carpooling. it’s a good way to spend time with them since you will see them less if you’re not living with them next year. they’ll obviously appreciate it, and it’s just a loving thing to do.
practice buying groceries by yourself, or going to other stores by yourself. some high school seniors have been doing this for years, but if you haven’t, now is the time to make sure you can comfortably complete a cash register transaction.</p>
<p>Definitely have fun! Even though you’ll still have summer breaks during college you’ll feel more obligated to live like, well, an adult. No longer will it be cool to just lounge around all day in your pajamas. Well, you still can (and will), but it will be more expected of you to do things like work, intern, take summer courses, etc. </p>
<p>Make sure you know things like how you’re going to pay for school (do you need scholarships, loans, or possibly a job?) and make sure all those arrangements are ready.</p>
<p>Just enjoy being with your family and friends before college starts! Enjoy sleeping in your own bed and eating your parent’s food. And definitely, definitely keep in touch with high school friends!</p>
<p>"now is the time to make sure you can comfortably complete a cash register transaction. "</p>
<p>if you can’t do that, how the hell did you get into college?</p>
<p>To the person who said scholarships. Almost 99% of scholarships for HS seniors are closed. I know ill be doing internships after each summer of college so im taking this summer off to hang out with friends, play basketball, work out, tan at the beach, and just enjoying life until hell resumes next year</p>
<p>also, im doing a small part time tutoring gig for spending money next year</p>
<p>If you have a younger sibling, make some special time together outside the home, just you two (no tagalong friends). Take him/her out for ice cream or whatever. Camp out a night in the backyard together. Create a happy memory. That person will miss you, even if there’s some conflict now. Leave a good trail of memories behind you with your sib. If the sib is a sweet one, ask for some advice or participation as you pack in August. </p>
<p>If you have the bigger of the bedrooms, think over whether you’re ready to offer to trade rooms during this summer. If so, after consulting with parents of course, move all your furniture and belongings. Then your sib can enjoy the larger space you’ve had during highschool. When you come home to visit, your stuff will still be there, just in a smaller space. You don’t need that bedroom as much as you think you do. </p>
<p>Also: climb a tree – or lie on top of the car or apartment roof. Get a wide range view of your neighborhood. Look back at your house and think of all the things, good and bad, that went on there. Tuck it all into your memory. Borrow a videocam and record how you feel about your home and neighborhood. </p>
<p>Learn how to handle your laundry. My son asked me how to iron a shirt the night before he left for college. I was astonished that he wanted to know, but now he always looks sharp whenever he wants to.</p>
<p>Open your mind – intuitively, not just analytically/intellectually. Music is a good way to do just that. Here’s a way: go onto YouTube and look for the kind of music you’ve never listened to before. Jazz, folk, rap, classical, opera, blues, country-western, ethnic or international roots music (“world music”)… whatever;s unfamiliar or you thought two years ago you didn’t like, try a taste of it this summer. Listen to many artists from a genre that’s brand new to you. That’s what college will feel like, too: lots of new discoveries on an intuition/emotional level as well as intellectual. That’s why I send people to music as well as books. It’s a different side of the brain. You need both sides to survive. If music doesn’t do that for you, try looking at art on the Web or walk around to look at your neighborhood in great visual detail, even with a sketchbook.</p>
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<p>This wouldn’t surprise me at all. Many students rely on their parents to do almost all of their shopping and transations, especially those students who do not have a job. I met plenty of people who didn’t know how to handle a transaction when I was working retail.</p>
<p>I think it’s truly sad when a cashier can’t -or won’t - count back your change to you. They just hand it in a pile. </p>
<p>Lots of kids will never work retail before college, but it is a good experience to learn.</p>
<p>I’ve never counted back change. Most people get impatient when we counted back the change. We were specifically instructed not to count back change.</p>
<p>And they’ve never bought something at McDonald’s? Starbucks? Talk about a sheltered life!</p>
<p>And yeah I don’t count back change unless I get a $50 or $100 bill. I tell them their change but that’s it.</p>
<p>i’m off to college in the fall as well! i’m spending my time working A LOT (one of the other employees is leaving for the entire summer so i said that i can work some of his shifts plus mine and one of the customers told me that she’d hire me to babysit for her family regularly) when i’m not doing that i’ll be spending time with my friends and family. i’m also learning how to do the things that i will need to do next year such as cooking and cleaning and shopping for my dorm room.</p>
<p>I’m going off to college next year, and I really want to find a job this summer. I’ve never worked before, and I am possibly one of those sheltered people you guys are laughing about, and I’d really like to change that, especially before college.</p>
<p>That being said, I have no idea how to go about finding a job. Are all the summer jobs taken by this time? If not, how exactly does one go about finding a job? (As in, online applications, or should I go in person to individual stores? If the latter, who do I ask to speak to for an application?) I honestly don’t care what kind of job it is, as long as it doesn’t require previous work experience, which I do not have. </p>
<p>This is kind of embarassing, but if anyone has any advice, that’d be greatly appreciated. I have no desire to vegetate in my house all summer.</p>
<p>If you have lots of money: read, hang out with friends from high school, watch TV. </p>
<p>If you don’t have lots of money: Get a job and work as much as you can. You’ll enjoy having spending money when you get to school. Also, I think that it is better to work 40 hours per week over the summer than 10 hours per week during the school year, though you can do both.</p>
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<p>Usually job applications ask for a summary of work experience and possibly references. You might want to find a high school teacher or two to be a reference. Note that they do not need to write a letter or anything, you just need to ask permission to give employers their email or phone number. </p>
<p>Just go into a store or restaurant and ask for an application. You can ask whoever is at the front desk - if they don’t know where it is then they’ll call a supervisor. You can usually fill them out at the spot. Sometimes they will ask for an interview, but the interview won’t be difficult - they’ll just want to see that you aren’t dangerous/insane. </p>
<p>Another piece of advice: stores are usually a much nicer place to work than fast food restaurants.</p>
<p>Thanks, al6200! Since I’m out of school, though, I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to contact my old teachers for references; hopefully that won’t be too important for the basic jobs I’m looking for. I’ll start the job search tomorrow. I hope there are some jobs left; I really should have done this months ago, but I was too wrapped up in college decisions =/</p>
<p>It’s still pretty hard to find a job, so don’t be disappointed. You’ll get a job eventually, even if you can’t snag one this summer.</p>
<p>I havent read all the advice… but as a mom, I’d appreciate it if you could clean out your closet and drawers. Charity, garage sale, etc. Just get rid of the junk. Nothing worse than the overly cluttered HS room when your kid leaves for college. Not to mention the summer after that first year when they’ve accumulated a whole new slew of stuff.</p>
<p>Go to websites for big retail places like Best Buy or Target, they have a careers/jobs link on the front page. They make you fill out a personality test at those big retail places… basically answer like you think the perfect worker-bee would. Employees who steal products should have their hands cut off, the boss is always right, you don’t let emotions affect your job, etc. If you get an interview, come off as hard-working and quick-learning but not too much of a free-thinker. Very few retail places (and other such jobs) value free thought from the slav, err, lower-level employees.</p>