<p>Does anyone have any ideas of what my son can do this summer that is a short (like 2 or 3 weeks) program? Most of the summer is going to be spent "visiting" colleges on his list, so he would not be able to do a job or any volunteer work that had a long commitment. Other than Google searches, any ideas as to what resources we should use to look for activities? </p>
<p>What did your rising seniors do the summer before their senior year?</p>
<p>Have you looked in the “Summer Programs” site here? I think it’s under the High Schools heading.</p>
<p>This is really late to be looking for summer programs. My D went to Rose-Hulman’s Operation Catapult for three weeks the summer before her senior year. And a week of Quiz Bowl camp. Although Catapult’s website might SAY they are closed for applications, you could call if your son is interested. I get a sense that they are the sort of program that might “squeeze one more in” if he a kid with good stats.</p>
<p>Honestly, how do you tie up 10 weeks of summer visiting colleges? It is better to visit while schools are in session anyway, although I understand your desire to do it before fall so he has a good idea of his list. But if they are local he might as well go on a Saturday as a weekday during the summer. I can see a week trip (or maybe 2 if you go to a couple parts of the country). But there is plenty of time to get a good volunteer gig of some kind, or a job if he can find one. I would NOT hold the whole summer (or more than a week or two of it) in reserve for college visits. Many colleges do want to know what they did this summer, and “visiting colleges” is not the answer they are looking for.</p>
<p>Computer camp around here used to run for one week sessions. Pricey though. You might be able to do short stints of volunteer work at your local food pantry, soup kitchen or the like, but you wouldn’t be able to do anything very interesting. (My younger son taught an origami class and organized a concert for example.) This is your son’s last chance to have something interesting and substantial for his college applications, I agree that it’s not really the optimal time for much college visiting.</p>
<p>Even if you are not religious, call around to your local churches, temples, etc. and see if they need help. The economy has not been kind to them, and they’ve had to let a lot of things go undone. They rely on volunteers even in better times, and often sponsor volunteer hours for students. We have a group coming in to paint, clean and work on our yard.</p>
<p>Also, check into some of the various non-profits-again, the economy has hit hard and they all need help getting things done around their buildings and grounds. The ones which run summer programs for kids are probably still looking for help too. My D just added a one-week program to her schedule since it’s in between her summer-long volunteer work, her own academic camp and her other commitments.</p>
<p>How about a summer job?</p>
<p>My son plans to get a job (interview at Panera next week!) and is looking for intern and/or paid opportunities in the field he plans to study. If he gets lucky and finds a summer-long project that pays, or even something unpaid that offers really good experience, then buh-bye to Panera. But more likely he will have several short-term projects that he’ll be able to schedule around.</p>
<p>D volunteered at the local hospital and computerized their filing system (for the volunteer office, not the whole hospital). D received great recommendation letters from the head of the program and used it for multiple scholarships and as a job reference. She also learned that hospital environment is not fitting her personality and eliminated some career pathes. Great experience.</p>
<p>thanks for the great suggestions. MImama, I am going over to that Summer Programs site on CC. Intparent, a fair number of DS’s prospective colleges are out of state (Ohio, NC, and PA), so, as ideal as it would be to see them in session, it’s just not possible to do those visits then; that is why he has somewhat of a “patchwork” summer this time. And, yes, I do realize he has to do something this summer besides tour colleges!</p>
<p>We are finding that a number of college internships require proficiency in certain software that my kids don’t possess…eg. very advanced Excel skills. My older D (college sophomore) is going to spend the summer becoming a “beast” at Excel. </p>
<p>Local colleges have non-credit (community ed) courses in lots of different things. I suggest looking at internship and job postings in his prefered profession/field of study, to see if there are any requirements that won’t be covered in a HS or college class…e.g. CPR, Photoshop, Excel, Quickbooks…then take a class in same. Lots of the cont. ed classes are one time, all day Saturday type of classes.</p>
<p>Hey - that is a really good idea: perhaps there is a summer course in some useful software applications at the local community college or the library.</p>
<p>glido, it’s amazing. My D could get an A+ in every course in her major, but unless she is pretty good at Excel (not part of the college coursework), she’s pretty much unemployable in the field.</p>
<p>Does your school system or a local community college offer anything in the summer session that would be attractive? Summer courses are often only 3 to 4 weeks long (although they may be intense). Even a noncredit course might be a good idea if it’s something practical (like Excel, as someone mentioned) or interesting.</p>
<p>Also, has your son obtained his driver’s license? If not, this summer would be a good time to take a driver ed course and do as much of the practice driving with a parent as possible. Maybe he could even take the test.</p>
<p>On a less pleasant note, does your son need to get his wisdom teeth pulled? If he does, and he hasn’t gotten it out of the way yet, summer is a good time for it. He can’t know in advance whether his recovery will be easy or hard, and in the summer, it’s possible to schedule a full week with no commitments after the surgery just in case he’s one of the unlucky ones.</p>
<p>You might also check with your son to see if there’s any community service required for high school graduation and if there is, whether he has completed the requirement. If not, he could seek out some short-term activities that would give him community service hours. Often, there are things a student can do that require only one day – or a few hours on several days. And the hours add up.</p>
<p>One of my kids had a “patchwork” summer that included driver ed, a summer session course, a short-term (three-week full time) volunteer commitment, getting wisdom teeth pulled, going on a college visit trip, and (at the end of the summer) participating in marching band camp. It was a very productive summer.</p>
<p>Not sure what your son is interested in but, maybe a day or two of shadowing someone in the field he is interested in. Not a huge commitment but, could be worthwhile. My son doesn’t have time to commit to a summer job either. So, this is something I was thinking about if he is hanging around too much. But, at this point, we are looking forward to Junior year being over so, we can just breath for a bit and regroup.</p>
<p>The deadlines for many programs have passed. But there are “for profit” courses that are sometimes available this late in the year. My kids have done classes at ID tech camp, digital media academy, US performing arts, JHU CTY. Check them out.</p>
<p>My kids both worked as CITs the summer before senior year.
Got them good reqs for college and experience to be full counselors when they turned 18.
We didn’t visit colleges in summer cause they were empty of students.</p>
<p>Good suggestion about wisdom teeth.</p>
<p>A couple of months back you wrote that your son was not interested in any poli sci (or gov’t or history) summer programs. Has that changed? Also, has he become more motivated about going to college?</p>
<p>Depending on your budget, there might still be some programs that have spots left. Like summer at Brown, Summer at Columbia, some CTY programs. The most popular courses are filled up though.
A summer job might be a better option at this point, IMO.</p>
<p>How about a month exploring the Himalayas or circumnavigting the globe to find himself?</p>
<p>These activities are supposed to show who your son is, where his interests lie and what he’s capable of. He’s got 2 weeks til summer and you are scrambling for a plan. That should tell you something.</p>
<p>He should get a Mc Job, make some money and have some self directed experiences with kids his age.</p>