Ian Kim ‘26
Oct 20, 2023
As the nerve-racking deadline for early decision creeps ever closer, the class of 2024 needs all the help they can get. The college counselors at Mercersburg play a pivotal role in coaching students through the process, providing invaluable guidance and support. One of the most recent features introduced to assist the senior class in this busy time is the addition of open office hours.
Open office hours occur during the evening, with two or more counselors available for students. “So many students have busy schedules during the day,” Senior Associate Director of College Counseling Vicki Thompson states, “so it is important for us to provide additional time to sit with their counselors.”
“Extended hours have just really allowed our students to have more access to not only our entire office but also to some peer-to-peer time for kids to work together,” Daniel Hulse, Associate Director of College Counseling, said. “I really noted how well they used the peer-to-peer time productively, and I think our seniors are readily taking advantage of these evening hours.
Although not many students have participated in the extra hours, many echo positive feedback and approval of the overall system. “Although I’ve never been to evening college counseling,” Jordan Yuan, ’24 stated, “I like the option of extra hours for us to get extra help during the application process.” Ruby Shang ’24 has attended evening college counseling hours: “Those hours have been really beneficial in helping me get in my applications for those scary early deadlines.”
The evening counseling hours are an opportunity for students to brainstorm ideas and have their writing read by their counselors. “This class has done a particularly good job of using their summer to write… and for those who haven’t had a good enough of a start, I hope they use this time to really catch up. “Thompson observed. It’s also a perfect time for students to really research and figure everything out before those quickly approaching deadlines. “My hopes are that our students can continue to see that college is really about fit and they need to put in the time to do deep dives on their schools and ask us as many questions as necessary,” Hulse proclaimed.
The first significant college deadline, November 1, is rapidly approaching.