<p>Maxwell- not all students have outstanding resumes… though cc makes you feel that they do! My D1 never participated/ read college confidential as she didn’t want to be overwhelmed by other kids stats etc. I laughed as she was the kid with the intimidating credentials.</p>
<p>Many kids pad their resumes with numerous clubs/ societies. We had a fantastic speaker at D1’s Honor society induction. His advice to the rising juniors was too find their passion and become involved in that. Sounds like this student’s passion is science. I am sure he can work his summer programs in to a nice college essay. Is there a science club/ honor society at his hs? Maybe he can run for an officer position. Or start a science after school club/ecology/ recycling program/ sustainable garden … or similar project?</p>
<p>D1 's passion was policy debate. She built her college apps around that. D2’s passion is travel softball. Very different but an equal time commitment. She is already thinking about the angle she can take working this in to college essays.</p>
<p>This kid has time to develop his passion.</p>
<p>Gibson1514: We have a D’15 who also is a travel softball player and aslo plays field hockey for her school team. She is 3.4-3.5 student.</p>
<p>Both my wife and I enjoy watching softball. Too many whistles in field hockey, though the games played on turf are much faster and exciting than those played on natural grass.</p>
<p>Maxwellequations – my concern for your friends’ son isn’t so much what college he might get into a couple of years down the line, but rather what is he doing with himself now. Why isn’t he involved? Does he have friends? Is he shy/introverted? Is he depressed? What could be done to encourage him to get out and do things? A job might do the trick. Or sports, or extracurriculars. It doesn’t even have to be an organized activity – perhaps he has some passion (music? writing? video games? ant farming?) that he could share with others? </p>
<p>What should you and his parents tell him? Tell him to take care of the present … by getting off his butt and putting himself out there and doing *something<a href=“it%20doesn’t%20so%20much%20matter%20%5Bi%5Dwhat%5B/i%5D%20he%20does,%20%5Bi%5Danything%5B/i%5D%20is%20better%20than%20%5Bi%5Dnothing%5B/i%5D”>/i</a> … and then the future will take care of itself.</p>
<p>@mihcal, Thank you!! You read my mind! That’s exactly what I worry about: what he does with his time. From what I know, staying on internet, skype with remote friends from camp and so on, chatting with friends, esp. girlfriend(s). He is such a bright and nice kid, but if he keeps sitting around like this…</p>
<p>The bright side - D is ready to take her first AP exam next week, and already arranged friends’ visit, sleepovers after the exam. The end of the first year is at sight! :)</p>
<p>@Maxwell, I know a boy who is just like that. I don’t know the kid’s family so I can’t do anything. Since this family is a friend/relative, maybe you should say something to the parents. They are well educated, should know what’s good for their children. But I don’t know - do kids this age (16, probably, or older?) still take suggestions from parents? I don’t have any child that age yet. From what I observe, my daughter’s friends at that age, they have their own opinions, could be very strong.</p>
<p>My D. is 14. I’m very curious to see what a difference two years will make. :)</p>
<p>DS finishes 9th grade in approx 10 days. Hard to believe Freshman year is almost over! I’m curious as to what other kids will be doing this Summer. Here’s a list of what DS has planned:</p>
<p>HS sports conditioning & weights 3 mornings a week.
Baseball team + sub for HS team (which travels too much for DS to commit full-time).
HS basketball camp + shoot-arounds at school when he can make it.
Various soccer camps + HS kick-arounds, which will be his sports focus since boys’ soccer is a Fall sport here.
Summer coursework required by HS, but we don’t have info on this yet.
AP Euro prep (thought we’d purchase Princeton Review-kind-of-book to make school year easier).
Debate prep - DS will do research on his own this Summer to help ease load in Fall.
PSAT prep - Informal, but he needs to crack a prep book. Sophs who score high enough on the PSAT get free tutoring from the school for Junior PSAT. Not sure DS will score high enough, but he has a slim chance based on 8th grade SAT score.
Math tutoring (focus on upcoming year - we always do this & DS doesn’t complain…much).
Spanish tutoring (see above).
Cello lessons & practice.
Volunteering at VBS + other community service. DS has goal of 50 hours this Summer because school year is so busy. This would put him at over 100 hours for the 2012-13 school year.
Teaching Assistant job at private school Summer program during July (maybe a week in June, too).
Driving lessons/practice. Hoping to get permit by end of May.
Typical Summer stuff like swimming at neighborhood pool.</p>
<p>My greatest concern is that all the “studying” aspect takes lots of self-motivation, so we’ll see how that goes. Hoping to set somewhat of a schedule that allows for all the sports activities, lessons/tutoring, studying and down-time. Will have to set that schedule around his work & volunteer schedule. Great part is that he really enjoyed being a Jr. TA last year, so he is looking forward to being a full TA this year. DS is happier when he’s busy.</p>
<p>Wow, GoAskDad, sounds like a very busy summer. So far, we have driving class/lessons planned and a couple 6 week classes at a local private school summer session. The classes are Java Programming and Physics, but they are not serious academic classes. S likes math and science and the physics class is (hopefully) a fun hands-on experimental class. Then travel on a vacation and to a family wedding. Finally, band camp starts 2 weeks before school so our summers are pretty short anyway. I think that just leaves him one week to be the kid on the couch.</p>
<p>I second the wow! D’s summer is pretty well shot - taking 8 weeks of PE so she can get the requirement out of the way to free her schedule up. After our vacation she’ll just have 2 weeks left. She’ll do a little tutoring and babysitting and take some voice and piano lessons but that’s about it.</p>
<p>GoAskDad - That sounds busier than my DS is during the actual school year…</p>
<p>It does look busy in a <em>list</em> format, I suppose. The nice thing about all of DS’s conditioning & sports activities is that he gets to participate with his HS friends and teammates, so there’s a strong social component that he values. He doesn’t even mind the tutoring (much) because it pays off when school starts. We’ll see how the self-studying goes, but he’s pretty good about keeping on top of things (so far).</p>
<p>In reading other threads, it seems like many of the students are doing internships, taking classes, going to camps, going abroad, etc. DS isn’t doing any of that. He’s doing what most of his friends are doing, but they are all basically doing the same things. Just wondering what other kids are doing, aside from those we know around here.</p>
<p>My S’s classes have a large social component too. He has friends with whom he has been doing day camp and classes at this location for several years. Now that they are different high schools, he especially likes catching up with them.</p>
<p>My S is taking driver’s ed, attending a weeklong bass camp,taking upright bass lessons and electric bass lessons…and practicing.</p>
<p>My son will take a 2 week math camp, study for PSat as early prep for SAT, prep for Chem AP, and vacation!</p>
<p>D15 may do some volunteer work (food bank and animal shelter) but that’s it. She will visit family in CT for a week and we’ll try to get to the shore once or twice. I hate the feeling that even summer has to be a time of scheduled, educational, resume-building activities.</p>
<p>My D2015’s summer plans are:
- 5 weeks Audubon daycamp (2 weeks as a Jr. Naturalist for the little kids’ camp, 2 weeks in advanced camp, and 1 week of training to be a Jr.Naturalist with a new program they’re gearing up for next summer)
- 1 week NJCL Latin Convention
- dance 6 days/week in the late afternoon/evening, big dance competition in July.
- driver’s ed (online course) & 2-day intensive pre-permit driving workshop
- possibly a few weeks of interning with a local environmental conservation organization
- if the internship doesn’t work out, possibly taking Econ online
- short family vacation, which will include moving D2012 into college freshman dorm
- being nagged by mom about summer work for next year’s classes, math review, etc. :D</p>
<p>My D15’s summer plan:</p>
<p>*CTY 3 wk chemistry
- one wk volunteering in a summer physics camp.
*clarinet lesson and practice
*piano - maybe, if we find another teacher, and practice for sure
- community band. Will play for memorial day, (missing 4th of July concert because of CTY), Labor Day, nursing homes, community craft events, etc.
*do some study for PSAT
*prepare for AP chem after CTY chem.
*Band camp mid August, one week.
*short vacation, meet some out of town (knew from camps) friends
*local pool, relax with friends</p>
<p>Oh can’t wait. They have two more weeks. She still needs to pull her English grade up. She missed so many days of work this term. When she made up her work, it takes a long time for the teachers to record the grades… Sometimes I complain that her “majors” in HS are: band, mock trial, debate team. and her ECs are math, biology, English, AP gov. and French.</p>
<p>SansSerif…I feel similarly. I want my kids to have something to do to keep them from being total couch potatos but don’t want them overly busy. There is only 2 months off, and a little re-charge is ok in my book.</p>
<p>D15 has
Four weeks of PE in summer to clear the requirement so she can take journalism in the school year.
Prep work for AP Euro and AP Bio.
Two weeks debate and speech camp at stanford.
Practice for her classical dance performance in july.
Tutoring for math and AP Bio.
Continue with internship at local newspapaer(they have appointed her as one of their reporter for a plannes community in the city)
Prepare for SAT.
maybe continue with piano and singing lessons.
She has started a club in school called “words hurt”.It is a club to build self esteem and stop bullying.So she will be doing the ground work for it.</p>
<pre><code>And a vacation too.
</code></pre>
<p>I am glad to see there is a mix of very busy and not so busy plans for summer. I think the next couple summers we will try to plan for one of the summer camps through a uni or something, but this summer will be more laid back. i think D needs some R and R after this year. She’s pretty much worked (homework/studying) non stop all year.</p>
<p>She wants a part time job.
She plans to join the Y and work on swimming skills (read that MIT and perhaps others require a swim test…seems to be good motivation lol)
practice driving
trying to sign up for driver’s ed (our district cant seem to decide if they are going to offer it…)
after seeing it on here…probably at least a glance at an SAT book. lol
she wants to figure out some volunteer thing
practice instruments for band
probably some beach time, some bowling, movies, hang time
at least one family vacation, that will probably involve at least walking around a college campus</p>
<p>D. is thinking maybe she should take one (or two?) subject test next year. Does anybody know how to find out if the college requires subject tests and which ones? Her thing is she really doesn’t know what she wants to major yet in college. She’s thinking about taking math II after precalc, or US history after APUSH, or … but I don’t think she should take more than what’s required. How do we find out? any information will be appreciated.</p>