Saltus graduate year recently returned from a college selection expedition in Canada. The ten-day trip took the class to over ten universities including Queen's University and University of Toronto. Former Bermuda High School head girl and aspiring journalist, 16-year-old Christie Hunter, writes about the trip for Young Observer.

"Where are you planning to go to university? " is a question frequently asked of all Saltus graduate year (SGY) students. Whether the questioning comes from their parents, their teachers or simply themselves - the pressure is on.

The SGY university tour made some of that uncertainty fade away, with the answer to that looming question gradually becoming clearer. Over a period of ten days, 41 SGY students visited the following colleges and universities: Queens, Trent, Seneca, George Brown, Brock, McMaster, Western, Kings at Western, Guelph, Dalhousie, Kings at Dalhousie, Saint Mary's, Mount Saint Vincent, University of Toronto and Acadia. With this wide range of options there was definitely at least one university that appealed to each individual.

It was a test of endurance - flying to or from different destinations including Montreal, Halifax, New Brunswick and Toronto, enduring hours of bus trips, waking up in the early hours of the morning to make flights or early tours and visiting up to three universities a day.

The Bermudian group occasionally appeared to be slightly baggy-eyed while attempting to pay attention to the many tours and information sessions.

Although the college brochures and booklets were slowly piling up in the group's suitcases, the trip taught the students more than just the facts about each university.

A considerable amount of freedom was given to each student, including responsibility for all tickets, passports, money and a large amount of free time.

When wallets were significantly lighter after the first couple of days, many realised that if they wanted to eat for the next week they'd have to cut back, a situation similar to the financial situation when in college.

In addition, free time was used to visit Bermudian friends (who were found, without exception, at every institution visited) who gave the inside scoop on college life, both the good and the bad. The SGY university trip showed the realities of college life: The cold, the need to economise, the number of Bermudians at many of the universities and the responsibilities. The trip was not only informative but also a true bonding experience for students and accompanying teachers. After seeing one another for a week-and-a-half, at all hours of the day, how could the group not grow closer? Shopping, go-carting, going out to dinner, watching movies, hanging out in the hotel rooms, shopping to the mall - the list of social activities was endless. Jon Beard and the other brave accompanying teachers helped to make the structured and free time a success, while being tolerant of the multiple aspects of teenage personalities.

Overall the trip allowed the students to look beyond the glossy college brochures and get a real feel for the universities atmospheres, the students and the college life. The trip helped the students confront the somewhat scary reality that college is just around the corner. Now when the question, "Where are you planning to go to university" is posed, SGY students have to agree that they have a better idea of what their answers will be.