Once you begin college, your summers will change. Gone are the summers of taking it easy. Summers become a time for your continual development. Outlined below are some ideas about what you should plan for in your summers.

Summers Between Freshman and Sophomore Years

• Take courses to get caught up or get ahead Most campuses offer on-line courses you can take in the summer. You can also take courses at a local college and transfer those courses back to your home institution. This is also a good time to take courses for minor.
• Get a job Most students need a job to make money for college, but no matter your circumstances, you need some work experience on your resume. You’ll be surprised about how you can relate almost any job to your intended major.
• Shadow someone in your chosen major Summer is a good time to find out more information on your major. See if there is someone who you can shadow for a day or a week to get the feel for what professionals do in your major.

Summer Between Sophomore and Junior Years

• Obtain an internship Take advantage of campus career fairs and interviews to obtain an internship. There are internships for every major if you make the effort. Often these internships will lead to full-time jobs.
• Take on a volunteer assignment You might have an opportunity to make a contribution to society by undertaking an assignment as a volunteer. These experiences can be very rewarding both personally and professionally.
• Take classes Again you can take classes to get caught up, get ahead, or fulfill a minor. During this summer, these courses will probably need to be on-line since you will be away from campus or working during normal class times.

Summer Between Your Junior and Senior Years

• Obtain an internship See the comment above. You really need to make the effort to gain some experience in your major before you graduate.
• Work on a research project Talk with faculty in your major to see if you can support them on a research project. You will be paid to do this and this is a great way to test out whether graduate school is for you.
• Take on a volunteer assignment See the comment above. A volunteer assignment can be especially good if you want to demonstrate a commitment to your future profession for prospective graduate and professional schools.
• Take classes This summer is critical to putting yourself in position to graduate on time.

As you can see from each of these, summers are a time to continue your overall development as a persona and as a professional..