Summer Reading for College Bound Students

One thing is guaranteed about your college program – you’re going to be assigned more reading than you ever have been before!

For high school students who are not active recreational readers, the shock of returning to college and being faced with a stack of books can be overwhelming.

This summer, set a goal of reading some classic college-approved books that will keep your reading skills up to snuff, and might even put you ahead when you get to your college courses. Here is a list of fiction books which tend to appear often in college courses, for a variety of reasons:

• ·         Austen, Jane: Pride and Prejudice
• ·         Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre
• ·         Cather, Willa: Death Comes for the Archbishop
• ·         Chopin, Kate: The Awakening
• ·         Crane, Stephen: The Red Badge of Courage
• ·         de Cervantes, Miguel: Don Quixote
• ·         Faulkner, William: The Sound and the Fury
• ·         Fitzgerald, F. Scott: The Great Gatsby
• ·         Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter
• ·         Hemingway, Ernest: A Farewell to Arms
• ·         Lee, Harper: To Kill a Mockingbird
• ·         London, Jack: The Call of the Wild
• ·         Orwell, George: Animal Farm
• ·         Steinbeck, John: The Grapes of Wrath
• ·         Stowe, Harriet Beecher: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Don’t see anything that interests you? Consider asking your favorite high school teacher or your guidance counselor for recommendations of books they think you might enjoy this summer.

Freshman College Student Money Management

Going off to college marks the first time that many students will be living on their own, without Mom or Dad to help them manage their finances. It’s not surprising that a number of college Freshmen have difficulty managing a cash flow for needs and wants, or that some make poor financial decisions that can carry far past college. If you’re off to school this Fall, here are some tips to keep you in the black:

Know Your Cash Flow

While you may have totaled up the yearly expenses and income for college, do you know WHEN you’re going to have money (and when you have to scrimp and save)? Get a calendar and circle the payment dates for incoming funds like grants, bursaries, and part-time work income, as well as the payment dates for expenditures for tuition, accommodations, and books. Pay attention to where the gaps occur – that’s when you may need to borrow from family or other sources to make ends meet in the short term. Don’t forget, if family or friends have promised you monetary gifts towards your college education; ask for a specific payment date so that you can plan appropriately.

Set a Budget

“Budget” might sounds like a dirty word when you’re looking forward to the “freedom” of living away from home, but it’s a necessity. Because a student’s cash flow is often sporadic, it’s important to know what your monthly or even weekly limits are on spending, to avoid having to eat nothing but ramen noodles come December! Set a reasonable budget not only for your necessary items (i.e. bus passes, laundry soap, clothes, and basic food items) but also for your entertainment (i.e. restaurant trips, events, and late night pizza runs).  Don’t forget to budget for seasonal items too, such as train tickets to go home at Thanksgiving or Christmas gifts in December.

Be Smart With Your Credit

Once a student is legally an adult, they become fair game for credit card companies, and many students make the mistake of taking on non-academic debt (i.e. consumer debt) simply because it’s so easy to get a credit card. Don’t be fooled by free t-shirts or “student special” credit card offers, or by banks that say “Well, you don’t have to USE it….” If you don’t need to borrow money to get through college, DON’T. And if you do need to borrow, consider friends, family and structured student loans with lower interest rates before you consider credit cards.

A Parent’s Guide to “The Last Summer At Home”

The summer between a student’s Senior high school year and his or her Freshman college year is a bittersweet one for parents. On one hand, they can take a great deal of pride in the fact that their child is approaching adulthood and has been accepted into a great college. On the other hand, they’re faced (usually for the first time) with the idea that their child may be moving away from home for the first time!

Parents often struggle with this “last summer at home”. Here are some tips to make it more enjoyable and less stressful for both parents and kids.

Ready, Set….?

The last summer at home is a great time to be sure that your child has all the skills he or she needs to function as an independent adult. If you’ve always handled your child’s finances or you’ve never allowed him or her to do housework, they’re likely in for a surprise (and not a pleasant one) when they’re out on their own.

View summer as the opportunity to teach your child skills that he/she will need, whether it’s how to do laundry properly, how to budget, or how to maintain the car (if it’s going with them to college).

Create Family Memories

Particularly if you’re sending your oldest child off to college, you may feel as though your family is breaking apart and will never been the same. In some sense, it’s true; even if children return home the following summer or after college, they’ll never been the same age again.

Make time in the summer to enjoy quality family time, either planned trips with the whole family or even just Sunday afternoon lunches around the home when the whole family can be together. By scheduling time, you’re less likely to be anxious about missing your child’s last summer at home or to be resentful of your child’s time spent with friends outside the home.

Develop Your Own Interests

If the phrase “empty nest syndrome” strikes fear into your heart, summer is the time to begin developing your own interests to stave off parental loneliness. While you may have devoted the last several years to your child’s high school life, the coming college separation can leave you with more free time on your hands than you expected.

Take up old hobbies or interests that you may have neglected since having a child. Consider joining new groups and clubs which will let you meet more friends in your area. If you still miss the frenzy and fun of a living around a teenager, consider volunteering at your child’s old high school.

Summer Programs for College-Bound Students

While summer is a great time to rest, relax and unwind, it can also be a great opportunity to further your college dream. Here are some tips on making the most of the summer months with an eye towards getting into your ideal college.

Test Out Your Interests

One of the toughest choices that high school students have to make is settling on a course of study in college. After all, you will be spending 3 or 4 years in your program, and likely looking at a career related to it for years afterwards; better be sure that you like it!

If you’re trying to choose between two or three different college programs, a summer job or summer program that lets you immerse yourself in that field for a couple of months is a good way to make an informed decision, either for or against, a particular program.  Considering a career in business or finance? Consider asking if you can intern (or better yet, get a paid summer position!) with a small local business for the summer. Want to work in the entertainment industry? Volunteer at a local community theatre.

Advance Your Education

If you’re already sure what subject in which you want to major in college, consider getting a head start by taking summer courses or programs. Interested in engineering? Consider taking an engineering summer program at NC State University. Pursuing biotechnology? NC State also offers a college-level course designed for advanced students. Looking at English as a major? Local libraries and colleges offer writing workshops and book clubs that can help.

Not only will summer courses and programs relevant to your future college studies help you be sure that you’re going into the right program in college, they can also giving you a deciding edge in your college application. Demonstrating that you’ve already pursued interests relevant to the college program to which you’re applying can show you’re a committed student.

Work On Your Weaknesses

Not all high school students should play to their strengths when looking at summer activities, however. If you feel you have one or two critical weaknesses that might affect your eligibility to top colleges, consider devoting your summer to working on them.

If your high school record is strong on academics, but light on “character” components, consider working on leadership or community involvement by volunteer coaching a children’s sports league. If you received one or more marginal grades in one of your high school courses, consider asking your teacher or guidance counselor for advice on remedial summer courses or tutors to help you brush up on weaker subjects.