Hey guys, the leaves are changing and the temperature is dropping. It is college fair time!  (check my earlier post about searching for colleges with tips in narrowing your list of potential colleges). College fairs are a great way to research your list of schools. This is your opportunity to meet and speak with admissions representatives from many different colleges. These fairs can be very overwhelming, but with a little preparation and organization they can be a great help in the college search. I am going to divide this post into four sections: Things you can do before, during, and after the college fair, and also materials you should bring.

Before the fair:

To start, you should have a list of colleges that you are interested in to be sure that you don’t miss them in the midst of all of the chaos. You should also include a list of questions that you want to ask each representative. Some good questions to ask are “What classes are required for my major”, “What are recent graduates doing now that they have graduated”, and “What activities are available for students on campus”. Be sure to visit the school’s Web site to gather information so you will be able to ask more in depth questions.

One thing we are big on here at the Center for College Planning is student information labels. Most college booths will ask you to fill out inquiry cards if you would like to be placed on their mailing list. The idea of a college fair is to talk to the representatives of each college, not fill out 15 inquiry cards for each college you have an interest in. To save time we suggest creating labels with your information already printed on them. These labels should include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, high school, your cumulative GPA, areas of interest, and any other information you feel is important. Staples or Target should carry stick on labels that are compatible with Microsoft Word.

What to bring:

You don’t want all of your preparation to go to waste. Be sure to bring your list of schools, your list of questions, your sticky informational labels, a bag for the college brochures, and a pen and notebook. You are going to be exposed to a lot of information, and you probably won’t be able to remember everything you hear. Take notes. You will thank yourself later.

During the fair:

Before you jump into the action, grab a floor plan or map of the fair. Use your list of schools and identify where each school is located. You don’t want to waste time wandering around looking for each school. Try and grab a business card from each of the representatives, you may want to contact them if you have questions later on. Remember, the representatives you talk with at each booth will probably be reading your application. After you visit each booth, take a few minutes to jot down some notes to reference later. If you still have time after you have visited all of the colleges on your list, take some time to walk around, you may stumble on a great college you had’t considered.

After the fair:

Once the fair is over, take some time to review your notes and look over any pamphlets you may have picked up. If you have any further questions, do not be hesitant to contact any of the admissions representatives you met. Following up with questions will show the representatives that you are truly interested in their school.

As you can see, preparation is very important in this process. For those of you that have been to a college fair, what has helped prepare you?

Preparation always helps,
Tom