Even though we are in the middle of March (with Spring just around the corner) now is the perfect time to start thinking about summer plans. This past week, I had two conversations with students and parents who were planning on going to academic summer camps because they thought it “would help their chances in college admissions.”

Spending $6,000+ to go to a summer camp just because you think it is going to improve your child’s college admissions odds is ridiculous. Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of kids who have been successful at gaining admission to the schools of their choice, and who spent their summers doing the most varied and wonderful things: Working as a grocery store bag boy. Starting a landscaping business with their friend. Taking art classes. Running a summer art workshop for elementary students. Volunteering with inner-city youth at a summer camp. Teaching dance. Life-guarding. Doing a wilderness expedition.

Start having the conversation with your children about what interests they would like to pursue this summer – preferably outside the classroom, and potentially something they have not been able to explore during the school year.

Remember: there are many ways to plan a meaningful summer, just keep in mind that summer should also be a time o get a chance to relax!! There is *no need* to spend thousands of dollars on a specific academic program or adventure – it will not set your child apart in the college admissions process. A program like that can be a wonderful way to spend a summer, but so can volunteering locally in a neighborhood garden or working in a coffee shop.

Enter the Gap Year. A Gap Year is a year break between the end of high school and the beginning of college – it can be a wonderful time to explore, volunteer, travel abroad, get a job or doing something extraordinary. Quite commonplace in England and parts of Europe (Prince William famously spent his Gap Year in South America) it is starting to take hold in America, and makes quite a bit of sense for students who just need time off before starting their college life.

Personally, I wish that the Gap Year would become more commonplace and accepted – I think that students who choose to do a Gap Year and plan it wisely go into their college experience more mature, focused and grounded. The potential for outside of the classroom learning is endless and can make a real difference in a young person’s growth, development and perspective.

If you live near or around our office, this upcoming Saturday, February 27th there will be a Gap Year Fair at Los Altos High School from noon – 2:30 pm. Its free, and more information can be found here. There are many meaningful ways to create a wonderful Gap Year experience, and the most important factor is that it is created with some reflective and thoughtful goals, and offers the experience to see things outside the traditional classroom or academic setting.

Tonight, my first Book Reading and Signing is at the Books Inc in Mountain View, CA – if you are in the area, please come by, or if you have friends who might be local, spread the word! THANKS!

The details are here.

A few weeks back, one of the parents of my college counseling students emailed me because her child had received a notice from the UC Admissions offices, asking for evidence for a “claim” he made in his application essay. The essay was completely factual and accurate, and his story quite extraordinary, but we all found it odd that he would be asked for documentation proving his claims.

Until, this great article in the Mercury News came out yesterday on the UC admission sleuths who go through applications and audit some essay claims – asking for factual documentation behind the homes you built, cancer you cured, or animals you rescued by single boat and oar.

I actually think this is great – because the fear of being audited (and your application being rejected) would hopefully deter some falsehoods being written and encourage students to write about their true selves. I think that sometimes students fear that they have nothing to write about, and that they need to make things up in order to look extraordinary. I believe that having confidence and faith in yourself can make writing about the seemingly ordinary actually quite extraordinary. I have had students write successful essays on being an only child, spending their dream day with friends, and their love for their car.

Now, my student’s essay was completely accurate, so the student has nothing to worry about (other than the annoyance of having to send in documentation). Students and parents, keep this in mind when those hours get long and the essay writing topics seem narrow – someone may be fact-checking!

One of my favorite Sundance movies was Anvil: The Story of Anvil! When my friend initially suggested we go see the movie, I balked, wondering why I would ever want to spend precious moments watching a movie about a failed heavy metal band from the 80s. I am so glad I went – the movie is genuine, real, and quite simply, one of the most inspiring stories about following your dreams, no matter what other people say or how others try to diminish those dreams. Oh, and there are some hilarious moments.

At Sundance, I was able to meet the director (who spent the summer touring with the band when they were touring the world in the 80s and then found them nearly twenty years later to do this movie) and see the band and their families, who were all at the screening and kind of dumbfounded that anyone would be interested in these guys who refused to give up.

It was released in theaters earlier this year, and is now available on DVD – I would definitely recommend.

Schedule a time to recycle, re-assess, and replenish.

Just like basketball practice or flute lessons, schedule the time where you and your children go through your old papers, recycle what is not needed, and create folders for papers that should be saved but don’t necessarily need to be in the backpack anymore (last semester’s finals for example).

Recycle – all old papers that are no longer useful, triplicate copies of assignments, hall passes from last semester etc.

Re-assess – Look at all the binders, planners and backpacks – are they still usable and useful. Perhaps your child has new classes this semester and needs new binders for them – also, despite your child’s claims,  Chorus and Religion class most certainly need binders.

Replenish – Its the night before a big project and you child need’s scissors and a glue stick, both of which are missing. That is generally not the time that you want to be going to the supply store. The beginning of the New Year is a great time to stock up on index cards (to make flashcards), reinforced binder paper (that doesn’t rip easily), a new three-hole punch if your old one is missing or is dog-eared, and printer paper.

May this semester be your child’s most successful one yet!