Make the Most of the Summer Before Senior Yearmyredkite.com /blog/make-the-most-of-the-summer-before-senior-year/

The summer before senior year is finally here. There are a lot of things to thinkabout, including college. Here are some of our best tips.

There are a million ways to spend the summer before senior year. I realize, of course, that yourown situation is going to be a big factor. Maybe you need to work two jobs instead of just one tomake sure that you can pay for school or to have enough pocket money. Maybe you need to dosome extra course work to make sure that your grades are in sync with your college choices.

In other words, I’m pretty sure that you have a good handle on the important stuff you need to getdone that summer. But here are three good ideas that maybe you haven’t thought of.

Community service

You know those college applications are going to inquire about your experience helping yourcommunity. Colleges generally prefer well rounded students, and one of the components of beingwell rounded is community service. If this is an aspect of your profile that needs some extra work,then the summer before senior year is a perfect time to burnish your “college resume,” as it were.

There are lots of ready-made opportunities near you, including:

Retirement homes: assisted living, personal care, and nursing homes are eager to havesomeone who simply stops by to play cards or read the newspaper to them.

Your faith community: may have tons of nearby opportunities for you to get involved.

Boys & Girls Clubs: almost every town or city has a Boys and Girls Club where kids gettogether after school to play sports and work on homework.

When I was in high school I volunteered each week at a local soup kitchen. Basically I choppedcarrots and celery until my knuckles were raw. I also ended up playing chess with locals whoneeded a hot meal.

Aside from the experience being very helpful as part of my “college resume”, I wrote about theseexperiences in a number of essays. Years later an admissions counselor told me that my essayhad stood out because I wasn’t just passing along shallow platitudes about “doing good.” Myessay brimmed with real-life “sights and sounds” from my volunteer experience.

Talk to alums

Another good idea is to do what my wife calls “academic due diligence.” Let’s assume that you arepretty sure that School X is your dream school, and School Y is your favorite “realistic school.” Meet with someone you know who attended the school (parent, relative, friend of the family). If youdon’t know someone who attended the college, reach out to each of these schools and ask tomeet with a nearby alumni representative over the summer. If you know your major, ask to speakwith an alumni rep who graduated with that degree. If you ask the right questions, you might beable to learn some really important things:

What to emphasize in your application

The best majors

The best dorms, if you are going to live on campus

Here’s a little known secret. If you get waitlisted, you might be able to enlist the alumnirepresentative in making your case for admission! Shhh! Don’t tell anybody. It doesn’t alwayswork, but sometimes it really does!

What’s it all about?

Ok. Here’s my best advice about what to do the summer before your senior year. Seriously.

Give some thought about what you are trying to accomplish with college. When I was workinghard to get good grades in high school, my horizon ended with college. Put it another way, themost important thing was getting into college. But what about after college?

The best thing I can tell you is to view college as one more step in your journey. Sure, it’s animportant step. But it’s not the last, or even the most important. Spend this summer thinkingabout what you are passionate about. What’s the one thing you’d do, if you had all the money inthe world? Figure out your passion and then think about how college will be an important step inexploring that passion.

If you want to be an attorney, college will give you the chance to improve yourcommunication and critical thinking skills. So college is important.

But what about things outside of and after college? What about interning in a law office duringcollege? Or at a Legal Aid office that helps poor people? What about taking trips to see attorneysin court? Ever been to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC? Visit a prison. Talk withattorneys about how they actually spend their days. Did you know that many attorneys never setfoot in a courtroom?

If you want to be an accountant or CPA, college will certainly help you develop quantitativeand analytical skills. But what about outside of college or after graduation? Meet withpracticing accountants to understand the differences between small, medium and nationalfirms.

Did you know that CPA and accountants sometimes do a lot of traveling? Did you know thatcommunication and writing skills are critical for successful accountants and CPAs?

If you don’t know what you want to be, that’s cool, too. Take an inventory of two types ofskills – what you are good at, and what you are curious about? Ask mom and dad tointroduce you to their friends and colleagues in a variety of endeavors. Share what you aregood at. Share what you are curious about. You might be surprised by the jobs theysuggest.

Oh, and here’s a great piece of advice: talk with entrepreneurs who’ve startedbusinesses. Suddenly, the fact that you have LOTS of interests will be a huge asset. Entrepreneurs place a high value on people who have a wide assortment of good skills rather thanone expert skill – since a lot of thorny problems in startups require many perspectives not just one.