The college tour returned to Benjamin after three years, consisting of visits to Rollins College and the University of Central Florida. The road trip took place on Feb. 1, the Wednesday of Parent-Teacher Conferences.

The last time the College Counseling team set up this event, the students traveled to the University of Miami and Florida Atlantic University. All students were able to sign up for the trip, but the trip attracted more sophomores.

Associate Director of College Counseling Mr. Juan Alvarez was in charge of the event and traveled to the colleges with the students.

“We went to look at Rollins and the University of Florida. The reason we are doing this is to give the students an idea of what it is like between a large public institution and a small liberal arts institution” says Alvarez.

The school paid for the transportation and everything else except for food and lunch. The buses left at 7:15 in the morning and arrived back at Benjamin later that day at 5:30. 

“We are having a tour of the campuses and a presentation. Along the way, we are going to be talking to students about what they should be looking at and how they should be comparing. It is not just looking at Rollins and UCF. It is looking at the difference between the big schools and small schools and what they should be looking at, but overall it is a field trip for the students” mentions Alvarez.

As a Junior, Maggie Smith is starting to explore colleges because it is her junior year.

“The college tour was very helpful for me to see different college campuses. I am looking forward to the event next year because overall, it was a really great experience and was a lot of fun with my friends” adds Smith.

Sophomore Ella Bailey is getting assigned her college advisor this school year along with all of the other sophomores.

“The trip was great, I really enjoyed being able to see the difference between one of the nation’s biggest colleges and one of its smallest on the same day. I think trips like this benefit Benjamin students because it is a lot easier to go on a college visit with your school and have actual students take you on the tour instead of having to book a tour over a weekend or break when classes are not usually happening. I think it is good for the Benjamin community too because I didn’t really know the people that went on the trip so it was good to get to know people that I would not usually see,” mentions Bailey.

Freshman Ryan Smith has a lot of time to decide what college he wants to apply to.

“The event was really helpful to me and other freshmen, sophomores, and juniors that went on the trip because we got to visit two different types of colleges,” says Smith.

The college tour is a beneficial event for all students at The Benjamin School, and it will be continued for years to come.