Tips your students can use to make the most of College Fairs

Most schools have a college fair annually at their school or in their district. NACAC also offers College Fairs annually in most major metropolitan areas. College fairs allow students and their parents to quickly speak with those schools they already know a little bit about and have an interest in and also to quickly get a quick overview of schools that they may not be so familiar with. College fairs have the advantage of being considerably cheaper, more efficient, and lower-commitment than campus visits, so they can be a useful tool in your students college search.

Admissions representatives at college fairs can give your students a much more personal perspective on a college and its admissions process than they can get from a pamphlet or website. These may be the very people who will eventually read your students admissions application, so there’s no better source for insider information. Sometimes, admissions staff are alumni of that college, which makes their opinions even more valuable.

Here are some tips from a blog written by College Vine to help your students make the most of their time at a college fair:

  1. If your student already has an interest in attending a college stop by their table and show  interest. This can show “demonstrated” interest which is a great way to make sure they are on that college’s radar.
  2. At some fairs there are literally hundreds of colleges. Your student should do some research before hand to see which colleges are attending and make a list of the ones they want to make sure they see.
  3. They should prepare a list of questions in advance that they want to ask admissions representatives to find out if specific colleges are a good fit.
  4. Appearance matters so your students should plan to dress professionally.
  5. If they do find schools that are of interest make sure they get the admissions representatives name that they talked to with their contact information. It never hurts to have someone at the school that they can check in with when they have future questions.