I'm here today to encourage you to use that precious week (or two, if you're lucky) productively and wisely for your college admissions process.
First and foremost, Spring Break is a great time to visit colleges--
the ones your child has been accepted to, or the ones they plan to apply to.
If the college is on vacation, too, you may not have the option of taking the official tour but you can still walk or drive around campus. Remember, setting foot on that campus is absolutely essential before making a commitment. No exceptions. A bad gut feeling about a school overrules everything else. Heed your instincts.
Even if your child is "too young" to be seriously considering college, don't hesitate to incorporate a quick drive through a college in whatever locale you are vacationing because you never know what's going to spark their interest or how their young brains will tuck that information away for the future.
For a more in-depth discussion about campus tours, please see my December 6th post.
Another great option is to have your child take what is called "an alternative Spring Break."
(I don't particularly like that term but I try to stick with industry convention at least part of the time.)
An alternative Spring Break refers specifically to doing volunteer work during the vacation rather than something more frivolous. More and more of these programs pop up every year. Your local church and YMCA probably offer something, but you can also go with global organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, or lesser-known organizations with significant impacts like Student Conservation Association.
Please remember that although your child will be providing valuable service during these trips, there is usually a fee involved to cover housing, meals and transportation.
I will refrain from stating the obvious personal benefits of participating in such an activity, but I will point out quickly that colleges love to see this kind of stuff on an application. In fact it is looked upon so favorably that many colleges now organize their own alternative Spring Breaks.
And to be honest, any teen I've known to take this route comes back saying it was possibly the best experience of their life, so that in itself is worth some consideration.
