<p>I have a child who is fairly clueless and undirected in his college search. This weekend is the Spring Atlanta National College Fair sponsored by the National Association for College Counseling.</p>
<p>There are over 200 colleges attending some of which I think might be good fits.</p>
<p>Are the representatives at these kind of fairs usually alumni or actually university employees?</p>
<p>I went to a CTCL fair and it was very helpful. My son eliminated two schools that he had been considering based on answers to his questions. I would highly recommend going.</p>
<p>We went to one in San Diego and didn't find it that helpful but we'd already researched quite a bit on the internet and my kids had a pretty good idea of where they wanted to go. I think it really depends on the individual and what you're looking for. If he's clueless in this area it's probably worth going if it's convenient to at least get him more exposure to the colleges and get him thinking about it more.</p>
<p>Its never a bad thing to meet new people. That said, I'm with UCSD<em>UCLA</em>dad, its really difficult to get perspective by just meeting a few reps from the schools. Time spent on resources like CC is probably a better bet actually.</p>
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Are big College Fairs worth attending?
I have a child who is fairly clueless and undirected in his college search.
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<p>Sounds like my neighbor's kid. His mom took the kid on my advice :D, and she reported back that just standing next to other kids asking the reps questions and listening got her kid motivated enough to ask his own questions, which she felt went well. The reps are pretty good at engaging hs kids, which leads to better questions. Last I heard he is anxiously awaiting on possible acceptances from seven colleges that a year ago he never knew existed.</p>
<p>It's better than sitting around watching TV for the evening. You get mail. Your kid gets practice talking to college reps. You get to feel like you're in control of the process somewhat. Can't hurt...</p>