For Parents
The typical three-month-long summer break gives juniors and seniors a great opportunity to explore a variety of situations and options. Attending a summer session at a college on your shortlist, for example, will accomplish two things: spending a couple of weeks on campus will give you a better idea of how the college fits in with your needs and requirements. It will also indicate to the college admissions staff that you are considering their institution seriously. Likewise, volunteering at home or abroad adds another positive dimension to your admissions profile. Working during the summer is another positive entry in your profile. Travel abroad with the specific purpose of learning about other cultures also builds your profile. With this in mind, let's look at five summer options for exploration.
Summer session on a college campus
A summer session at a college or university can be a motivating and inspiring experience for college-bound students. Here's what one participant had to say about the Summer College for High School Students at Duke University.
"The best summer I’ve had in my life. I wouldn’t trade anything for the amazing relationships I made with my peers and instructor and the experience of going to such a fantastic university."
– 2018 Summer College Student
This video gives us an overview of Duke's summer sessions for teens.
Besides the inspiration factor which attending a summer college session provides, many institutions also provide college credit and a letter of recommendation. These benefits will vary from college to
Whether you are sending your child off to visit her grandparents or sending her back to school, you know how important it is for her to travel safely. After all, you have experienced just about every travel situation and glitch you can imagine. But remember that you were traveling as an adult. You had the financial resources to book a hotel room at the minute when faced with a canceled flight and your flight out was early the following morning. You knew what to do to satisfy the TSA staff as you made your way through airport security. Most importantly, you were street-smart and aware of your surroundings and had an exit path ready in case of some crisis. These are just a few of the things which you need to teach your children before they travel alone. Susie Kellogg offers 7 Expert Travel Tips for Solo Teen Travel which covers the main talking points.
Stay alert.
Given the frequency of terrorist and other attacks both in the U.S. and abroad, it is critical that you teach your child to monitor her surroundings constantly. You would think that would be a given, but teenagers can and do lose themselves in their own world on their smartphones. They put their earbuds on and tune everything else out. Teach her to be aware of what's going on around her by looking around every couple of minutes. Once she has boarded her plane, then she can listen to her music uninterrupted except for
The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council was founded in 1942 as an informal association of prep school athletic directors in New England. What is very gratifying to see after over 70 years is the growth of the organization from the original eleven schools to a membership currently in the 160 range. That growth is proof of the importance which private schools attach to their athletic programs.
As I have stated many times, sports programs are not an optional extra in private schools. Sports programs are integrated fully into the education of young people in private schools which take the saying of the first century Roman poet Juvenal seriously. "Mens sana in corpore sano" which means a healthy mind in a healthy body. Private schools adopted this approach from the beginning. As a result, you won't find many private schools where sports are not compulsory. Sports are an integral component of most private school programs. Most schools set aside a weekday afternoon when the entire school engages in a variety of athletic activities. As you scan private school websites, explore the athletic offerings. One of them is sure to appeal to your youngster. Moreover, as she settles into her new school, you will soon discover that she is trying out several different sports, including some which you never thought she would try. The final point which I must make about private school sports is that they teach young people to integrate exercise into their daily lives. And that is a
