College acceptance rates are lower than ever.
That means it’s harder than ever before to get into your dream school and start earning your degree. If you want to improve your chances of getting in, you’ll have to beef up your college resume.
One of the best ways to do that is to go to summer overnight camp.
In this post, we’ll tell you why.
Build Your College Resume by Attending Summer Overnight Camp
Going to a summer camp or overnight camp could be one of the best choices you ever make. Read on to find out why.
Build Confidence
Confidence is vital. In many cases, it can make or break you.
Sometimes, it’s not about how skilled or knowledgeable you are, but how calmly and confidently you conduct yourself. If you turn up to your college interview as a nervous wreck, you might just ruin your chances.
Summer overnight camp gives you the chance to build confidence by practicing activities like performing and public speaking. That way, college won’t be the first time you have to do these things. By the time you get there, you’ll already have some experience under your belt, and it will be familiar territory.
Develop Leadership Skills
One of the main benefits of working in a summer camp is that you can hone your leadership skills.
In some overnight camps, you can take on responsibilities like running workshops and other activities. You can also work as an advisor to guide other camp attendees.
If you want to work on leadership specifically, you can even join a specialist leadership summer camp. In these camps, programs and activities are specially designed to make you a better leader. Even if you have no prior experience in this kind of position, you’ll emerge a more confident and capable leader at the end of it.
Display Independence
Going away to a summer overnight camp can be a scary experience. It can mean leaving your family, friends and hometown behind and throwing yourself into an entirely new environment.
Being able to do that shows that you have a certain amount of independence. That looks great on college applications. Colleges need to know that you can take care of yourself, handle your workload and commit yourself to your studies without anyone having to hold your hand along the way.
In high school, you can get by without really applying yourself because there are systems in place to help you along the way. College is very different. For some students, the adjustment in lifestyle, workload and support is a shock.
Going away on a camp shows that you can function and thrive without your regular support system. It also shows that in the face of uncertainty, you can adapt to new environments and challenges.
If you’ve already been away on a camp or two, you won’t have any trouble adjusting to the college experience.
Apply Yourself
When employers are looking at the resumes of job candidates, they look for gaps between jobs and investigate what took place during those times. Colleges do the same with summer breaks.
In both cases, assessors want to know exactly what you did with that time. Did you make yourself useful or did you simply waste the days away until it was time to go back to your studies?
Attending a summer overnight camp shows that you made the most of that time by applying yourself and doing something productive. This says a lot about your character, ambition and work ethic.
Carry Out Community Service
Volunteer work always looks great on a resume or application. It shows that you care about people, have a great character, and want to give something back to the people around you.
If you’ve always wanted to volunteer but never known how to make it happen, simply apply for a summer camp. This is a way of giving back to the community, exercising a passion for helping others and making an impact.
If you’ve dedicated yourself to this kind of community service, you’ll be much more likely to make a positive impact at college.
Work in a Team
Lots of college assignments involve working in groups. For someone who is used to going it alone, this can be difficult.
That’s another great reason to consider using a summer camp to prepare yourself.
It gives you an opportunity to practice your team working skills by collaborating with other teens on the camp on various activities.
Work on Your Chosen Subject
Summer camps aren’t all campfires, singalongs, adventures and team building activities. If you want, you can also work on academic subjects, too.
To do this, you can attend specialty camps, where attendees focus on subjects like medicine, engineering, digital arts, business, journalism, science, and more.
This kind of camp is especially impressive on a college application because it shows that you’re dedicated to your subject. So dedicated, in fact, that you’re willing to use your free time in the summer to learn more about it.
Don’t worry, these camps aren’t all about studies. There’s plenty of time for sports, games, and lots of other activities.
Set Yourself Apart From the Rest
During college admissions, lots of applications will look the same. Many of them will have the same skills, schools and grades. By adding a stint at a summer camp to yours, you’ll make it stand out from the competition.
This gives you a much better chance of catching someone’s eye and encouraging them to offer you a spot at their institution.
Find Your Next Overnight Camp
Now that you know how summer camp can impact your college resume, the next step is to start looking for the right one for you.
You don’t have to scour the internet and make endless phone calls to find out what your options are. At Camp Experts, we’ve done all the work for you. We’ve visited camps and collated information into handy guides, making it easy for you to make your choice.
To get started, contact us and request free information about camps around the world.