The Everything Summer Blog
Professional Advice for Kids and Teens
The Gap Year, a concept that has been commonplace in countries such as England and Australia for some time, is becoming increasingly popular with American students. College advisors, teachers and even universities, such as Harvard and Princeton, are discussing the benefits of a gap year and encouraging students not go to college right away.
So what exactly is a gap year and might it be right for you or your child?
The late fall and early winter frequently mark the time of year that camps begin holding organized reunions or get-togethers for current campers. Among the lifelong benefits of attending overnight camps or teen programs are the incredible friendships that children and teens are able to make.
And while these friendships are oftentimes a staple of a successful summer, that doesn’t mean they need to be limited to the summer season – and placing a priority on these outside of summer will ultimately serve your children or teens well in the long run.
As classes pick up and students buckle down, it can be easy to get lost in the rigors of advanced coursework, team sports, and other commitments – and in the fall, it makes sense that summer feels very far away.
However, a student who thinks ahead can position themselves well to accumulate impressive and meaningful extracurricular credentials, while a shortsighted start to the school year can leave a student at a disadvantage when they finally turn their attention towards springtime or summer plans.
With that in mind, below are a few areas that we proactively focus on with our Everything Summer client families, to ensure they are on-the-ball and prepared for fall semester:
Sometimes summer just isn’t what the camper, or their parents, hoped for. And this can lead to a difficult question for parents to confront – what’s next? With re-enrollment around the corner, now is the time to establish whether a situation is correctable or it’s time for a change. So what are the possible options to tackle a summer that didn’t work out as desired?
The opportunities teen summer programs provide are not ends within themselves – ultimately, pre-college programs should be foundational growth experiences for students to build upon. And in order to make the most of a pre-college experience, it’s vital for students to take steps during the school year to build on their unique summers.
By Barbara Reich, Founder, Resourceful Consultants
My advice to packers is to separate emotion from the physical task on hand. When the focus is on packing alone, the job gets done more easily. In addition, here are some tips for summer packing with minimal hassle.
It is very valuable for children and teens to build their summers around a primary interest or experience, as these longer-term programs can have tremendous impact. However, it is very rare for any single program to last for the duration of the time that a student is on summer vacation. So what can you do to fill the weeks of downtime, and ensure that your child doesn’t spend hours each day becoming one with the couch and television?
I often think back to my first day; a brand new environment where I knew very few people. It was daunting and terrifying. Am I talking about camp or college?
Both.
During the first few months as a student transitioning to college (and becoming an adult), choosing your major, adjusting to a new environment, and making connections are all expected. After all of that, you are still supposed to stay on top of your course load. It’s hard to believe that three months prior, we were still considered kids. This is difficult for anyone, but the preparedness that many summer camp participants feel is not an accident.
I know many, many people who have taken time off before or during college. And by and large, almost without exception, they were better off for it. The Washington Post recently published an article detailing the specific benefits of the gap year. According to this article, students who take a gap year are 75 percent more likely to be ‘happy’ or ‘extremely-satisfied’ with their careers post-college, not to mention the additional academic and social benefits.
