My rising 10th grader will be playing club sports this summer, lifeguarding, training for XC in the fall and starting some SAT/ACT review in her free time. Also, driver's ed.

Her older brother, who graduates HS this year and will head to college in the fall, did his club sport and summer swim during the summer after 9th grade. He also lifeguarded.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

Maybe he's expected to play his sport?My kid did travel basketball w some members of his school team and football practices.

My goal was for my kids to have some downtime but not sit around the house the entire summer or for me to spend lots of money on camps or classes. So either job, volunteer, or taking a summer class to get ahead on high school coursework if they can’t fit in something they really want to take during the school year without this. For their main EC at school, I would support them doing something limited (both cost and time) during that summer like a 3 day overnight sport camp or a class that met only a few times the summer to get ready for an aspect of the student run theatre.

I have a HS junior and a MS kid.

I follow their lead on what to get involved in. I will help facilitate. If they express an interest in something but don't know where to start, I'll help research options and present them with choices, but I won't force anything. I'll drive them places, volunteer as a parent helper on a couple of the activities, etc.

One of mine is very well rounded - one season sport per year, one season in a music/arts performance, fill in with Scouts and a couple of steady volunteer orgs between the seasonal activities. Other kid is all in on sports year-round, and would revolt if we tried to force anything else.

I would push harder if they were spending their days sitting on a couch, but they are both very active by their own choice, just in different ways.

My kid is a HS freshman too, as more well-rounded vs pointy. We are traveling for a couple weeks and then DC is taking a summer class (to clear a requirement off next year’s school schedule and open a spot for a preferred elective) and taking CPR and first aid courses. Next summer DC plans to work as a counselor at an art camp (not old enough this summer) and hoping that will turn into a regular summer gig.

It's not your job to orchestrate his summer. Your job is to set expectations for him so that he doesn't hang out with his friends and nothing else. What are his interests? Does his sport offer any camps for little kids? Working a basketball (or whatever his sport is,) camp for X amount of weeks could give him employment history as well as leadership skills. He might also need to learn a new skill set like driving lessons. Talk to him, see where upperclassmen have been working and go from there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

As others have said, don't start a nonprofit. That's you, not him.

But, do give him a nudge to volunteer somewhere. Something he'd want to commit to for long haul. Give him ideas. Prompt him to search.

He's probably too young for a job, but that's fine too when he's old enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he in honors classes? If you are thinking about college applications, it's good to show rigor. So consider adding some if he's not taking them already.

I was a well-rounded kid myself and hearing all the talk of "pointy-ness" is very nerve-wracking. But I do think colleges want well-rounded kids as well. It's good that he has many interests, and he's only a freshman so it makes sense to try different things.

For the summer, I would recommend a job or participating in an activity such as a sport that he enjoys doing.

Yes, he is taking all honors freshmen year. He will be taking as many APs as he can as a sophomore next year.

it is not the number of APs, it is the quality. 6 APs that include PhysC, Chem, BCCalc, APLit is better than a list of 10 APs that only include one of those.

Nonsense. There are no "bad" or "lower" APs. This is just some Bethesda BS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he in honors classes? If you are thinking about college applications, it's good to show rigor. So consider adding some if he's not taking them already.

I was a well-rounded kid myself and hearing all the talk of "pointy-ness" is very nerve-wracking. But I do think colleges want well-rounded kids as well. It's good that he has many interests, and he's only a freshman so it makes sense to try different things.

For the summer, I would recommend a job or participating in an activity such as a sport that he enjoys doing.

Yes, he is taking all honors freshmen year. He will be taking as many APs as he can as a sophomore next year.

it is not the number of APs, it is the quality. 6 APs that include PhysC, Chem, BCCalc, APLit is better than a list of 10 APs that only include one of those.

Anonymous wrote:Is he in honors classes? If you are thinking about college applications, it's good to show rigor. So consider adding some if he's not taking them already.

I was a well-rounded kid myself and hearing all the talk of "pointy-ness" is very nerve-wracking. But I do think colleges want well-rounded kids as well. It's good that he has many interests, and he's only a freshman so it makes sense to try different things.

For the summer, I would recommend a job or participating in an activity such as a sport that he enjoys doing.

Yes, he is taking all honors freshmen year. He will be taking as many APs as he can as a sophomore next year.

Anonymous wrote:I have a freshman in high school. He is a straight A, three varsity sport athlete and joined a few this year. If I left him alone, he would probably play his sport and that is it. While he is a great athlete, I do not expect him to be a D1 recruit. He could potentially be a D3.

What was your kid doing the summer after freshman year?

My kid is a very well rounded kid, almost too well rounded. He has a wide interest pool including art, science, engineering, history and political science.

Good to develop the art and stem….colleges look favorably on that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

please don't do this, everyone can see through it in admissions. it is almost a joke now

Do not start the nonprofit. That is definitely not working anymore /has backfired for many this year.

However, if your kid is able to start or serve on a youth advisory council for a nonprofit with an active, authentic, impactful role, yes, that can absolutely make a difference.

Anonymous wrote:I have a freshman in high school. He is a straight A, three varsity sport athlete and joined a few this year. If I left him alone, he would probably play his sport and that is it. While he is a great athlete, I do not expect him to be a D1 recruit. He could potentially be a D3.

What was your kid doing the summer after freshman year?

My kid is a very well rounded kid, almost too well rounded. He has a wide interest pool including art, science, engineering, history and political science.

Parents do not need to worry or plan all this. Kids can follow their hearts in summer: sports or dance or camp counselor or a regular job or academic enrichment that they initiated . Mine did a combination of above and they all got into multiple T25s/attend ivy/+. Admissions is mostly about the transcript, and interviews ask what do you do that brings you joy, tell us about something you did that was important to you and why. Let it be your student who picks what to do with ECs, so they can interview and write essays from their heart.