Reading: The Most Important Thing You’re Not Doing this Summer -

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When students and parents think of learning over the summer, reading is often at the bottom of the list of things to do to learn. In fact, it’s often not on the list at all when compared to summer programs, community college coursework, or test prep “boot camps”. Yet, it’s singularly one of the most important activities a student can do. Let’s understand why.

Colleges Ask for It

Colleges Ask for It

From USC in Los Angeles to Columbia University in New York City, top colleges ask on the college applications for what you’ve read lately. If all you have to say is required readings like To Kill a Mockingbird or Lord of the Flies, you’re clearly not a good fit for the nation’s top colleges, which all require their students to read dense material and be curious in this way.

In addition, reading is a great way to stand out for college applications as well. In a world of Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktoks, and YouTube, very few students actually read for fun anymore. So just by reading, you’re already in the minority, a pretty slim one at that.

The Missing Link to Test Prep

The Missing Link to Test Prep
The Missing Link to Test Prep

For years, members of our team trained students on the SAT — after they had taken boot camps at Elite and Excel. The common missing link in all those students? Reading. Students, especially here in the Silicon Valley, have spent years emphasizing math, engineering, STEM – at the expense of gaining critical reading and writing skills. As a result, we’ve found that students who don’t read plateau early, either at 1350 or 1450. Sound familiar?

If so, start encouraging your student to read anything, though we recommend material along a student’s interests. Don’t just think books either; consider magazines, articles, and news. Help your student explore their natural interests both academic and non-academic.

Reading as Inspiration for Learning

Reading as Inspiration for Learning
Reading as Inspiration for Learning

Let’s face it. High school is not inspiring. In its current format, exacerbated by a mixed bag of teachers, it’s really the last place to expect students to be inspired to learn.

This is where reading comes in. By allowing a student to choose their authors, you’re effectively allowing a student to choose their teachers. And those teachers aren’t limited to 6 subjects in History or English. In fact, they’re not even limited by present day time. Students can find inspiration in subjects not available in high school, from sociology to political science to biopsychology, and in authors spanning across eras and generations.

See you soon!

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Sarah Gooch

Essay Editor

Q:How many total years of experience do you have in your current role, including but not limited to ReadyEdgeGo?

A: I have five years' experience in coaching student writing, but this is my first year with ReadyEdgeGo.

Q: What about working with students do you most enjoy?

A: I love helping students find depth and meaning in their own stories—but I also just love it when they make me laugh!

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: In theory, I enjoy painting and writing poetry, but these days I actually spend most of my free time socializing or watching movies with my husband.

Q: What is your one piece of advice for high schoolers?

A: Don't just focus on achieving top grades and credentials because they look good on applications, or your education will be meaningless. The numbers and awards have their place, but stay connected to your sense of curiosity, discovery, excitement, and wonder so that the content you're learning is constantly transforming you—it's something you care about, something you remember after the final exam. Work on the aspects of yourself no one can measure, like integrity, wisdom, kindness, and compassion, so that you're not only developing your academic and career potential but also investing in the type of adult you're going to be, the person you'll have to live with after you clock out every day for the rest of your life.

Doing the hard inner work of building your character and learning deeply instead of just earning grades will set you up for a satisfying, well-rounded life. Strange as it sounds, it will also put you ahead in your academic and career goals, because colleges and hiring managers aren't looking for an empty set of data on a spreadsheet; they want a fully fleshed-out person marked by passion, creativity, and a story no one else has lived.

So go on studying hard for tests, but also spend some time asking yourself what matters in life and who your role models are. Read up on topics that amaze you, and build something incredible just for fun. Cultivate that spark of joy you feel when you're immersed in a subject that fascinates you. If you can hit that balancing act of doing your homework and meeting deadlines but also investing in the kind of person you want to be, then trust that all the rest will follow: schools will recognize you as a dynamic, all-star person, and you will also build a life of happiness, close relationships, and peace.

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