Not Traveling? Here’s What to Do During Spring Break to Get Ahead on College Admissions

For rising seniors, spring break can feel like a welcome oasis from the stress and overwhelm of third quarter. After months of SAT prep and challenging AP-level coursework, it’s no surprise if it finally feels like you can come up for air a bit.

While a packed schedule of college visits is a common approach to spring break, it’s also okay to save visits for later in the year and take the time you need to get back on track in other areas. There’s plenty that you can do to make the most of spring break (and get the rest you need). With fewer distractions and more control over your time, you can make meaningful progress without burning yourself out.

Here are four ways to make it count.

1. Do Virtual College Visits (And Make them Fun!)

It’s easy to feel like virtual visits don’t offer much to the college search. How can you tell what college will really feel like by watching a video? It’s true that spending time on campus will make it easier to figure out if a college is a good fit, but don’t discount the power of a focused virtual experience. Most students approach virtual visits passively — clicking around while scrolling social media, skimming just the homepages of the college website — so it’s no surprise if everything starts to blend together.

If you want to make the most of your time and effort, have some fun with it by treating each school like a mini research project.

Create a separate document for each college you’re interested in and challenge yourself to find 5–10 details that feel truly specific to that school. Think of it like an Easter egg hunt.

Focus on:

• Special Traditions
  Look for the kinds of unique traditions that students are passionate about. At Stanford, for example, you might explore events like Full Moon on the Quad or Big Game week traditions. These aren’t just cute stories—they give insight into campus culture and community.

• Unique Courses and Majors
  Spend time looking into special courses, programs, and majors beyond the traditional core areas you’re familiar with at the high school level. For example, at Brown, you could easily pursue familiar programs like Economics or Poli Sci, just like you might at any other university. But perhaps if you dive deeper, you’ll realize you’re WAY more excited by unique interdisciplinary concentrations like Behavioral Decision Studies — there aren’t many other universities where you can spend 4 years solely focused on understanding how humans make choices via courses in philosophy, CS, psychology and economics. Identifying these unique programs shows a deeper understanding of how academics at a particular institution can match your personal interests.

• Curricular Philosophies
  Go beyond surface-level descriptions and aim to understand the values behind each college’s curriculum. Everyone knows that Columbia’s Core Curriculum is comprised of a set of standardized humanities-oriented classes that have been taught on the Morningside Campus for decades, but did you know that Frontiers of Science was added to the curriculum in the 2000s, and that the courses are evaluated every few years in response to student feedback? Real insight comes from understanding how it influences students’ choices, discussions, and day-to-day academic life.

As you go, keep last year’s supplemental essay prompts open. They’re a direct signal of what each school values. If a prompt asks about intellectual curiosity or community, your notes should give you something specific to say.

By the end of break, you’re not just recognizing school names—you’re starting to understand what actually makes them different.

2. Get Ahead on Teacher Recommendations and Junior Packets

Begin pulling together the materials you’ll eventually need for your junior packet. That might include an activities list, a resume, and a few reflections on what you’ve spent your time on and why.

Then, take a first pass at reaching out to teachers you may ask for recommendations.

You don’t need a formal request yet. A thoughtful note is enough:

• What you appreciated about their class

• A moment where you felt challenged or grew

• What you’re interested in moving toward

This helps teachers see you as more than just a student in their class. And when the time comes to formally ask, you’re not starting from scratch.

3. Get Ahead on Coursework and AP Prep

Many teachers are generous about not assigning work over the spring break period. If you’re lucky enough to not have homework or assignments looming ahead, enjoy the time off!

But this break in your workload is also a good chance to find ways you can make fourth quarter feel more manageable.

If you’re like most juniors, you most likely can look ahead towards finals, class projects, AP exams, and perhaps the May SAT.

Create a simple plan that helps you:

• Identify your toughest AP exams and map out what’s left of the material.

• Get a head start on any major assignments - even just reviewing upcoming final projects can help you wrap your head around what’s required.

• Strategize ways to avoid making the same mistakes you’ve made in the past: ask for tutoring help in areas where you’re struggling, plan to talk to teachers about makeup work, or create more downtime by taking a step back in activities so you can finish the year strong.

This doesn’t need to take over your entire week: a single focused hour for each course over the course of your break is more than enough! The goal isn’t to spend 7 hours a day studying. It’s to come back feeling more confident and in control. Fourth quarter can feel endless, so having a bit of momentum makes a big difference.

4. Reconnect with Mentors, Advisors, and Family Friends

The bulk of summer program deadlines are in the first quarter of the year, so by mid-to-late spring, it can feel like a lot of major summer opportunities are already gone. But there’s still plenty of time to figure out how to spend your time, especially if you’re willing to take the time to reach out to your networks.

Use this week to reconnect with people in your network:

• Former teachers or advisors

• Family friends

• Coaches or supervisors

• Local businesses you frequent

Don’t be shy about setting up a few low-pressure conversations over the phone or Zoom, or in-person if you can make that work. Most professionals are friendly and excited to help youth interested in their fields.

From there, you can:

• Ask about their work or field in the hopes of learning how they got started.

• Pitch yourself and your skillset — do you enjoy making social media content? Are you good with websites? Share ways you could support

• Inquire about shadowing or volunteer opportunities.

Even one or two conversations can open unexpected doors. And talking to people in fields you’re interested in can help you get clearer on what you’re actually passionate about.

Overall, remember that spring break doesn’t need to be packed to be productive. Don’t feel like you need to do everything on this list to make it worth it — even one or two of the steps above might make a difference in your overall college application process.

At the end of the day, if you come out of the week with a better understanding of a few schools, stronger relationships with your recommenders and mentors, and a bit more control over your academics, you’ll be in a really strong position heading into the final stretch of the year.