Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17 year old male

I was thinking of pre-summer program at a college or something outdoorsy

Is this even possible?

If my 13 year old were 17 they would be going to a pre-summer program at a college and with all of the good vaccine news those may be happening.

Instead my 13 year old is going to four weeks of sleep away camp and can't wait.

What sleep away camp? I need for my 14 yo

NP. A lot of colleges have already made decisions not to host in person summer programs. In addition, those programs are often very expensive (sometimes $10k) and don’t necessarily add to a college application if it’s mostly just apply and pay to go, rather than a selective application process.

It’s been a tough year. I am following my kids’ lead on what they want to do. We are hopefully about a real family vacation. We’d like to do some college visits. If they want to hang out w friends everyday, I’m fine with that. If they want money, go for a job. I just want them to feel normal. And stay off the computer.

Many sleep away camps are planning to run at a lower capacity.

Outward Bound is running programs.

He’ll be working his job and working on college essays/apps

What's wrong with attending a summer program at a college/university? I earned six engineering credits at Rensselaer between my junior and senior year of college. My job at McDonald's was there when I got back.

You all are acting like it is so easy in these COVID times for teens to get summer jobs. I absolutely want my junior to work but finding a job is harder again this summer.

I would send him off to the part-time workforce unless HE identifies some sort of summer pre-college program or something else he wants to do. It may be late to apply to some programs and many of them might be online this year.

The summer my DS was 17 was following HS graduation. He had a landscaping job and spent a few weeks at a music program that he auditioned for. I was not really involved except for making it clear he wasn't going to sit around the house all summer.

Yes. Send him to his job.

Don't treat them like a child

At that age, all of my friends and I were working as much as possible the summer before college. I loved earning a check! Plus, loved getting out of the house.

Anonymous wrote:17 year old male

I was thinking of pre-summer program at a college or something outdoorsy

Is this even possible?

If my 13 year old were 17 they would be going to a pre-summer program at a college and with all of the good vaccine news those may be happening.

Instead my 13 year old is going to four weeks of sleep away camp and can't wait.

Mine is working at Noodles and Company and sleeping too much.

He can't stay home and earn money at a paying job?

17 year old male

I was thinking of pre-summer program at a college or something outdoorsy

Is this even possible?