<p>Just curious if your high school graduate has any specific summer plans related to their chosen field of study. My daughter does not and it seems strange since previous summers were spent at various engineering and leadership camps in efforts to get her ready for the college admission process and for her to learn about specific colleges. Also feel guilty since younger siblings will be attending programs. We felt it was ok for her to have this summer to relax, attend her college orientation, get ready for college, spend time with her friends before they leave for colleges in different states and we will take our family trip. She will be working at her part-time job plus doing volunteer work with a youth group. Next summer after freshman year, she can focus on a summer internship specific to her field. Since the previous summers were planned, are we missing something?</p>
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[quote]
ok for her to have this summer to relax, attend her college orientation, get ready for college, spend time with her friends before they leave for colleges in different states and we will take our family trip. She will be working at her part-time job plus doing volunteer work with a youth group.
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<p>Sounds like a perfect plan to me. In fact, it sounds like my son's last summer before college. (That, and building a lot of strange engineer-like stuff on the back patio with a group of good friends.) He got PLENTY busy the minute he hit his college campus.</p>
<p>Chosen field is as yet unchosen! Mine is going back to the summer camp he attended as a camper for a kabillion years -- this time as a counselor.</p>
<p>I agree about taking time to relax and prepare. My D is doing a two-week academy in biological research at the university here - we didn't want anything longer time-wise, but she needed to have biology experience on the apps (she is taking AP Biology senior year after AP Chemistry junior year and wouldn't have much to show on the EA applications otherwise)</p>
<p>The summer after senior year my D worked to earn spending money for college, and relaxed. It was the first summer in years that she hadn't done something academic, and I was delighted that she was resting her brain, so to speak. To the OP: your D's summer sounds just right!</p>
<p>Well DUH - I should have noticed that your are talking about graduates here!! My bad....in that case your child SHOULD relax!!</p>
<p>I encourage our DD to apply internship to a lab station at the school she will be attending. Otherwise, she will stay home and get a job. </p>
<p>The school budgets about $4500 a year for personal expenses including books. We initiatly told her we will give her $3500. After reading the thread about "spending money" in this forum, we are redefining our offer.</p>
<p>"summer plans related to their chosen field"</p>
<p>errr..... I hope not. She's bagging groceries. And in her spare time, writing that admissions essay. I hope!</p>
<p>My son will probably work on the farm as he does every summer. He's not 100% sure what college he will go to, but the top one on his list has a summer orientation program that I hope he will apply for.</p>
<p>Hi Parents, I used to work in admissions at my college and I want to talk for a minute about leadership camps. College admissions officers are not impressed with them. Nor are they really impressed with anything that costs a prohibitive amount of money because that means that not everyone can do them. Kids do not need to do the summer-at-college/in Europe/building homes in Latin America/pre-medicine camp to stand out. In fact, I get the feeling that working at a job, even an unimpressive one, is actually more impressive because it shows maturity and personal responsibility. Summer jobs are the making of great essays! So relax, be a camp counselor, waitress, lifeguard or whatever. If you want to do something impressive...organize a charity event like a 5k or work with a local old folks home to host a fourth of july bbq.</p>
<p>Our D2 plans to work in our family business, go to her college orientation and take her Birthright trip to Israel. But her top priority will be to enjoy her summer before starting college.</p>
<p>D1, having almost completed a great first year of college does not get the job at Daddy's office again this summer and has been applying for summer jobs like crazy. She's also going on the Birthright trip and will most likely come along to keep me company for D2's college orientation trip.</p>
<p>my kids have worked every summer since they were in high school, before that actually. THat is why we try and make the most of winter vacation every year :).
D, will either be working at a residential camp or for the city as a lifeguard.</p>
<p>Getting a job! (A new venture for him.) He'll also spend 2 weeks at a music workshop.</p>
<p>Summer school and volunteer work, mixed up with trips to the beach. Next year after she graduates the whole family will celebrate with a trip to Italy. DD has been dying to go back since she last went in 2000 as a 6th grader. 9-11 made us weary of overseas travel for a long time. Once home from that she will work to have pocket money for college.</p>
<p>Our kids all worked as lifeguards the summer after HS graduation. S1 also took a cross-country bus tour with 4 HS buddies before they all separated for different colleges. Working gave them much more flexibility in their spending patterns (!) at school.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The summer before beginning college, my daughter worked about 3/4 time in the flower shop where she had worked through high school, and had fun with her friends. At the end of the summer, she spent two weeks as a counselor at a camp program in Maine for at-risk kids, something she had done before as well.</p></li>
<li><p>The summer before beginning college, my son worked as a counselor at the camp he had attended for years. It was his second year of being paid rather than paying, but the first one of really getting paid. Free from daily temptations to spend what he earned, he finished the summer with a lot more money than his sister had.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>[WARNING: POSSIBLE PRETENTIOUSNESS]</p>
<ol>
<li> The summer before college I (a) hung out with my Mom, (b) chased girls, (c) worked occasional jobs, like Sunday-morning infant care at a church, (d) watched the Nixon impeachment hearings religiously, and (e) read from about half-way through *A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleur<a href="I%20had%20started%20with%20%5Bi%5DDu%20cote%20de%20chez%20Swann%5B/i%5D%20in%20mid-March">/i</a>, to the first 100 pages of *Les temps retrouves<a href="and,%20once%20I%20started%20college,%20it%20was%20the%20following%20summer%20before%20I%20finished%20it">/i</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p>I also grew a beard, which looked (depending on the day or my mood) either like Eric Clapton's or M. Charlus'.</p>
<p>Beards are back
;)</p>
<p>The summer before college our son worked as a life guard during the day and bus boy at Ruth's Chris steakhouse at night. Now that he no longer has to worry about turning off college admissions officers with elitist activities, he has a few more options. Last year he spent the summer in a Spanish immerision program in Peru and this summer he will be on the beach in northern Brazil for 8 weeks in a Portuguese language immersion program. </p>
<p>His poor brother in high school still has to demonstrate an appropriate Protestant work ethic so will do the life guard thing for a third year (although heaven knows he won't be impressing anybody with the rest of his college resume so I'm not sure we would be risking much by shipping him abroad as well). </p>
<p>Having totally burned out on work before the age of 50, I'm not in that camp of work, work, work anymore.</p>
<p>The summer before D went to college, she worked scooping ice cream and hung out with her friends - much more of the latter than the former. </p>
<p>S1 still has two summers to go but he will definitely be a counselor/sailing instructor again this summer, and probably next summer too. Meanwhile, of course, he'll write his essays and finish his applications. HAhahahahahahhaha.</p>
<p>(S2 will play. He's got twelve summers left, and the only money he makes is from the tooth fairy. :D)</p>