Hingham High School’s April break, April 18th to April 27th, recently came to a halt. Locally, this break entailed beautiful, warm weather and a great week of rest for students. However, for many juniors, it acted as a week of touring colleges around the country or even internationally. As 11th graders begin the transition to their senior year, many have commenced the first step within the prolonged college process: touring! While students may choose to stay local for college, others tend to travel further away, and grasping varied opinions from Hingham peers about colleges is a great way to commence one’s college selection process.
Addie Phelan travelled to California and visited three different cities where she toured eight colleges. Addie remarks, “My favorite college I visited is San Diego State University because the campus was beautiful. I also loved the University of San Diego’s gorgeous campus. It was a lot more relaxed and slow moving in the west.” Culture across the United States is certainly fluid and considering a slower paced and serene environment could be a key factor when considering future college directions.
On the other hand, Paige Suarez took a different route and travelled to the Mid-Atlantic region exploring a total of 13 colleges. Paige describes, “Richmond was my favorite because it wasn’t a huge school but not too small either and I loved the campus. This region was a bit warmer than Massachusetts which I enjoyed.” Also touring in this region was Brooke Pryor who shared, “My favorite college was Penn State because I loved the size of it. The lively student life and gorgeous campus really reeled me in. This region was very rural and had mostly farm life which was interesting compared to Hingham.”
Travelling the world for an Irish Dancing global competition, Elizabeth Galvin visited Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She shares, “I liked how it was very spread out. The students were really nice, and the buildings were very cool. It was not super different from around here, but I would say it was a bit more lively.” Considering college life abroad allows students to engage in an entirely new world during their time of education and can truly be a once in a lifetime opportunity. While living abroad for college may feel daunting, many students engage in a semester abroad program where they are provided with enriched learning opportunities and the ability to explore different cultures.
Lucky enough, Massachusetts is home to some of the most beautiful and academically challenging universities in the country, making touring nearby all the more engaging as well! Whichever step may follow for future life directions, engaging with peers to apprehend their varying experiences always prevails as a great skill.
