Things to do in the summer before senior year

Work for the summer is not only great for your wallet but also great for your resume. The more work experience you have the better as it shows responsibility and maturity. Volunteering or doing some type of community service is always a good idea as well. Get involved in your community talk to a counselor for suggestions they will suit your strengths and abilities. Camps are another great addition to your summer as you can build a lot of strong skills whether you’re attending or working at the camp.

Take the SAT/ACT at least 2 times, but you should take it at least ones in the summer and at least one more time in the beginning of the fall, as each college will give you the best on each part as your total score. Most colleges are still only looking at your Reading and Math sections and basing their average on a 1600 not a 2400 with the writing portion added in, this a great question to ask of the Admission office at each college your applying to. Talk to a counselor to find out what may be a better test for you to take either the SAT or ACT, and find out the differences between them.

Touring college campuses – a great time to meet with coaches as they are not in season and have time to meet, call the Admission office at least 2 weeks ahead of time to schedule visit and then contact coaches to let them know of your scheduled day and time and that you would like to meet before or after your scheduled tour time if they are available. Also any other special programs that you might be interested in are great to visit in the summer as this tends to be the college’s down time.

Start preparing your paperwork for the fall by outlining your resume from the past 3 years and add your senior year later when applicable. Make sure to include all your extracurricular activities like sports, clubs, work experience, community service or volunteering, anything you do outside of school that will help to show your maturity, responsibility, and willingness for getting involved.

Have an adult conversation with your parents if you have not already about your family’s financial situation and what you will be able to afford. A term to start to know is your Family’s Estimated Contribution or FEC. When working with colleges’ financial aid office they will be using this term often.

Athletes start gathering up all your sports coverage for a highlight film to have to show college coaches, get signed up on athletic recruiting web-sites, and talk to you high school coaches of club team coaches to get signed up for showcase tournaments in your area. If you are planning on playing Division I or II and looking for scholarship information you need to sign up with the NCAA clearinghouse and for Division III you only need to contact the college coaches.

Aaron Smith
University Advisors

For High School Juniors – Snapshot Time

Your junior year will be ending in a few short weeks. Now is the time to do a “college admission self-assessment.”

A few key questions suffice:

1. What is your three-year grade point average?
2. What are your junior-year SAT I or ACT scores?
3. What are your senior-year courses?
4. What is your tentative list of colleges as I enter the summer?
5. Are my grades and scores consistent with the academic and admission requirements of the colleges on my tentative list?

You have very specific answers for the first three questions. The next two pose a greater challenge.

If your tentative list is short – perhaps very short – then now is the time to check with your guidance counselor for additional suggestions. Or perhaps it is time to think about consulting with a private college advisor. Or both!

June is the time to check out college web sites for visitation schedules and summer day programs for rising seniors and their families. June also is the time to plan day or longer trips with your family to visit as many of your tentative choices as possible. Most colleges now encourage students to register for their visits online.

While on the web site you also should be looking for an answer to the last question: is my academic record consistent with the profile of students my colleges usually accept? Look on the admission section of the colleges’ web sites and heed the requirements and the entering class profile (most colleges list both).

If you judge your qualifications to be “in the ballpark” with recently enrolled students, then plan your visits! If your qualifications do not appear to be reflective of your colleges’ expectations, your self-assessment should result in developing a different and more appropriate list.

Will Dunfey
University Advisors