| Suggestions for Students Attending
a College Fair |
| • |
Look over the list of visiting institutions
and identify several schools to contact at the fair. Your counselor
can help with suggestions of schools in which you may be interested. |
| • |
Develop a few specific questions to
ask each school representative. Questions might include special academic
interests, particular sports, support services available, or financial
aid procedures. Collect written materials from schools that look interesting. |
| • |
Sign a card provided by the college.
It will put you on a mailing list to receive more information from
the school. If you have already visited a college or have had an interview,
a quick hello to the admissions person visiting LHS is good way to
be remembered. |
| • |
Ask about the off-campus interview
opportunities. The fair does not allow the opportunity to be interviewed
by admissions personnel, but many colleges offer evening interviews
when the admissions representative is in the Lexington area. |
| • |
Be open to schools which might not
have been on your original investigating list but which seem interesting |
| |
|
| Making the Most of a College
Fair |
| Walking into a field house filled
with hundreds of colleges, and not having any idea how or where to
proceed can be an overwhelming experience. We are providing you with
some helpful hints, so that you can make the best use of your time,
and get the most out of the experience. While some of these suggestions
may seem basic or obvious, they are designed to make life easier for
al involved. |
| A college fair is a great
opportunity to get more information about colleges that interest you
and to ask questions of college representatives. Getting the most
from a college takes some advanced planning, and here are some suggestions: |
| 1 |
DO YOUR HOMEWORK |
| |
Find out which colleges will be at
the fair, and target which schools you know you want to hit. When
you’re done with those, then you can “wander around”
and look at some other schools. Most college fairs arrange the schools
in alphabetical order, so you’ll know where to find Abilene Christian
University vs. Youngstown State. If it’s crowded (it will be
crowded), you may want to approach in the reverse alphabetical order.
Those schools at the end of the alphabet may not be as busy, especially
early in the evening. Prepare a list of questions that are important
to you as an individual (cars on campus, a radio station, meal plans,
internship opportunities, etc.). |
| 2 |
BRING SUPPLIES |
| |
Carry an empty knapsack. You’ll
acquire catalogs, view books, videos, applications, pennants, etc.,
and you’ll want something to comfortably carry it all home in.
Also, bring a notebook and a working pen to jot down notes, names,
addresses, web sites, phone numbers, and answers to your specific
questions. You may also write down some of your general impressions
of the school and/or the representative that you spoke with. |
| 3 |
ASK QUESTIONS |
| |
Ask those questions that you prepared
earlier. They shouldn’t be questions that are easily answered
in the college’s literature. You have a live person to speak
with––ask them the tough questions. |
| 4 |
BRING YOUR PARENTS |
| |
No, you don’t have to hang out
with them all night. Split up, but make sure you hit the same schools.
Then you can compare notes afterwards. |
| 5 |
MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION |
| |
The college rep’s are going to
see hundreds of students and parents that night, so they may not remember
all of them. However, if you plan on meeting with a rep at a school
that you are sincerely interested in, and you plan on asking them
a lot of questions, make an impression on them. They could be the
person who reviews your application and/or the one who conducts your
admissions interview. A three piece suit isn’t necessary, but
look good. If the representative has a business card, ask for one.
You can send them a a nice note thanking them for their time. |
| 6 |
HAVE FUN! |
| |
Get the job done, and then go look
at some schools that you’ve never heard of. You may find yourself
interested in a school you never considered. |
|
from the Senior Guidance Seminar
|
| College Search Check List pdf |
| Return
to Guidance Home Page |
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