'Tis the season for college fairs for both juniors and seniors. We've even seen some sophomores and first years attending these programs over the last few weeks, so it's not too early to begin your exploration or too late to conduct some research. College Fairs are an opportunity to meet a representative from colleges you are considering and even learn about a few new ones. Some tips may help you get the most of your fair:
1) Be strategic. If you can get a list of the colleges who will be attending the fair in advance, you can focus your attention first on those colleges that are already on your potential list of colleges. Look over your notes/spreadsheet/calendar/naviance comments and see if you have questions that might be best answered by a live staff member or alumna.
2) Use your time wisely. On occasion, we get students who are clearly going up to every table to ask if they have a particular major (like nursing, fashion design, criminology) that most liberal arts colleges will not have. A quick search on a tool like this one, https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/ might help to narrow or broaden your list.
3) Keep an open mind. Especially if you are at the start of your college process, you will encounter many colleges that don't ring a bell when you hear their names the first time. This doesn't mean that they are not awfully good colleges and ones that may merit your consideration. After all, popularity or selectivity aren't the best indicators for great fit. Ask your counselor for some suggestions to aid in your exploration.
4) Take the reins. We can't tell you how many times we see students deferring to their parents when it comes time to ask questions at college fairs. It's okay for you to both ask questions and for them to have different questions sometimes. However, it is also really important for you to flex your inquiry muscles and open your own line of questioning. No question is a bad one.
1) Be strategic. If you can get a list of the colleges who will be attending the fair in advance, you can focus your attention first on those colleges that are already on your potential list of colleges. Look over your notes/spreadsheet/calendar/naviance comments and see if you have questions that might be best answered by a live staff member or alumna.
2) Use your time wisely. On occasion, we get students who are clearly going up to every table to ask if they have a particular major (like nursing, fashion design, criminology) that most liberal arts colleges will not have. A quick search on a tool like this one, https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/ might help to narrow or broaden your list.
3) Keep an open mind. Especially if you are at the start of your college process, you will encounter many colleges that don't ring a bell when you hear their names the first time. This doesn't mean that they are not awfully good colleges and ones that may merit your consideration. After all, popularity or selectivity aren't the best indicators for great fit. Ask your counselor for some suggestions to aid in your exploration.
4) Take the reins. We can't tell you how many times we see students deferring to their parents when it comes time to ask questions at college fairs. It's okay for you to both ask questions and for them to have different questions sometimes. However, it is also really important for you to flex your inquiry muscles and open your own line of questioning. No question is a bad one.
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