By Jessica Brondo

Many of you are probably well underway with your summer plans by now, but I definitely have a couple of students I know who have really taken to the beach bum lifestyle.  While I am all for a little downtime after a hectic exam season, I’m also a huge proponent of maximizing one’s free time.  And there’s no better time than summer to do some pretty awesome things that you’ll not only enjoy, but they’ll also look great on your college applications.  Here are 8 great things you can do this summer (ASIDE from working on your tan

1.  Get Out(side) and Volunteer

~Most students don’t have enough community service on their activity sheets and it is definitely one of the top things colleges are looking for in their applicants.  Summer is a great time to pack in a LOT of hours and it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be inside candy-striping at a hospital (although that is a great option for any of you pre-Meds out there).  If the thought of being inside when the sun is shining makes you cringe, think about outdoor volunteer options.  Anything dealing with beach/park clean-ups or building houses/playgrounds/community gardens will definitely get you outside.  If it’s kids you love, try volunteering for a camp for disabled children or become a “buddy” for a special needs child at a mixed camp.  Not only will you probably have a great time, but you will feel SO good about what you’re doing every day (and will have a pretty sweet tan by the end of the summer).

2.  Read something for fun

~I know this sounds crazy considering the proliferation of sparknotes, cliffs notes, and other tricks to minimize the amount you need to read over the summer, but you might actually find reading enjoyable when you’re reading something that interested you (CRAZY!).  If you’re a sports junkie, read a biography of one of the greats.  If you’re a sucker for sappy love stories, read the newest chick lit book on the best seller list.  Think about what kind of movies you like and go to that section in the bookstore and I’m SURE you’ll find something fantastic.

3.  Try something NEW!

~I’m sure there are at least 10 things you’re dying to try/learn how to do, and what better time to test ‘em out than the summer.  Whether you’ve always dreamt of being a surfer, or want to get more flexible in yoga, or want to try your hand at cooking or painting, there’s no better time than the present.  Get out there find a class or take some lessons, and who knows you might just discover your new passion (AND will probably have a great college essay topic in the process).

4.  Get a Job

~You might think that searching hot dogs at the snack bar or landscaping or waiting tables would add NOTHING to your college resume, but THINK AGAIN. I can’t stress enough how important JOBS are on your resume, however menial you might think they are.  Colleges love to see students working and earning money and think that it definitely adds to their characters.

5.  Take a college level class

~If you really want to showcase your spirit for learning, or get a sense of what college is actually like, you might want to participate in one of the summer programs at a college.  You can take classes in any number of subjects and can even do pre-Med/pre-Law type classes as well.  It’s nice to get a feel for what you’re in for for the four years after college.

6.  Learn a language

~If you’re really into learning languages, you might want to shoot for an immersion program and stay with a family in a different country.  Not only will you REALLY improve your language skills, but you’ll also be exposed to a totally new culture in the process (and will make some international friends to visit down the road!).

7.  Focus on your sport

~If you’re even remotely considering playing a sport in college, then you should most definitely be playing (a TON) over the summer.  Whether it’s private coaching, tournaments, showcases, camps, workouts, or travel teams, you should really be devoting a ton of time to improving your skills over the summer so that the coaches know exactly who you are come recruiting season.

8.  REALX!

~Don’t ever feel guilty about having some downtime to really relax and regroup.  Students’ schedules are jam-packed during the year, so you should really try to build in some time for R&R and catching up with your family and friends.

Here’s to a fantastic summer!  What are some of your plans?

#1  Set an intention

If you only take one thing away from this post, it should be this.  At the start of a yoga class, many teachers will instruct you to “set an intention for your practice” (essentially a goal for that particular class).  Whether it is deepening your stretch in a certain pose or focusing on your breathing or working on getting a head stand, the teacher asks you to pick 1 (and the emphasis is on 1) thing to focus on.  I want you to think about the last time you actually sat down to study (not cram the period before your test, really study.  Did you feel like you got a lot done?  Were you focused? Or were you kind of lost in the midst of a daydream/IM chat?

When prepping for something as big as an SAT exam that tests SO many topics, it’s hard to not get overwhelmed with all the tips and tricks you’re learning.  However, each time you review and then sit down to take a practice exam, I want you to set 1 intention for that specific test.  Maybe it’s remembering to use the “Use Whatca Got” technique on the math section or focusing on subject-verb agreement, but it’s important to really focus on trying to use 1 new technique and mastering it.

Once you own that technique, you can move on to try a new technique the next time you sit down.  The worst thing you can do is go to a bunch of SAT classes, meet with your tutor on a weekly basis, or complete The Edge online course and not FOCUS on applying what you’re learning.  All the techniques will mean nothing unless you actually remember to apply them.  Soooo set an intention. And then…..
#2 Do It Daily

My favorite excuse from students for not doing their homework or taking a practice test is “OMG you don’t even KNOW the kind of week I had.  I was crazy busy…..3 tests, 2 basketball games, broke up with my girlfriend, blah blah blah.”  Let’s be honest.  We all know that you proooobably spent a hot 30 minutes prepping for your physics quiz…..most likely the period before and that you spent a good percentage of your time after school either on Facebook, IM, BBM, or Twitter (yea……remember I can see your wall if you friend me

I’m not trying to say not to go on Facebook or anything (we all know I’m a fan), BUT what I am saying is that it’s a load of crap if you tell me you don’t have time to do SAT work during the week.  For those students who know me, you know I’m all about maximizing efficiency and spending the least amount of time studying for the SAT as possible (since you know I hated it in HS), but I also did a little SAT prep EVERY day the summer before my junior year and went from an 1170 to a now perfect score.

ALL YOUR HAVE TO DO IS 2 PROBLEMS A DAY.  If you don’t get extra time, that should be a maximum of 4 minutes (but should probably be closer to 2-3).  You CANNOT tell me that you don’t have a spare 4 minutes a day to do 2 problems.  If we go back to setting an intention, you just need to pick one technique you’re going to focus on each week and do two problems a day until you master it.  Then move on to a new technique.  Obvioussssly if you have more time, do more problems and move on to your next technique faster, but seriously 4 minutes.  You can DO it.  Another thing you can do is YOU.  Which brings us to #3

#3 You Do You

(As Sammi Sweetheart would say).  In most yoga classes, you’re in a big room surrounded by tons of people crowding around on purple foam mats.  If you happen to be behind someone hard core, it’s hard not to get bogged down when she’s busting out a forearm stand while you’re struggling to touch the floor in a forward bend.  Yoga is NOT a competitive sport and any good teacher will tell you to focus on what’s going on on YOUR mat and forget about Lulu Lemon in front of you.  All that matters in yoga is whether you are pushing yourself to your fullest potential and the same thing holds true on the SAT.

You shouldn’t give a crap about how well people are telling you they are doing on their SAT because #1 they’re most likely grade-inflating to make themselves sound smarter and #2 at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone else’s score is besides yours.  In the college application process, each candidate’s application is like a portrait and you might be accepted to BU with an 1800 while your friend could get rejected with a 1950.  You just never know.  So stop making yourself crazy talking about what everyone else got and just focus on getting your own score up (you can Facebook later!).  Lastly….
#4 Patience is a virtue

Or as Winston Churchill said in his famous speech at Harrow, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in.” Seriously.  If you think that the SAT is something you can cram for, THINK AGAIN.  You’re not going to be able to pull an all-nighter and learn all the techniques you need to master the SAT and bang out a close-to-perfect score.  Ain’t gonna happen, my friend.  HOWEVER, the SAT and ACT are studiable (not a real word) tests.  Just recently, one of my students got a letter from the ACT organization saying that they thought she was cheating because her score went up so much (6 points–and that’s not even our company record), so fast (3 months)!  6 points out of 36 is an unbelievable score improvement, but clearly possible.  We’ve had similar results on the SAT, but these students worked their a$es off.  They sat for prcotored practice tests twice a month, did their 2 problems a night, kept a Wrong Question Journal, remembered what we taught them a week later at our next session and then killed it on exam day.

You can certainly be one of those students coasting through your tutoring program or your SAT course, not remember what the hell you learned the week before and see no progress.  Or you can suck it up and work at it until you own the test and hit your goal score and be done with this thing forever.  Your scores will follow you throughout life and can make the difference between a good school and a great school.  A $10,000 scholarship or zilch.  A kick-ass job or just an eh one. A friend of mine got shut out of a specific Sales and Trading program at one of the top banks because his SAT score from HIGH SCHOOL was a 1290 instead of a 1300.  You don’t want to be THAT GUY in your 20s.  So put in the work now.  Be patient.  And NEVER GIVE IN.