Friday, August 1, 2008

Stay Home & Get A Job

Some Admissions Officers Encourage More Free Time during the Summer

Written by: Heather Zimar
Published: 07/16/2008


Some admissions officers are encouraging students to take more time for personal growth in the summer, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The growing trend toward pre-college achievement, including college prep camps and enrichment programs, has surged in recent years, leaving college admissions officers and child psychologists to question whether the intensity is good for students, the Inquirer reported. In a recent paper, three Harvard officials are recommending that youth “bring summer back.”

“We have no evidence in Harvard admissions decisions over time that shows a consistent favorable judgment on packaged summer programs,” Marilyn McGrath, Harvard’s director of admissions, told the Inquirer. “You could just be a lifeguard, or spend a whole month reading Dostoyevsky, or visit your grandparents. All of those things are so rich in human terms.”

Eric J. Furda, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, said he encourages “horizon-broadening,” but students also need to learn to relax. “People shouldn’t feel that this is another box they need to check- ‘Summer experience, check, I did that, now how does it look on my application?’” Furda told the Inquirer. He said he looks for motivation, and what a student gets out of a program and how he or she articulates it.

There are many opportunities across the country for summer enrichment programs and college prep camps. Julian Krinsky camps, for example, include internships, a model United Nations program and a pre-college program at Princeton. Entry fees range from $1,000 a week to more than $12,000 for a residential student staying eight weeks, the Inquirer reported.

Eileen Bazelon, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, said students need to balance achievement and time to explore. “Is it just a means to an end as opposed to, God forbid, learning something? It needs to be done in the right context, like taking general college chemistry to see if you’re really interested in science, not just to pad your resume.”

Furda recommends summer enrichment activities such as getting a summer job, making a reading list, checking out local science exhibits, or learning about art.

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