College Prep Pressure: Is the Finish Line in Sight?

Making the most of summer

Daniel, who never had a grade lower than A-minus, has experienced rejection before; he didn’t get into a summer program at Franklin & Marshall College and it became the topic of his college essay. He describes how he feared facing his older sister, a former Match student who attends Brandeis, and his mother, who works as a secretary. His father is a maintenance man but no longer lives with the family.

“My mother is a woman who constantly brags about her son’s accomplishments. I struggled and persevered through school in order to make her feel proud of me,’’ Daniel writes. “I could just picture on her face the pity, and the disappointment.’’ He adds, however, that rejection ultimately helped him “build resilience,’’ and gave him a chance to study at the summer academy at Noonan Scholars, a nonprofit organization that supports low-income and first-generation students throughout their senior year.

Such outside opportunities play a part in the success of Match students; the school looks for worthwhile summer programs that offer scholarships. Michaela Notice spent 15 days last summer canoeing, rafting, hiking and camping in Utah and Colorado, via the National Outdoor Leadership Program, (NOLS). Humberto attended Crimson Summer Academy at Harvard.

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