What To Do When Your Summer Program is Cancelled

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, more and more students are finding themselves adrift with no plans for the summer. An increasing number of summer programs are being cancelled or, in the case of Yale Young Global Scholars and other elite programs, cut down to accommodate a smaller number of students than were originally admitted. If your student has been impacted by this trend, you may be wondering, “What can we possibly do now to fill my child’s summer?” The answer might be closer than you think, and whatever they do, make sure it isn’t anything!

Read – Students have never had more time than they do right now. School is winding down, assignments for remote learning are getting easier, and finals are even being cancelled. There is no better time to start reading intensely to make up for all the time they’ve lost over the past few years. Reading is the number one obstacle to students in everything from formal humanities instruction to standardized testing to college application essays. An hour a day of challenging reading should only be a start!

Write – Students never get enough practice writing, and it shows when they are faced with the biggest writing challenge of their young lives: college applications. Encourage your student to start expressing themselves in the written word, whether through creative writing, journaling, or in coordination with what they’re reading.

Help – The current public health crisis is one that affects us all, and students interested in demonstrating a record of service should seek to help in any way they can. Don’t just think inside the box, though; thousands of people will be able to say that, when coronavirus came, they stepped up. What’s a way that only your student can help out, a unique idea that only they can carry forward to fruition?

Organize – As shelter in place orders enter their second month, and show no sign of lifting in many areas until at least the end of May, students’ sense of community and fellowship is in jeopardy. Demonstrate leadership by organizing virtual community events, create networks of mutual support among peers in this trying time, and show that when everyone else retreated, you took up the flag and advanced the vital cause of socializing…at a distance.

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Tags: Higher Education, College, College Counseling, College Admissions, College Applications, Activities, Extracurricular Activities, Leadership, Community Service, Internships, Research, Summer Planning, COVID-19, Coronavirus, Online School, Online Learning, Remote School, Remote Learning