Jasmine Zhu ’23
The pandemic has made this an unprecedented year. Amid the ever-changing COVID landscape, what remains unchanged is that the college application process is in full swing. Rather than being impeded by COVID restrictions, the members of the college counseling department have initiated creative measures to set seniors on their paths to higher education.
Michael Conklin, director of college counseling, says, “Many of the most meaningful changes have been ‘normed’ over the last year.” Among the greatest challenges from the pandemic are “limited opportunities to visit college campuses, how to interpret test-optional admission policies, and what to make of data related to early decision.” The other side of the coin, however, says that these obstacles can also be blessings. Rachel Mallory, associate director of college counseling, says, “Students who are self-proclaimed ‘poor test takers’ showcase other parts of their application without fear that a score below the college’s average will hold them back.” And just as Mercersburg admission reaped the benefits of a holistic virtual tour for prospective families, so did numerous colleges. “We have had colleges, literally from all over the globe, conduct virtual visits to interact with our students,” says Mallory.
However, the up-in-the-air complexity of the pandemic has only made school research, standardized tests, and college essays more difficult to comprehend. “I’m really stressed. It’s so much work for me,” says Amy Wu ’22, who started writing her essays in June, has gone through rounds of revision, and is busy with a deadline 4 from now. “The most highly selective schools have only become more competitive,” says Mallory.
Enter thoughtful programming designed by the counselors to give seniors an extra leg up and alleviate stress. “We learned to leverage virtual programming and the creation of X-block,” says Conklin. This includes the recently held “PJs and Pancakes” event, where the senior class gathered for breakfast in the dining hall and to work on their application with easy access to their counselors and peers. The counseling team’s efforts to “increase [their] accessibility and consolidate the more transactional pieces” of the process has also paid off well, according to Conklin. Wu has especially valued the personal connections built during one-on-one meetings with her counselor.
Vicki Thompson and Justin Ledesma, both new to the college counseling department this year, saw their transition to Mercersburg as exceedingly seamless, crediting not only the counseling colleagues but also many throughout the Academy. While in the lead-up to Commencement last year, milestone events to celebrate seniors were canceled or altered in some way, both Thompson and Ledesma are appreciative of this year’s opportunity to participate in their students’ successes. Ledesma sums up the resilience of the college counseling department and the wider Mercersburg community when he says, “I do see a light at the end of this tunnel.”