Surprising Advice: Fill Your Summer With Fun!

You may be thinking that a college counselor would tell students to buckle down over the summer months… take extra summer classes, study non-stop for admission tests, work days and nights at an internship, or spend the entire summer doing community service. But, that’s not what you’re likely to hear from us here at Campus Bound!

Each of those things is fine to do, and some may even be required (taking a summer school course, or studying for SAT’s or ACT’s) for college admission, but we would also highly recommend having FUN!

And also, perhaps engaging in an internship, or doing community service over the summer would be fun for you. That’s great! Everyone’s definition of fun is different. But the point is, don’t do something over the summer just because you think it will boost your application or resume. There are really exciting and creative ways to help others, augment your learning, enhance your application AND have fun! Teenlife.com is one of my favorite sites for summer opportunities.  Click the link below for more information.

When clients come to me and ask if they should do XYZ over the summer, my first question back to them is always, “Do you want to?” If so, great! If not, why bother? There are plenty of opportunities out there for students looking to do something productive during the summer months, so if it doesn’t interest you, keep looking!

That being said, the right mix of productive and non-productive is important. We LOVE when typically over-worked and over-stressed teens take some time for themselves over the summer. Whether it’s travelling with family or friends, relaxing at the beach, or even unwinding at home, some chill time is okay (and recommended!). But, we don’t usually recommend doing nothing.  Summer months are also a great time to do something productive, when you don’t have the added stress of school.  So finding a good mix is key.

A happy student is going to do cool and interesting things, and get more involved in those things than if they were doing something they hate. And, colleges love happy, successful students! So, the bottom line is, before you sign up for an internship, class or program for the summer, make sure it is BOTH productive AND fun! Oh, and make sure you schedule in some time to relax and recharge.