Congratulations to our many high school seniors who will soon be graduating and heading off for college or a gap year. Below is a list of the schools they will be attending. Congratulations for successfully steering through the stressful college “sorting hat.” We hope you have chosen a school that is a good fit for your personality, abilities and interests. We think college placement is all about the right match; it’s too bad some parents have taken what should be an individual process and turned into a giant contest.
We hope you will continue to pursue outdoor activities in college and join your school’s outdoor club. Time spent engaged in outdoor activities in college, besides being fun, active and great way to meet folks, is a wonderful way to stay grounded and gain perspective as you navigate the exciting whirlwinds ahead.
We hope nobody chooses to attend Adventure Treks solely to get a good topic for a college essay! In fact, we hope nobody does anything with the intent of building a better resume. As you can see from the list below, Adventure Treks kids get accepted to amazing schools. This is because we begin with phenomenal kids. It takes a special person to choose an Adventure Treks summer and colleges understand that the communication skills, resilience, collaboration and contribution ethic fostered through an Adventure Treks experience correlates well with success at college. At a time when only 46% of entering college freshman actually graduate from college, (the US is ranked 18th behind Slovakia) we hope that the character, grit and resilience enhanced through the Adventure Treks experience, will help our students thrive in college.
Having talked to dozens of our AT graduates in college, they relate that because of their Adventure Treks experience, they felt far better prepared for college than their peers.
“A.T. did a phenomenal job preparing me for the transition to college. I had the ability to adapt to new and changing situations. I knew how to meet people and how to work with different kinds of people. I have seen many of my friends struggle with the transition, but it’s been easy for me.” —Christopher, University of Richmond
“A.T. made me more comfortable in my skin; so when I got to college I didn’t have to try and be anybody but myself – It was refreshing and empowering.” —Max, Stanford University
“At Adventure Treks you learn how to help out and look out for others, how to thrive when things aren’t easy and how to see a bigger picture beyond yourself. A.T. gave me the confidence to lead a school organization my freshman year and it means I am always the one doing more than my share in our apartment and in project groups.” —Jake, Ohio State University
“A.T. built my confidence and helped me become more outgoing. I learned that people liked me for who I am. I learned how to be a strong member of a community and how to thrive without electronics. When I got to college, I didn’t try to be anybody other than myself and didn’t get sucked into the endless video games and partying that dragged down many of my male peers.” —Sam, Iowa State University
Well here it is: The 2013 Adventure Treks College List
Dan Snyder – Hamilton College
Antoine Karsenty – Columbia University 
Noah Webb – Brown University
Yasmeen Almog – Princeton University
Adam Kleinman – University of Illinois
Ian Newcombe – SUNY – Syracuse
Joby Bernstein – Dartmouth College
Dylan Kallenbach – UNC Chapel Hill
Sam Wyman – Union College
Ben Lemli – UNC – Asheville
Isaac Green – Dartmouth College
Lizzie Dahler – Davidson Honors College at The University of Montana
Bergen West – Warren Wilson College
Will Behner – Florida Southern University
Kyle Hall – UNC – Chapel Hill
Jacqueline Guyol – Hamilton College
Natalia Lutterman – Gap Year abroad then UNC – Chapel Hill
Page Nevel – Salem College
Sophie Jenkins – UNC – Chapel Hill
Bennett McCoy – Brevard College
Wesley Cutler – Washington and Lee University
Zach Oelsner – Occidental College
Dominique Heijer – UCLA
Jordan Barhydt – Cornell University
Madison Hetzner – University of Chicago
Molly Koeneman – James Madison University
Jess Bosshard – DePaul University
Andy Thompson – Brown University
Max Justicz – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T) 
Alexa Krichmar – University of Florida
Jack Geduldig – Bucknell University
Matt Haeffner – Ithaca College
Catherine Swaiden – University of Southern California
Luke Friedman – Dennison College
Sam Conant – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Tyler Kelsall – Dartmouth College
Josh Keener – Northern Arizona University
Matt Hermann – Hamilton College
Andrew McBeth – Savannah College of Art and Design – Hong Kong Campus
Erica Gilgore – University of Vermont
Amy Sublett – California Polytechnic Institute
Mariana Gonzalez – University of Texas – Austin
Player Lowndes – College of Charleston
Kamber Moss – University of Pennsylvania
Josh Strayer – University of Pittsburgh
Hannah McKinley – UNC – Chapel Hill
Eric Przedpelski – College of Charleston
Brad Przedpelski – Gap year then Furman University
Billy Handelsman – Alfred State College
Sophie Grossman – University of Puget Sound
The quote below is extracted from Simone D’Luna’s 2012 College Essay to Dartmouth
I learned resilience, both of body and mind. If my feet were wet for days, I would live. If I was thigh-deep in mud, I would manage. If I had to hike 17 miles in one day with a 40-pound backpack, I could do it. My experiences endowed me with a sense of self-reliance, and realizing I could survive in harsh conditions gave me confidence in my coping abilities. Each summer, as I stood atop a new peak, I felt increasingly prepared for the difficulties of life – or at least adolescence.”
Coming in next week’s blog – our 2013 Instructor Team Biographies!
36 days until Adventure Treks staff training begins!
We are excited
Best, Dock
.