My daughter just did her regular summer thing. She was part of the high school marching band - they marched in summer parades. She continued to teach piano lessons and worked in the kitchen at a restaurant. I feel like all of those activities were worthwhile and things she was going to to do anyway.
“Your son is a good student. I think that he should find something to do that he’s either genuinely excited about or perhaps will help him figure out what he might want to do in the future. He is who he is and you should be proud of him regardless. He has lived his life well and should never be made to feel otherwise”.
Wow.
I have an excellent relationship with my son and love him very dearly. He is always made to feel loved and accepted. I have never made him feel he is “less” because he does not have many ECs- just looking for an extra edge to help him out since colleges seem to stress the ECs.
My suggestion for “EC” is to do something he likes or wants to be involved with. To me starting chinese on line (or similar) is only good if this is something he wants to learn in the future as well, and hopefully use - eg a trip to the country. Perhaps there are pursuits that he didn’t have time for during the regular year - sports, art, music? You don’t have to be varsity or competition winning level to benefit from these activities. These (like learning a language) are a development of personal skills that can last a lifetime.
In terms of “improving an application” by ECs I think it depends what the applicant wants to do. If you are for example, looking to get into an engineering program, volunteering or working at a camp or preschool would probably not help, unless the student has done it for years which shows long term commitment. But if you are interested in social work, teaching or other types of careers involved with children, they are great. Something that is a personal skill needs to explained in that context - I wanted to learn about “x” because… If a student has no community service at all on the application, it probably is a good idea to do something.
Thanks anothermom2. His small catholic school did not stress ECs or volunteering-his focus was always on academics. He has 3 years of band so far- folk and regular band, and was the lead in the HS musical in his freshman and sophomore years but didn’t do it junior year. He will have about 70 volunteer hours at the end of his senior year.
The reason I mentioned languages is that he does not have a way to get around this summer so an “at home” EC seemed ideal.
I think the big issue here is transportation. Are their any places he could work or do something else near your job so he could travel with you?I note you are in NY state. Isn’t there access to some public transportation?( I’m used to kids commuting 3+ hours a day to get to school and back. )
Your S should talk to his friends and find out their summer plans and see if he can tag along.
He should talk to neighbors within walking distance and see if he can work for them this summer…even if it’s just odd jobs like grass cutting or babysitting
If he has web skills, see if any local non-profits would like him to improve their sites. I once interviewed a kid who built a zoo’s website one summer, working entirely at home.
as a parent, i understand (i think) what you are getting at. wouldn’t it be great if kids’ summers could have some kind of meaning, even if they were not applying to college later? one project kids in our area do in november, but could be done in a summer, is to attempt writing a novel. November is national novel writing month, but i think they have a summer program too. it’s all free, and someone at your library probably knows about it. even if you didn’t finish a novel it would definitely be something different. plus it keeps you out of those harmful UV rays…
I grew up with minimal transportation options too. So my parent who worked in town drove me into the city on the mornings I wanted to go. I would use mass transit within the city itself. Does your city have decent mass transit? I would encourage it if so, it’s a major life skill.
As to summer activities–his passion seems to be music. Can’t promise this will get him into a great college, but nursing homes love kids to come sing in months other than December (when they are deluged). You mentioned he was lead in a musical twice. Show tunes from the 40s and 50s with several of his friends would probably be very warmly received!
My DD2 volunteered at a local nursing home three summers ago. She accompanied the seniors on shopping trips and also played violin and games with them. All told it was a good experience for her and for the seniors. She and a girlfriend volunteered together.
You mentioned that he is a strong academic student. Would he like to tutor neighborhood children over the summer? You mentioned he is in band, maybe he can help a neighbors child with music lessons. Mostly girls do babysitting but I am sure those that have small boys would love to have a teenage boy who could watch their sons a few hours a week. He would be earning some pocket money too without having to drive far away for an activity. Does he know what he wants to major in? Would an online class help him explore an area of interest or perhaps shadowing someone already in a field of interest. Build on what he is good at or has experience in or areas of interest he would genuinely like to explore. His resume should reflect his unique strengths and qualities. Don’t simply do something because it may look good for a college application. Admission officers read so many applications that sound so similar. If he is true to himself he can reflect that in his college essays which would be based on his personal experiences. He would come across as a unique individual applicant with his own story.