“What Shall I do This Summer,” a Suggestion or Two

An excerpt from the Summer 2013 edition of College Impresseions Newsletter compiled by Art Mullaney

It’s not easy to connect with the perfect summer position enabling one to have fun, meet interesting people, learn a skill, and earn good money during the summer vacation. Solution, become creative or maybe my creativeness can stimulate your thinking.

Ideas

• Take a W.S.I. Course (Water Safety Instructor Course) through the Red Cross and donate two seeks of your newly certified skill to a summer camp for needy or handicapped children. Carry this new skill to college and become a guard in the college pool. Not a bad part time campus job. It sure beats “pots and pans” in the cafeteria.

• Students with computer skills may canvas local law and business offices to seek summer vacation replacement positions.

• Become a Day Care Volunteer. Every community needs Day Care Providers especially during the summer

• Develop a column in your local newspaper. I once advised a young fellow to do this and he started a youth sports column which he maintained through his senior year in high school. While attending St. Anselm’s College he initiated the position of Sports Information Director. Today he is the Director of Public/Community Relations for the Pawtucket Red Sox. Bill Wanless is [roof that this can be done.

• Paint a house this summer. Begin with your parents or a relatives house. Do a great job and see how many people contact you to paint their homes. Figure out a fair price. That’s how my son financed his tuition freshman year at Assumption College. Keep a diary and write a paper explaining what you learned from your initial entrepreneurial experience. How about incorporating this in your college admissions essay. Activity like this certainly demonstrates initiative and that’s a positive trait.

• Plan to initiate a “230 Club” when you enter your senior year. If there are 230 members in your senior class, set up an outreach program to identify, assist, and support each member of your class to graduate on schedule. Your goal is to a have 230 classmates walk across the stage in the spring and receive his/her diploma. My daughter did this at Canton High School and almost succeeded.

• Organize a group of your classmates and introduce a Thanksgiving Dinner for Senior Citizens in your community. Not just a dinner but one in which your class treats it’s senior neighbors to a day of entertainment and gastrological delight. Make it a showcase of the talents among your classmates for the enjoyment of our senior citizens. It will take a great deal of organization. The class of 1970 at Randolph High School id it and really made a name for itself in that town.

• Organize your classmates to “dump” the senior trip Cancun. This is a real bummer and you can do something to help your classmates avoid disaster. It can be done. It needs to be done. It will take a great deal of leadership, organization and imagination.

• I tried it and I failed. May be you can do it. Just attempting to put this one together will provide one colossal learning experience.

• Get together with a few friends and write an produce a variety shop in your town this summer. Organize the artistic talent around you, obtain a venue set up a publicity campaign, sell tickets and have fun. Back in the forties Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland did it.

• Take a shot at some physical labor. Do something useful at home or in our neighborhood that will develop a few calluses on your hands and introduce you to the joys of physical labor. Keep a diary and write an essay about what you learned as you developed your calluses. Remember calluses are always earned. It may be interesting reading and a possible college application essay topic.

• Be great at something. Take your time and, with gusto, attack and develop your skills at the piano, dance, poetry, salesmanship, art, singing, writing. Set up a schedule and do your thing for eight hours every day. In the end you may have an idea of what it takes to approach greatness. I worked with a student who spent eight hours a day at the piano for two and half months. When we met in September, I asked if he had learned what it was like to attain greatness. His answer was “yes” and I believed him. He applied to Harvard and the Hart School of Music at the University of Hartford. He was accepted at both and he went to Hartford. Becoming great at the piano helped him distinguish what it was that he really wanted to do and he could do it best at the hart School.. He had learned something. 

NOTES…

Changing Demographics, Hispanics Pass Whites in Rate of Collgeg Enrollment

A record seven in ten (69%) Hispanic high school graduates in the class of 2012 enrolled in college last fall, two percentage points than the rate (67%) among their white counterparts.

                   Source: Pew Research Center, May 9, 2013

High School beginning the college search process.

FAIRTEST.ORG Fair test’s list of 850 accredited, bachelor degree granting institutions which do not require all or many applicants to submit ACT/SAT scores before admissions decisions are make remains available free on line at: http://fairtest.org /university/optional

Summer is the Time for Visiting Colleges     

Source: Holy Cross College Counselor, Winter 2012

College Visit Tips

• Research the college prior to visit

• Confirm the time for your visit with the Admissions office

• Sign in with the Admissions office upon arrival

• Bring a camera

• Bring a notebook to jot down impressions and questions

• Wear appropriate, comfortable clothes and shoes

• Appear interested and engaged

• Ask thoughtful questions

• Give thoughtful answers

• Be polite at all times

• Reserve time to observe away from the admissions office

Things not to do

• Expect an interview if one is not scheduled

• Assume faculty, coaches, or staff will be available without confirming first

• Dress to casually nor wear another colleges logo 

• Chew gum during an interview 

• Answer/talk/text on cell phone during your tour or interview

• Mention the college you’re visiting is not your first choice

• Don’t wear your baseball caps into your interview

Make The Most Of College Visits    Lehigh University: Undergraduate Admissions; Events & Visiting

It ‘s never too early for families to start planning and visiting colleges. That’s the advice of admissions experts who say that college campus visits are among the best ways for students to determine to learn about a school and eventually decide what college to attend.

Given that there are more than 3,000 colleges in the U.S., the advice may be helpful to parents and students in making a choice. It’s important for students to determine whether they can see themselves on campus, attending classes and taking advantage of social opportunities.

The following are tips for making campus visits, effective and enjoyable.

• Take Your Time – Visiting at a leisurely pace lets you take advantage of structured and unstructured activities. Information Sessions and tours are important, but so is casually chatting with students or having lunch at a local hot spot.

• Take A Break – Don’t try to see too many campuses in one day. Often, families race through one visit to get to the next. Instead, take the time to enjoy the experience and “debrief” each other between one cam[pus and the next.

• Take Notes – Bring along a small notebook and write down five or six points about each campus visit. Make a note of whether the campus felt personal and how you felt about the students and faculty you met.

• Is It A Good “Fit”? – Items that make a good “fit” include campus size, campus life, academic programs, extracurricular Activities, location, and cost vs. value. Decide what features of a school are most important to student and parent. If you plan carefully and allow you and your son or daughter to enjoy each campus visit, you will both get more out of the experience. That will allow you to make decisions that you’ll be happy about for years to come.

IT BEARS REPEATING

Teenagers, How about becoming a volunteer this summer?

With the number of internships offered to college students expected to drop by 21% in the coming years, volunteer opportunities are becoming a key way for high school and college students to gain experience and try out career paths. About 3.3 million college students volunteered in 2005, according to College Students Helping America, a report from the Corporation for National Community Service. This is an increase of 600,000 from 2002. Here are a few websites that provide details on volunteering:

- Corporation for National & Community Service  www.cns.gov     
- Volunteering in America   www.volunteeringinamerica.gov

Additionally, information on volunteer opportunities with federal environmental agencies -- including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish & Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Geological Survey – can be found at www.volunteer.gov/gov

I can’t think of a more rewarding experience at which to spend your summer than to come to the aid of a needy organization/group. It may be a personally rewarding experience and it could lead to an interesting topic on which to develop a college application essay. VolunteerMatch, where volunteering begins, has a web site which contains 37,62 volunteer opportunities and 39,992 organizations in need of volunteer help. The entire listing is geographically divided and easily accessed. It is made possible by The David & Lucile Parkland Foundation.

The web site to be accessed is www.VolunteerMatch.org 

Fill in the Missing Words

Our Children Have Plenty of Time To………… But Not Enough Time TO…….

A Kaiser Family foundation study found that U.S. Kids ages 8 to 18 are consuming more media than ever before. According to the survey, children and teens are now using their phones, computers, TV’s and video game systems for a total of 7.5 hours a day, or 53.5 hours a week. (the authors explain that multitasking and dual use devices –like cell phones that play video – push those figures even higher.) In the past decade, music listening has increased the most, up nearly an hour per day. The only leisure activity that has become less popular is reading.

Daily media consumption for U.S. kids

Watching TV:  270 minutes 

Playing video games:  73 minutes                             

Listening to music:  151 minutes 

Text messaging:  90 minutes                            

Talking on cell phones:  33 minutes 

Nonschool computer use:  89 minutes                  

Suggested solution    READ A BOOK

Summer Advice to prospective college students: Read a book a week this summer. Develop your own reading list. Start with an area of interest and definitely include a novel. If you are unable to develop a reading list go to your local library and ask the librarian. Librarians are terrific sources of interesting reading advice. Develop a love of reading which will be the most positive step that one can take to achieve academic success in college.

If presented with the option of taking a SAT Prep Course or taking a Reading/Speed Reading Course, no brainer, take the Speed Reading Course. It will have lasting benefits wherever you matriculate.

Summer Enrichment Program for students.

Mass Maritime Academy  -- Sea, Science & Leadership Program 2013 --  August 4 & 5, 2013

2012 Program attendees will participate in much of the same hands-on training that Mass maritime cadets experience including Sailing, Firefighting, Emergency Disaster Management, Engineering and Navigation. The 2011 Program will be limited to 120 students selected to attend. Registration information is available on the accompanying website www.maritime.edu. For greater detail call  (508) 830-5000

Actors Workshop, 10 Ridgemont St., Allston, MA 2013 -- (617) 504-4914 During the summer 2013 The Actors Workshop will offer the following acting classes ; Teens, Adult, Beginning Acting, Intermediate Acting, Advanced Acting & Production, Teen Film Program, Beginning Film Acting. Classes are being held; full and part time, day, night and on Saturdays. There will be two Open House Program during the middle of May. There is usually an afternoon program and an evening program. This could be a great way to spend a summer and to prepare to present yourself for college interviews. For details call (617) 504-4914

                                                                                                                  

High School Studies Program (HSSP) , MIT Educational Studies Program, Summer 2013 The MIT staff, students and alumni have organized a summer program of courses for high school students. These offerings are courses which would not occur in secondary school curriculum. They are entirely enrichment courses – java programming, relativity, improve acting, astronomy, etc. The program normally runs from late in June through late August. The fee is minimal and courses are held at a very convenient time.

For complete details call the MIT Educational Studies Program at (617) 253-4882 or consult the HSSP web site  htt://web.mit.edu/esp. The details were not available at the time of this printing.

Johnson & Wales Career Exploration 2013 for entering high school juniors & seniors. Three day sets in June, July, & August 2013. A student can spend time at J&W U in Providence, RI this summer exploring a variety of possible careers: Baking & Pastry Arts, Business, Creative & Strategic Advertising, Counseling Psychology, Culinary Arts , Equine Studies, Fashion, Hospitality, Technology, Security Management , 

Johnson & Wales Career Exploration will run from :

    June 28 – 30 - Culinary Track 1/Baking & Pastry Arts    

    July 12 to 14 - Business, Equine Studies, Fashion, Hospitality, Criminal Justice, Risk Mgmt., S/E/E

    July 19 to 2 - Culinary Arts – advanced, Baking & Pastry Arts

    July 26 to 28 - Accounting, Business, Hospitality, Technology, S/E/E/, Fashion, Counseling Psychology, Advertising & Marketing Communications,  

    Aug. 2 to 4 - Culinary Arts, Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry Arts advanced

Baking & Pastry Arts Culinary Arts costs are $225 per course, all Business, Hospitality, Counseling Psych. courses are $125 per course. Should a student reside more than 600 miles from Providence there will be an Fly In Option and the cost increases to $500 and Business $400

For an application form or to obtain greater detail contact Johnson & Wales, Providence, RI at 1-800-342-5598 or  www.jwu.edu

Massachusetts College of Art’s Summer Programs 2012 for students in grades 4–9. 

There are two Summer Arts programs:

• Creative Vacation, for grades 4 – 9, is a two week program with a morning and an afternoon option which takes place from early through mid July, 2013.  Application Deadline: No deadline  Approximate Cost: Half day, $575  Full day $1,150
• Summer Studios, for grades 11 and 12, is a full day four week program operating form July 23 to August 18. Summer Studios includes room and board for those who whish to have the experience. Costs:  Program, $ 1,995 and Residence $2,430, total $4,425   

Payment Due: late June, 2012   Scholarship Deadline: mid May , 2012 For details call (617) 879-7170 or k12@massart.edu

Obtain the brochure “Summer 2013 YOUTH PROGRAMS” it provides a complete description of offerings.

There will be a Sneak Preview College Day which will provide an in depth introduction to the art college admissions process and a mini college fair in the afternoon of the program.

Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA Pre-College Program, July 15 to August 4, 2013

The program is designed to help the participant evaluate a career in the arts and to develop a portfolio suitable for college admissions. The program is primarily for all secondary students. Participating students will receive 120 hours in an intensive four week session. All students will attend a Foundation Drawing class as well as three elective classes (choice of three of the following: Painting, Photography Printmaking, Sculpture, Oil Painting, Mixed Media, Computer Art & Design, Illustration) Pre-College students who reside in Montserrat’s housing will enjoy the benefits of living in a community of other artists their own age. Cost: Tuition $2,800 includes all materials. Housing is available for an additional fee of $1,000. For greater detail contact the Montserrat College of Art, “Pre-College Program” PO Box 26, Beverly, MA 01915 or call (978) 921-4242   Web www.montserrat.edu

New England Institute of Art, 10 Brookline Pl., Brookline, MA. will host it’s “Summer Studio Program” during week of July 18 to 21, 2013 is offering a Workshop for High School Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors to explore the world of; Advertising Art, Audio Production, Broadcasting Arts, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation & Interactive Media Design, & Photography. It will be an intense three day experience to help students understand academic majors in the field of Art and Communication. The cost for the program is $750 (with housing). Deadline for registration June 11, 2010. For greater detail call the admissions office at (800) 903-4425

Rochester Inst. of Technology, Rochester, NY will host a College & Careers Exposition on July 19 & 20 and August 2 & 3, 2013. The program is designed for students who will be entering their senior year of high school in the fall of 2011. Participants will explore career options through personal experience, including demonstrations and discussions. Working with R.I.T. students and faculty, participants will use the R.I.T. state-of-the art facilities and Technology to help get started in making choices for their future.

In addition participants will experience life as a college student. Sleeping in the residence halls, eating in the student cafeteria, and on Friday night social activities with college bound high school seniors. Subject areas to be explored in group meetings: Engineering Science, Computing, Science & mathematics, Business, Liberal Arts, Art & Design, Crafts, Photography, Film and Animation and Robotics. Cost: R/B/T for the entire program in the area of $135. For greater detail or to make a reservation call (585) 475-6631 or consult the R.I.T. web page: www.admissions.rit.edu/careers2009.