The Leading Source for College Preparation:
Summer Programs, Gap Year Programs, Community Service and more.

13,000+ Experiences for Students in Grades 7-12.

Discover how spending time in the world outside the classroom can help teens do better in school, during the college admissions process and in their adult lives. Our mission is to connect students, parents and educators with the best experiential learning opportunities for middle- and high-school students.

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  Summer Programs

  Spend this summer expanding your pre-college horizons. Check out thousands of summer programs, from rocket science camps to musical theater classes to wilderness training courses.

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  Gap Year Programs

  Find out more about how a gap year or semester before college contributes to personal growth and builds the life skills you need to succeed in college. Check out TeenLife’s gap year programs after high school, ranging from work internships to community service to premed programs to adventure trips.

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  Volunteer Opportunities

  Volunteer for a community service program to expand your world view, make a difference and feel good. Community service may also be a graduation requirement! Check out these nonprofit organizations that could use your help or connect you with a community service project. Also, check out our blog for community service ideas for teens.

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  STEM Summer Programs

  STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers are on the rise, and students can start learning skills in STEM as early as middle school. Browse topic specific STEM summer programs.

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  Performing & Visual Arts Programs

  Colleges, gap year programs, and summer programs all offer opportunities in the performing & visual arts. Pursue your passions and grow your strengths with a performing and/or visual arts program.

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  Colleges & Universities

  Begin your college search with our comprehensive college & university database. Or explore summer programs taking place on college campuses. College is a big investment. We can help you try before you buy.

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  Boarding Schools

  Ready to combine school with independence? We list more than 400 listings for boarding schools and semester schools in the United States and abroad. Discover how a learning community focused on college prep or a particular interest sparks success. Many offer postgraduate (PG) years.

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  Private Day Schools

  Looking for a private day school that has the classes, extracurricular activities and educational philosophy that match your needs? Explore our more than 1,000 listings and discover the advantages of private school, such as small classes and specialized approaches to learning.

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  Residential Treatment Centers

  Are you a teen or parent of a teen who is struggling with mental illness or substance abuse? Check out our listings of residential treatment centers that serve students under 18 to find the right path to a healthy and successful life.

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  Independent Advisors

  Choosing the right school, college or program can be overwhelming. A local independent advisor can help you navigate these important decisions. Find the best path for you and your personal goals, with their help.

Trending Posts on the TeenLife Blog.

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  These 6 Tips Mean Success for High School Artists

  Jan. 22, 2019, 8 a.m. by Chanté Griffin

  The common advice typically doled out to aspiring artists and performers is: “Make sure you have a Plan B.” That advice is stale and outdated, like renting movies from Blockbuster Video. (Not sure what Blockbuster is? Well, I’ve proven my point.) More apropos advice is: “Make sure your Plan A is detailed.” A lot of performing and visual artists know they want to “create art for a living.” They know they want to be in the movies, or showcase their work in galleries, or sing on Broadway, but many young artists don’t have a detailed plan for how that will ...

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  My Teen is Home from Rehab: Now What?

  Jan. 18, 2019, 8 a.m. by Bill O'Neill

  A stay at a residential treatment center can be life-changing for a teenager, but the work doesn’t end when a child comes home. “Completing rehab is just the beginning. Adjusting after the return is a big challenge for everyone involved – the teenagers, the parents, the rest of the family,” says Tina Muller, family wellness manager at Mountainside Treatment Center, an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center in Canaan, Conn. Parents should begin doing their own work while the child is away, she says. LOOKING FOR HELP? GET OUR TEEN THERAPEUTIC GUIDE “Start building a network that you can rely ...

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  How To Be Smarter About Online Scholarship Searches

  Jan. 16, 2019, 8 a.m. by Monica Matthews

  Why? Because there are thousands upon thousands of scholarship opportunities available to students, but unfortunately a great majority of them are drawings or contests designed to gather personal information and use it to promote student loans and sell student data. Once students have signed up and agreed to have scholarships emailed to them, their inboxes will be inundated with offers, and wading through them to find legitimate or traditional scholarships can take precious time away from genuine scholarship work. First, they need to ignore the thought that signing-up at as many sites as possible will give them the best possible ...

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  No College Early Decision? It Will Be OK

  Jan. 14, 2019, 8 a.m. by Suzanne Shaffer

  By late December, the Early Decision answers have come in. If you were blessed, your student will be on cloud nine being accepted to their first-choice college. If you are like many parents and students, the lack of an admissions offer will be devastating. A friend of mine experienced the bad news last year right before Christmas. It rocked her world because her son was a legacy and had impeccable test scores and grades. But it was a competitive college and the ED applicant pool was huge and filled with candidates just as good or better than her son. They ...

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