During the past two years of Discovery Weeks, students have voiced their dissatisfaction surrounding price, equity, and choice—and this year is no different. One of the biggest points of contention continues to be the cost and sign-up process. Although the Upper School Office has made strides to improve the sign-up process by implementing a ranked-choice system to ensure equity and fairness, the new system has still proven problematic.

Last year, a SignUpGenius was used to determine what trips students would attend, but it was swapped for a Microsoft ranking form. SignUpGenius made it impossible for administration to identify students’ ranked choices. Ms. Kerri Epps, Assistant Director of Upper School, explained the issues of expecting students’ accessibility to have stable Wi-Fi and devices to sign up for their choices through SignUpGenius. “The [old] system favored access and opportunity, and so that was not good. And we really wanted to see what we could do to offset that,” Ms. Epps said. She continued, “It didn’t matter if a student was the first to submit their rankings or the last to submit their rankings, they all had equal opportunities to be placed on trips, right? And so I do think that [the new ranked choice system] was a big improvement.”

While the ranking system has improved in one way, it’s less than favorable in others. Unlike the SignUpGenius, students cannot see the other participants until the placements are finalized with the ranking system, making it more difficult to land on a trip with friends. Sophomore Ivory P., who is attending the underclassmen local trip Los Music, said, “I think it’s an interesting thing of [not] getting to choose to be with your friends…I think branching out is good, but at the same time, not being with at least one person you know is just not really fun, like you don’t really feel comfortable.”

Sophomore Zephyrine L. felt connected to the local trip Cinema City because of her career interest in LA’s film industry. Although she ranked Cinema City first in the new system, she was placed in her second choice, Los Music. “I honestly liked the SignUpGenius,” she said. Zephyrine preferred the old first-come, first-served system because it allowed students to make the decision of where they were placed. “I feel like it kind of shows who really feels strongly [to wake up and select their first choice],” she said.

Before the sign-up process started, students were frustrated by the lack of information around the trip options. Although some information was provided, trip details were still evolving at the time of their selection.

The Upper School Office sent out an email including the information regarding the activities and advisors for each trip along with the form to submit the trip ranking. Each grade level had five days to submit their rankings. “I feel like there was a lack of information [provided before signing up] with all the trips. That would have alleviated a lot of stress for the kids and the parents,” junior Lexi L. said.

The trip options themselves also seemed unbalanced in student appeal. “New York was definitely the favorite [trip],” Olivia H. ’26 said. “Utah and Virginia still seem fun, like the descriptions of things you’re doing, but definitely, I think New York stood out the most. The choices…just felt a little unbalanced for me.” 

Lexi agreed and said, “I feel like maybe people would have been more inclined to do Utah if it wasn’t academically focused.”

Once students received their assignments—first choice or not—some attempted to make changes for various reasons. Although the Upper School Office did not officially announce the option for students to switch out of their assigned trips, they created a waitlist then randomly selected students to switch into their desired trips. Senior Emily L. ran into issues with her U.S. visa, making it impossible for her to go on the Namibia trip, her first choice. She then attempted to switch into the Chile trip and said, “I feel like the organization afterwards of people trying to switch out or switch in to be with friends or other financial reasons could be sped up, especially [in] my situation [with my visa].”

Emily’s visa is one factor that might influence a student’s choice of trip, but another important factor for students is the other people attending. “All my friends were in Cinema [City] and I wanted to switch…I just feel like there could have been a more efficient way to do it,” Eliza S. ’27 said.

This year, the Discovery Week prices rose by $500 for the eleventh grade domestic trips and $650 for the twelfth grade international trips. Westridge has made the commitment to each student that the cost would not be a barrier to participation. “The school is constantly thinking about ways to support and help students on these trips, so that we can ensure that money is not a reason that a student doesn’t go on their trip,” Ms. Epps said. Ms. Epps also added that financial aid would be available to all students, not just those on financial aid for tuition, to also improve the equity around Discovery Week trips. 

The cost of the trip is one aspect that leaves a sour taste in the mouths of families. The other aspect is the perceived value. Although all eleventh grade trips were priced the same, they didn’t feel equal in value to students because of both travel distance and perceived activity costs. “A lot of people considered [the pricing of the trips] to be questionable, because, arguably, a trip to New York would be more expensive than a trip to Utah…transportation-wise, activity-wise,” junior Josie T., who received her first ranked trip, New York, said.

In response to the increase of pricing, Ms. Epps noted, “While the price has gone up, I’m hoping we can continue to sort of strive to find that sweet spot—we really do want it to be an experience of value for the students…I truly do wish that it wasn’t so expensive.”

While Discovery Week will continue to change and grow over the years, this year, many students are excited to see what the future of their Discovery Week trips hold for them. First-time Discovery Week participant Kasandra O.C. ’28, who will be attending a local trip, Los Music, is grateful for the opportunity. “Honestly, I really enjoy going for a week somewhere around LA and…I think that a lot of people should be more excited,” she said.