The early signs of “senioritis” are setting in and many seniors are checking out of youth groups. Visions of graduation and heading off to college are filling their minds. It may be a tough time to engage students with last minute preparations for college, but here are three activities that can make a big difference in how students approach their first semester after high school.

1. Help students make Christian community connections before they arrive on campus. Invite all of the college bound seniors to a night of searching for and praying about the Christian community at their college destination. Check out the websites of colleges where students are attending, have students send an email to ministry leaders and find out the names and locations of good churches near their school. Here’s a good place to start your Internet search: CPYU’s list of college ministries.

2. Watch a Veritas Forum video and discuss it with your college bound seniors. Veritas Forums are university events that engage students in discussions about life’s hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life. I suggest the lectures by Tim Keller and Os Guinness to get you started. Students need to know the kinds of questions that college students ask and how their faith might be challenged in college. These videos can create some good tension and get students to consider why they believe what they believe.

3. Host a panel discussion of current college students offering advice to students about to embark on the next chapter of their life story. It is good for seniors to hear from other students from their church that have gone before them. Provide an opportunity for students to hear about the good and bad decisions other students have made during their early experiences in college. Not only is this a good activity for college bound students, but it is very beneficial for current college students as well. It gives them an opportunity to stay connected to the church and utilize their leadership gifts.

It’s that time of the year. Students are getting ready to graduate from high school and many still haven’t decided what they want to do next year! If you’ve been following this blog or the work of the College Transition Initiative, you will know that I’m a huge advocate for considering taking time off of “school” before entering college, especially if students aren’t sure what they hope to accomplish in college. I’ve written about some of the reasons for why in an article entitled “God in the Gap Year.”

A gap year isn’t for everyone, and I don’t mean to deter students from going to college. My hope is to simply have more students (and parents) consider a gap year as a legitimate alternative to life after high school. And, I fear, we sometimes expect too much from institutions of higher education. They are not always the best place to go to figure out what you want to do with your life!

I have been greatly impressed by the Christian Gap Year programs that I have been learning about recently. In the next few weeks I hope to highlight these programs and let you hear from the leaders. In the very near future I will be creating a list of Christian Gap Year programs that might interest you. Maybe you know of someone who would benefit from one of these programs. Stay tuned!

For now, check out the following helpful gap year related blog posts from youth ministry guru Doug Fields:

IS THE ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ DYING? Today’s teenagers seem to want more than college

11 GAP-YEAR IDEAS: Thanks gang!

What students should do to make college count:

1. Learn to work hard. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s easy.

2. Wash regularly. Your clothes, your hair, yourself. You don’t want your only friends to be fungi.

3. Respect how much money other people (parents, grandparents, scholarship donors) are spending so you can get an education.

4. Don’t lose your ability to wonder about what God is up to.

Dr. R. Allen Jackson is Professor of Youth Education and Director of the Youth Ministry Institute at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

MORE COLLEGE ADVICE

This morning my son was watching Cat in the Hat on TV. I don’t know the context, but I heard one of the characters say this, “Teach me to be slow.” It caught me by surprise, and ironically, slowed me down. That’s not something you hear every day. In fact, it’s downright counter-cultural. Who wants to learn how to be slow?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance of slowing down. During this Holy Week especially, I’ve found myself offering a similar prayer: “Lord, teach me to be slow.” I’m reminded of a quote from Eugene Peterson: “A life of love and obedience can’t be rushed into human hearts.” So true.

Slowing down might also be something to keep in mind when thinking about preparing for college. I’m not suggesting that students add “I am slow” to their applications. That would be weird. But I am suggesting that students and parents slow down and create space for more reflection about college. Socrates famously quipped, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Here are a few questions we might miss:

• Have we properly “examined” this pivotal next step after high school? 
• Has going away to college right after high school simply become assumed?
• Have students (and parents!) thought about why they are going to college?

Taking some time to wrestle with these questions can make a big difference in the kind of experience students have when they arrive on campus. What are you waiting for? Hurry up, and slow down!

A new study by two university professors leads to a shocking discovery: many students don’t learn very much in college. The findings of the study were recently reported in a groundbreaking book, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. The picture is grim. Forty-five percent of students “did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning” during the first two years of college, and thirty-six percent didn’t demonstrate much learning over four years of college.

The authors note that many students drift “through college without a clear sense of purpose.” According to their study, the main reason very few students aren’t learning much in college is “lack of academic rigor.” The majority of students are not being pushed very hard in their studies. In fact, studying outside of class is at an all-time low, accounting for less than 14 hours a week for most students!

College bound high school students and their parents should pay particular attention to this study for two reason. First, parents and students need to know what they are paying for. College is very expensive, and many people seek to justify the cost by pointing to the knowledge that will be gained. If students aren’t learning, what exactly are students and parents paying for? Families need to hold colleges accountable for the worth of a college degree.

Second, the lack of rigor is not just a college curriculum problem, it’s a church problem as well. Not only are students not being pushed in school to excel academically, but many are not being pushed by churches to grow spiritually. Remember, to be a disciple literally means to be a “student.” Followers of Christ should all be “life-long learners,” continually gleaning wisdom from the Master teacher, Jesus. Christian students should seek to be a witness for Christ in college by taking learning seriously. After all, we are to “love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind.”

The College Transition Seminars I present have two main points: (1) the years between 18-25 are formative, take them seriously; and (2) students (and parents) need to think more deeply about why they are going to college. At the conclusion of my seminars, I often encourage students to consider taking a gap year if they are unsure about what they want to do after high school. I’ve explained some of the theory behind this conviction in an article “God in the Gap Year” (PDF). I have probably received more feedback from that article than anything else I have written.

On Thursday and Friday of last week, I participated in a roundtable discussion with Christian gap year program leaders from across the country. About a year ago, Eric Smith (Summit Ministries), Dan Lambert (John Brown University), and I began dreaming about putting together such a gathering to encourage and network leaders of distinctively Christian gap year programs. The two days were exhilarating, to say the least.

I was greatly impressed by each leader and by the programs they are running. As I was learning about each program, I kept thinking: More and more students and parents need to know that these programs exist! And, hopefully, more and more programs will be started because of their inspiration. Here are the gap year programs that were represented at the roundtable discussion:

Summit Semester (Colorado)

Impact 360 (Georgia)

WalkAbout (Texas)

True North (Pennsylvania)

Kanakuk Link Year (Missouri)

Norristown Community House (Pennsylvania)

Centers for Christian Study International (Colorado, Oklahoma)

On my flight to participate in the roundtable, I read this quote from Stanford University professor William Damon, from his important book, The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life:

“In our interviews and surveys, only about one in five young people in the 12-22-year age range express a clear vision of where they want to go, what they want to accomplish in life, and why. The largest portion of those we interviewed—almost 60 percent—may have engaged in some potentially purposeful activities, or they may have developed some vague aspirations; but they do not have any real commitment to such activities or any realistic plans for pursuing their aspirations.”

Here’s why I’m excited about the potential of gap year programs: They can provide an opportunity for students to think more deeply and intentionally about their purpose, calling and life goals. Judging from the conversations I had last week, I know this is happening at the programs listed above!

I am in the process of creating a list of gap year programs to recommend to students and parents. Please contact me if you know of any programs that should be included.

What college students should do to make college count:

1. Don’t pack up your faith with your other high school memories and leave it behind when you head to college. Instead, use college as an experience to see how faith works in real life every day on campus.

2. Find ways to stay centered in God’s presence even while there’s so much competing for your time and attention, and let that time with God be the place you see the connections between life and faith in college. And when you don’t see connections, look to scripture and to other believers for honest conversations about your struggles and doubts as they emerge—and they probably will—along the way.

Brad Griffin is Associate Director for the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI). Brad coordinates FYI’s research efforts, writes, leads workshops, develops resources, grows an online presence, consults with youth workers, and manages the private foundation grants of FYI. Click here to listen to a Princeton Theological Seminary podcast interview with Brad about FYI College Transition Project.

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