College admissions

AP tests and finals may be stressing you out right now, but just think of how close summer is! Although some of your summer should certainly be used for a little rest and relaxation, you need to realize that how you use your time can be just as meaningful and important as your test grades. As the competition for college entry becomes more and more heated, it becomes more important to choose the right summer extracurricular activities to make sure you stand out when it comes time to complete your application.

Within the next few weeks high school sophomores and juniors across the country will begin their summer break. Many will make two mistakes: Not doing anything significant or doing many things to “pad their resume.”

What am I passionate about?
As I tell my students, as long as it’s moral and legal, think about what you love to do, then do it! If you don’t have a passion, then find an activity in which you’re sincerely interested. It could be an extracurricular activity, sport, job, church group, volunteer organization, club or just a personal interest like music.

No matter where my families live and students go to school, I see many of the same issues relating to selecting next year’s courses, including whether or not to take the College Board’s Advance Placement (AP) courses. If you’re the parent of an underclassman – or someone who advises one – here are some tips that you might put to use when choosing courses.

AP (Advanced Placement) Courses have gained a lot of popularity since they were first offered across 11 disciplines in 1952. Now, AP courses and tests are offered across 32 different subjects ranging from Music Theory to Macroeconomics. With such a varied curriculum available, it is important for potential AP students to understand the ins and outs of the courses. The below statistics were compiled from the College Board and are based on AP tests from 2010.

In addition to knowing what to do while visiting a college campus, it’s just as important to know what NOT to do. There are easy-to-avoid mistakes such as dressing sloppily, being disrespectful and not paying attention. Here are some other mistakes that students make while on college tours and ones that you’ll definitely want to avoid.

When should I visit a college?
It’s not a bad idea to stop by a campus when you are in the area any time from Ninth Grade on and take the official tour. However, in terms of the college admission process, your first set of campus visits should occur during spring break junior year and continue through the summer. During the fall of senior year, try to schedule overnight visits in a residence hall at the schools which most interest you.

In my role as advisor to many college students seeking employment following graduation or seeking admissions to graduate or professional schools, I am often asked about internships. Do I have to do an internship to get the best position? Where should I apply? Will a good internship lead to a good job with that company?

An Aristotle Circle expert recently told me that, “It doesn’t matter what you do with your summer specifically as long as you use your time wisely and make the most of it.” For some, that means getting a job, attending a summer program at a prestigious university or interning in a profession that interests them. If you are of the latter group, here are some tips to ensure that you get the most out of your summer internship:

The winter that wasn’t has led into a particularly balmy spring, which has everyone thinking about summer. Summer can mean many different things to different people -- days at the beach, lots of ice cream, summer camp, baseball, and if you are a high school or college student -- summer internships.