Manchester Regional High School is a diversified school full of many kids with different background stories. There are also a lot of kids who will be the first to attend college in their family! Yet, the school has never hosted a college field trip to explore different campuses and to give kids more knowledge about college life and what it would be like.  As a student at Manchester High School, I know I would like to go on college field trips.  

Curious as to why we don’t have school planned college visits, I decided to ask my guidance counselor, Mr. Sposato, about it.  He agreed with me and said, “Manchester should allow field trips to different campuses.” He also said, ¨I’ve been working here for seven years and I can’t remember ever having juniors/ seniors visiting local colleges, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t. It’s a great opportunity for students to gain invaluable knowledge about colleges and make an informed decision their senior year.¨ 

College visits are important because not only do you get to see what the college is like, but you get to understand how financial aid, scholarships, grants, and loans work. The most important fact I realized is that the visits allow you to talk to the students, faculty, and admission officers as well.  That is why all the upperclassmen should have the opportunity for their own experience visiting college campuses. When I asked around, I discovered that the majority of MRHS students haven’t attended a college campus. If MRHS started a program it would be very beneficial because most students haven’t put any thought into which college they will attend because they are not aware of what comes with college and how they determine where they fit in.  

School run college visit field trips would help all students from all backgrounds see the benefits of college, the admissions process, and get them excited about working hard to go to college. They would also help students choose which college would be best fit which could prevent dropping out. 

I asked around the school and got feedback from both a student that hasn’t been on a college field trip and one who has. The first student said she has never been on a college field trip. She told me that she, “wished the school had a program because it would help her a lot.” The second student said that she, “has been on a college field trip, and it helped her understand where she would like to go in the future.”

Overall college tours would be very helpful in finding where and what you want to be in life! Next time you talk to your guidance counselor, suggest having college field trips at MRHS!