Every fall and spring, admissions officers at Barnard travel
to the four corners of the map to visit high schools, meet with alumnae, and
staff college fairs. Having attended a
fair last night, we wanted to give some advice on how to make good use of your
time (and ours!)
College representatives are generally pretty friendly people
– we are very good generalists and try our best to know some specifics about
various aspects of the college experience, including academic programs (and
sometimes what makes them unique in their approach), support resources on our
campuses, and just about everything to do with the admissions process.
You don’ t have to know everything about our schools to ask
good questions, nor do you need to know exactly what you’re looking for when
you get there. Many students who look at
Barnard will initially not know all about us, nor will they know exactly what
their major is going to be. And, we are
not going to be offended if you ask us some basic questions.
It is going to be a better use of your time, though, if you
refine your preliminary questions. If
you’re just learning about the schools you’re approaching, it is okay to ask us
general questions, but it’s hard to have a succinct answer to “tell me about
your college.” See what you can glean from our brochures, start with a question
about your major or our location. And,
rest assured, we will fill in much of what you need to know about us.
Ideally, if you have the opportunity to obtain a list of the
colleges attending the fair, do a little research on those that interest you so
you can ask informed questions. And,
keep your mind open to those you don’t know, since you may find that your best
“fit” is not the school that just won a championship or ranks at the top of a
magazine’s list or is the school your best friend is interested in attending.