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Free Webinar and Live Q&A
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 · 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET

9th-11th Grade Students: Summer Plans are Decided in The Fall

Former Admissions Officers Share Top Decisions to Make Now.

By spring, many summer deadlines are already underway. The fall is the moment to pause, look at what genuinely interests your student, and make a plan that gives them time to explore, prepare, and choose well. Join Thomas Caleel and Tara Kalinisan, former admissions professionals and college counselors, for a practical conversation about choosing summer opportunities that build real momentum. From programs and internships to jobs, family responsibilities, creative work, service, research, travel, independent projects, and rest, they will explain how to find the option that fits your student rather than simply the option that sounds most impressive.

Reserve Your Free Spot

What We'll Cover

This session is for families who want to make thoughtful summer plans without turning the season into another admissions pressure point. Thomas and Tara will explain what admissions readers actually learn from a student's summer, how to evaluate opportunities through the lens of fit and purpose, and which decisions are worth making now. A live Q&A at the end will give families the opportunity to ask questions specific to their student's grade, interests, circumstances, and goals.

What Admissions Readers Actually Notice About Summer

Learn why a program name alone does not make a summer meaningful. Thomas and Tara will explain the signals readers notice, including curiosity, initiative, sustained engagement, contribution, reflection, and a connection to a student's larger growth.

How to Choose a Summer Opportunity That Fits

Explore the many ways a student can use the summer, including programs, jobs, internships, research, service, creative work, travel, family responsibilities, independent projects, and rest. Learn how to evaluate whether an opportunity fits the student rather than simply sounding impressive.

The Questions to Start Asking This Fall

Discover what to clarify now: what a student wants to explore, what skills or relationships they want to develop, which applications or materials may take time, and how to avoid a rushed search later in the year.

A Grade-Appropriate Summer Plan

Understand how the purpose of summer can look different for ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders, from exploration and skill-building to growing ownership and preparing for a stronger senior year.

Summer planning does not have to start with a prestigious program. Register below to find the opportunity that gives your student the right space to explore, grow, and contribute.

 

Meet Your Hosts

Thomas Caleel

Founder and CEO, Admittedly; Former Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Tara Kalinisan

Admissions Strategist, Admittedly; Former Associate Director of Diversity & Access Recruitment, Smith College; Former Associate Director of College Counseling, NY Country Day

Plan Early.
Choose With Purpose.

The most valuable summer plan is not the one with the most recognizable name. It is the one that gives a student a meaningful way to explore, grow, contribute, and carry momentum into the next school year.

Before deadlines arrive and options narrow, give your family a clearer way to decide what will actually serve your student. Join Thomas and Tara for an admissions-informed conversation about the choices that can make summer purposeful, personal, and worth the time.

Reserve Your Free Spot
Thomas Caleel

Thomas Caleel has spent more than 20 years shaping admissions strategy at the highest levels of education. As the former Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at Wharton, he reviewed tens of thousands of applications and made final admissions decisions for one of the world's most selective business schools. Today, he leads Admittedly and helps students and families make thoughtful choices grounded in authenticity, intellectual curiosity, and long-term growth.

tara

Tara Kalinisan brings nearly 10 years of experience across selective college admissions and college counseling. She has evaluated applications in a highly selective admissions office, guided students and families through the college process at independent schools, and developed college-advising curricula and programs. Tara helps students identify the experiences, interests, and perspectives that make them distinctive, then connect those pieces into a compelling, authentic story without forcing a predetermined mold.