By Andrew Chang ’26

Mercersburg Academy students traveled across five states May 30 to June 4, visiting nine colleges in the Middle Atlantic and Southeast regions. Accompanied by Director of College Counseling Vicki Thompson, Dean of Enrollment Management and College Counseling Michael Conklin, and Assistant Director of College Counseling Glenn Neufeld, the group toured diverse college campuses, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and American University in Washington, D.C. Students also explored local gems, such as the bustling Franklin Street by UNC Chapel Hill and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 

Thompson developed the idea for the trip during her first year at Mercersburg after recognizing the gap for students without opportunities to visit campuses. “My thought was, if we can help students understand the unique attributes of a liberal arts college, a public research university, a medium-sized public or private school, we’d provide them with the experience and scaffolding to determine which college characteristics were important in their unique college search,” she said. “Students may not necessarily apply to the colleges they saw on the tour, but would know more about what factors are important to them.” 

Conklin shared a similar perspective, recognizing “the need to provide students who otherwise have limited opportunities to visit college campuses the opportunity to do so, and to do so with the guidance of an experienced professional.”

Both Thompson and Conklin notice positive outcomes for students. Thompson recognized that “students have learned a lot about the factors that would be important in their college search. Some have discovered schools they might not have considered that fit a lot of their priorities. There are also other skills that have developed, for example, understanding the benefits of attending an admission presentation and a college tour, learning to be comfortable with talking to a tour guide and asking questions.” 

Conklin agreed, adding, “It’s been highly rewarding to reflect on the college tour with each student through the lens of their own search; even those who aren’t necessarily interested in all of the colleges and universities we’ve visited have learned something about what they want from their college experience, and my hope is that this has cultivated more confidence in their approach to the college search.”

Both counselors shared their favorite part of the tour: how students learn about where they see themselves in the future. “I love when they can see themselves in the experience of their tour guide, or when they learn about a program that genuinely excites them—it’s the reason we do what we do!” Conklin said. 

Thompson also enjoyed “witnessing students having lightbulb moments when they learn something new or gain a good perspective about a college or program. This affirms why we should prioritize this trip.”

Pictured above: Students pose for a photo on the campus of Elon University in North Carolina.