<p>The competitive set here in my town is telling me that I am making a big mistake by letting my kid work this summer at a day camp. She will be a rising junior (not 16 until December so limited work opportunities this summer) and is in a high-achieving friend group (over 4.0 GPA). For a while she was interested in one of those summer language programs, but they were very expensive and we have some health circumstances in our family right now with another child which make it difficult to spend on those types of things - she also didn't seem like she was absolutely dying to go on one. But I have other parents telling me she should take a community college class (last thing she wants to do) or a CTY class (she for in a few years ago but never went nor did an online course - again, does not want to spend her summer on schoolwork) or go on one of those unaffordable language trips. </p>
<p>This is not my first kid and all of my kids worked during the summer (one did go to CTY but in middle school), but it is my first kid in this kind of competitive friend group and who has the stats to <em>possibly</em> attend a more competitive college. But - as mentioned - she doesn't want more schoolwork - she wants to enjoy her summer. Yet I have had at least three parents tell me that she needs to do something unique and exceptional to "remain competitive." These people are driving me nuts, but I also don't want my kid (or me) to realize later that she should have done something different...although how many "different" things can you do on a limited budget? </p>
<p>Don’t beat yourself up. Working at a summer camp may not be unique, but colleges know perfectly well that school during the summer generally costs money. Your daughter will get recognized for having spent her summer productively. If she has any interest in working with children in her working life, this experience will be invaluable, but even if she doesn’t having a job is a great experience. Lots of kids arrive in college completely burned out for having done nothing but school work for the last 12 years, doing something different is good for the soul. </p>
<p>I definitely would not push her to do academics over the summer if she is not asking for it. My daughter <em>was</em> asking for it, but it was still hard for her to launch into senior year after about 12 days off. I also don’t think summer classes are particularly unique. We didn’t do the program thinking it was going to make her seem unique, we did it because she wanted a live-away from home experience, which she’s never had before, and because she was able to get an experience that helped us plan for college–she needed to decide whether to apply to engineering schools or not. </p>
<p>I don’t see why working would be a bad summer activity, especially in a place she enjoys being. It would probably distinguish her from the hordes of rich kids applying who’ve had everything handed to them on a silver platter and spent the summer in summer school. </p>
<p>Every kid should find paid employment at some point during his or her high school career, whether it be seasonal, or year round. Jobs teach a lot of really useful skills that schools don’t. And working with other people’s “snowflakes”? Darn, that is a real eye opener for most kids. Besides, if your kid doesn’t work, how does she get spending money for the year? Surely by this age, they shouldn’t be depending on mom and dad for all their financial wants. </p>
<p>The competitive set in your town is mistaken. A paid job trumps an expensive summer language trip (at least as far as college adcoms are concerned. A job shows maturity, a “real world” mindset, willingness to work hard and contribute, not just be coddled by mom and dad.) Plus, she’s got a great essay in the works: How I wanted to go on an expensive language trip, but family circumstances necessitated that I work. Here’s what I learned.</p>
<p>Definitely don’t think that one of those expensive trips is necessary to be competitive. At all. Colleges know very well that those programs cost a lot of money, often times for a basically glorified summer camp. To me, these might almost backfire in college admissions that a student would rather spend 5-8k of their parents money than get a job and earn some of their own.</p>
<p>While the CC classes aren’t a bad idea, they’re by no means expected or required. Schools understand kids like your daughter work hard enough in the school year to earn a break.</p>
<p>As for the camp counselor, I say go for it. It’s a job, it’s not TOO stressful or at least never boring and there’s much more potential to have fun. Colleges will view this type of job (camp counselor, leading a group, interpersonal skills, etc.) more favorably than bagging groceries.</p>
<p>I also wonder whether the kids of the “competitive set” in your town are living the life they want to live and pursuing the interests they want to pursue–or just doing what their parents tell them they have to do to get into a top college which of course they have to do. I suspect some of this shows during the application process. </p>
<p>The previous summer, my daughter had a fair amount of unscheduled time outside the hours she was swimming and taking driver’s ed. She spent quite a bit of it fiddling with a computer game she started writing in middle school. That unstructured time got as much mention in her college essays as did the expensive summer college course. </p>
<p>I would have been thrilled if my son had worked before his junior year instead of playing online games all summer! A summer job shows initiative. An expensive summer language program shows wealth. College admissions people know the difference. I’m not saying that an expensive program isn’t useful, only that it does not give a competitive edge over a plain old summer job.</p>
<p>“Colleges will view this type of job (camp counselor, leading a group, interpersonal skills, etc.) more favorably than bagging groceries.”</p>
<p>I don’t think this is true, either. I don’t think it matters what the job is to college admissions. Any work experience will be viewed as worthwhile. </p>
<p>I say work. I too, am in the competitive group of applicants and I worked both my sophomore and junior summers at dairy queen. The summer is a time for doing what you want,not doing what you think will get you into college. Plus you get money. Plus, you learn lots of valuable lessons that schol mY not teach. </p>
<p>I think it’s unanimous here. Let her work. Work experience is a positive thing, not negative. In addition, it sounds like she wants to work. Support and encourage her!</p>
<p>I am always in favor of incoming revenue instead of outgoing costs. So, if your child wants to work instead of attending expensive camps (have you seen the costs of CTY residential camps or the language immersion camps??), let her. </p>
<p>I agree that a summer job trumps the expensive summer program. Most of those summer programs have become so commonplace that they really don’t make an applicant stand out at all. Adcoms see right through the whole thing. I do think that a summer program in a particular area of interest might be helpful to define a students future career interests, but as far as padding a college resume, I don’t think they help.</p>
<p>I don’t think that kids should go to something like CTY unless they <em>really</em> want to. Same thing for language programs. My S went to CTY for four years, but it was the highlight of his year, not forced drudgery. I wish that he had managed to get a job at some point, but that he was not motivated to do. </p>
<p>I think your D’s job sounds great. If a school looks down on it, then that is probably not a school where she would like to be.</p>
<p>I think one of those language or whatever programs is great when they are too old for camp and too young to work. But once they are working age, I think it is great for them to get a job. For many of them, this will be their first job. A camp would be fairly easy entry into the work force. Also it shows that you are responsible.</p>
<p>I am an alumni ambassador for my alma mater and do applicant interviews. Usually a summer program is just one line on a resume…like my daughter did a summer math program (we were living overseas and she couldn’t work), and it was just one extracurricular about math among many other extracurriculars about math. But for her she got the experience of travelling independently, living in a dorm room with someone and being responsible for getting her self to the activities. She learned some Math, but also many life skills.</p>
<p>If an applicant had a job, I would ask them about it and see what they said. Are they talking about leadership? Self-motivation? Going above and beyond? In my most recent interview the applicant worked over the summer at a retirement home. He hopes to become a biomedical engineer and then maybe a doctor so among the things he got out of it besides serving food and cleaning up was appreciation for older people that he may be working with or creating new biomedical devices for. </p>
<p>Like another poster said, if the OP’s DD is interested in working with kids in her career then summer camp would be great. It would show her interest in children, give her a chance to see if she really does like working with kids and what age kids, and show that she has leadership/teaching skills.</p>
<p>I expect my kids to get a summer job to earn their college spending money. By having worked before, they know what is expected and may be able to go back to the same job next summer.</p>