<p>Several of the schools to which my son will apply have sent him notices of when they'll be at local schools or college fairs. He's already visited the campuses. Does he need to show up at this stuff to "demonstrate interest"?</p>
<p>It couldn't hurt. If he can fit it into his schedule, he should. Allowing a regional rep to put a face to the application is always a good idea.</p>
<p>I agree. As I understand it, it's up to the regional reps to go to bat for "their" applicants in committee meetings - or it works this way in some schools, anyway. So a personal connection is a good thing. Also, he may have additional questions for the rep, or may be able to pick up new materials from him/her.</p>
<p>Just check first: Some (like the HYPSM) schools don't care one lick about a student's "interest" level.</p>
<p>A contrary view. If he has visited campus and filled out an information card, that's a sufficient display of interest. I don't think it's essential to attend a regional event well. My son attended a few regional events at area hotels last year for schools we were unable to visit. There were hundreds of students at each. It would have been tough to make personal contact of a meaningful sort with the regional rep. If a student has questions, better to launch an e-mail dialogue with the regional rep.</p>
<p>As T236E4 notes, not every school cares about demonstrated interest. A dead giveaway is the absence of information cards in the Admissions office.</p>
<p>You should understand that many colleges spend lots of resources getting their name in front of potential applicants and families. If they connect with a seeming good prospect, they will devote even MORE resources to them. This active recruiting happens for some schools.</p>
<p>Imagine the USMC or Army recruiter -- they only need a few recruits per month. Think of how they follow up on prospects. Same with the lessor known LAC or University nearby.</p>
<p>But bigger state schools and the ultra elites (HYPMSC) know that they'll get lots of apps anyways so it's wasteful for them to track "interest"</p>
<p>I agree that it is not worth it to attend a college fair. However, if a rep is visiting your high school, it is well worth making an appointment and meeting the regional rep who will be presenting you to the admissions committee.</p>
<p>^^Agree. If the rep is going to be in your high school, you don't need to attend the information session (assuming you attended one on campus already) but you should take advantage of the easy opportunity to make contact with him/her and introduce yourself. </p>
<p>Beyond that, I still believe students who have already visited a campus can spend their time more profitably by studying, participating in their ECs, or working on their college apps than by attending a large regional event just for the sake of putting their names on the roster of attendees. Maybe it's because we live in a large metropolitan area, but around here even regional events for LACs with under 2000 students are attended by hundreds of local high school students. The chances of making meaningful contact with a regional rep are nil. There's virtually no way the rep would remember any particular student.</p>