<p>I searched but couldn't find any related threads. If they are out there I apologize and would appreciate any links.</p>
<p>With college fairs and admission officer visits on the horizon, what is the best way to approach these? If a student is already doing extensive internet research are these events somewhat redundant? I envision college fairs as little more than an opportunity to accumulate pamphlets? How about the admission officer visits? Are these worth missing classes for? Thank you.</p>
<p>I don’t know if they are worth missing class for…around here they are at night/on weekends. If you know some colleges you are interested in I would say it is worth it for two reasons…
You can ask questions and may get insight into the college. Also sometimes alumni staff the booth and you can get that perspective.
Some colleges keep track of how many times you have contacted/interacted with them. They will have postcards at the fairs for you to fill out. This will help show your interest in teh school.</p>
<p>PS Pro-Tip: As an alimni, I do these fairs. Make up some labels that have your name/address/phone/email on them and bring them with you to save time!</p>
<p>There are actually a million threads on this topic. There is no consensus of opinion. It is really dependent on the student and the college. My D will stop by and see any rep who we’ve met before at a college visit. Just sort of a check in and to show she’s still interested. I believe that when a rep is reading an application, it can only help if that rep can put a face on the app or if the rep remembers something about the student. There was a rep at our high school last week and my D was the only student to come and talk with him. He’s from a college high on her list. That has to be worthwhile.</p>
<p>Part of this depends on how you (your child) like to shop. Some people are comfortable getting information via internet, mail, etc. </p>
<p>Fairs and visits are opportunities to talk to salespeople. That can be persuasive to some, especially if they say the things you like to hear. Not that it is necessarily bad, internet info can be biased too, and at least a face to face is interactive so you can ask them the hard questions.</p>
<p>Fairs are a really great way for young adults to practice their face to face interpersonal skills with almost no downside. Especially start with schools that they are only marginally interested in so the kid is not nervous. Have them prepare some questions. They will slowly get the hang of it and by the end of the fair, they will be “experts” at approaching to get information/insight. Then, in a few weeks or months, they are more ready to move on the scheduled interviews, job interviews, etc. I found that my daughter really gained confidence each time she tackled one of these skills that can be awkward at first.
So go to the college fair and have fun!!! And watch people wait in line 45 minutes to tell Yale or U of Michigan how interested they are in attending, while you and your child waltz up to the LAC booths and practice interview skills quite possibly with the director of admissions!</p>
<p>Great points nav. If nothing else you can learn some things about places you don’t know much about at little cost and no risk. Nobody fails at a college fair. And 200 or more schools right there that want to talk to you–would could be better in this process?</p>
<p>I think if a student has already got target schools picked out, it can be a chance to meet the admissions officer, establish his/her sincere interest, get a business card, open a line of communication that might be helpful for answering questions along the way, etc.</p>
<p>This is probably more important if the applicant is interested in the subset of schools that factors in “demonstrated interest,” or schools that emphasize “holistic admissions” where a favorable impression on the AO could make a difference. It could also come in handy for the occasional school with a more cut-and-dried admissions policy but a byzantine or confusing process, where having a person to call or email might be very helpful in solving a problem during the application process.</p>
<p>At a college fair at her high school, my daughter met the admissions officer who was actually responsible for reviewing her application to the reachiest school on her list. She chatted with him and made an impression–such that he actually remembered her and advocated for her in the admissions process. (I know this because he posted on CC and we exchanged some PMs. He said “Oh, you must be [child’s name]'s parent!” and told me so.) The AOs do visit the schools in their territories/dockets, so if you meet an AO at a college fair, it could well be the person who reads your application and decides whether or not you make it to the level of being discussed by the committee.</p>
<p>If you go expecting it to be a useless cattle call, that’s what it will be. If you keep an open mind, you may meet someone as illustrated above-we did. We were at a mid-sized college fair for HBCU’s and met the Director of Admissions for one of them. He had a long talk with DD and has asked us to stay in touch. At one of those huge 200-college fairs, my older DD discovered a college that was a perfect match. She chose elsewhere but she would not have known about it without this fair.</p>
<p>I am assuming that you are talking about three different kinds of events. A college fair is typically a large (usually somewhat regional) event with dozens of colleges represented by a variety of individuals. Some of those individuals may be the actual local admission officer for your region and some may merely be interested alumni (and some will be in between). In my experience, it is the HYP-type schools that send the actual local admission officer. For other schools, they have to do a cost/benefit analysis regarding the likelihood that they will attract additional students. The information gained will probably be limited, but if you are prepared can be extremely useful. If you want to hear more from the college they will ask you to fill out a form usually containing your name and address, e-mail address, local school, and graduation year. This is where pre-printed adhesive labels come in handy.</p>
<p>The second type of event is the “dog & pony show” which is typically a single college, but there are a few groups of colleges that put on the same type of event. The presentation is similar to the type of presentation that your child would receive if he went on a visit to the college. These are almost always run by the local admissions officer. There is an opportunity to ask questions after the presentation, but don’t assume that you will get much face time with the admissions officer.</p>
<p>The last type of event is colleges which do presentations at the HS. Usually, these are less presentation and more an opportunity to really discuss the school with the representative. These types of events are usually lightly attended because they take place at the school during classes. A student can get excused to attend the event, but many choose not to. I am sure that the college again does a sort of cost/benefit analysis based on the average number of students applying to that college from that HS. These events often are near the time of either the fairs or the dog & pony shows.</p>
<p>Each of these has there benefits and disadvantages. There is very little preparation necessary for the fairs but it can be information overload if you haven’t done at least some preparation. The dog & pony shows don’t require much preparation (because you probably won’t get to ask many questions), but they usually will kill an evening so you need to do enough research to decide if you even want to go. For the HS events, I would recommend that you have done enough research to at least ask intelligent questions and know enough about the college to know what you don’t know.</p>
<p>We found a large college fair very useful. 2 colleges my D picked out that I had never thought of. One after visiting she scratched but the other is her so far top pick and most likely will end up there. She never would have visited or applied to it if she hadn’t first been to the college fair.</p>
<p>You may get the admission information on the web or at the college fair, but you have to go to the campus to have a feel of it. For all the schools I visited, I have already done extensive research online and on books before putting them on the list and arrange for campus visit. The main purpose to go there is to ask question, to show your interest on the school (that may be critical for some school), and most important to explore the campus and neighborhood.
I went to a college fair at the high school in last Spring. Among the 100+ schools that came, only a few of those on our list were actually there. There are also admission session for several schools that came to town to present so one may ask questions there. But I still found the campus visit to be most informative.</p>
<p>I found the college fairs to be good for getting the student excited about the impending college application process. You see your friends looking at colleges too, and you can ask a few questions (at my first college fair several years ago, I asked a college rep about tuition and I was shocked…SHOCKED…at how much it cost to attend a school that my friends and I had always made fun of when we were applying to college). Other than that, you can pass.</p>
<p>School rep visits are good to demonstrate interest. My son knows where he wants to go, and he is going to attend the rep visit just to show that he is definitely interested in the school.</p>
<p>Actual campus visits are the most worthwhile, imo. Your child can get a feel for the campus that is impossible to get via internet. Don’t overdo it, but I would definitely try to choose a few that show the differences best (eg large campus, small, public, private) and especially visit the ones he or she is really interested in.</p>
<p>My son met with a college rep who was visiting his high school. I think it made the difference. He was the only one to attend. He had already applied to the school, actually, before she visited. They had a nice general talk I guess, since I wasn’t there, who knows ~ I suspect that he makes a good impression - better in person than his stats Anyway, afterwards I insisted and seriously-hovered while he wrote a ‘thank you’ note to her. I had him mention his submitted application, and it’s corresponding ‘reference’ number. More pushy than what he would have done left on his own. He was not a shoe-in for the school, so maybe it made the difference. He is now attending there (he’s a sophomore) </p>
<p>At our high school all college visits are during the school day and students miss class. Strangely, the teachers are quick to take-it-out on the kids. He missed a class and it did not help with his relationship with that teacher. My daughter had the same problem years before. Don’t let that deter you in the least - don’t lose sight of the big picture.</p>
<p>It was totally worth it. It may depend somewhat on the number of students who show up to visit with the rep.</p>
<p>Good points by Naviance. During the fall of Lake Jr.'s senior year in high school I insisted that he attend and meet with a college rep who came by the school to make a presentation. At that point Jr. wasn’t certain about his plans but chatting with the Admissions Rep one-on-one was a good opportunity (turns out, he was the only kid to sign up that day). Ultimately he chose to apply to a rival university, but of course the opportunity to compare those two strong schools two was worthwhile.</p>
<p>My son never had any problems with the teachers when he did an in-school college presentation/meeting, which was not that many. But, he did get an earful for missing class to attend music auditions for colleges from his music teachers! Never understood that one.</p>
<p>Our HS was terrific. DS missed twelve days of school for music auditions and music festivals his senior year of high school. They were all considered excused absences. Teachers were required not to penalize, and had to give him the work. All tests and quizzes had to be given at a different time, and all projects had to have an alternate due date.</p>
<p>Now…about college fairs…both of my kids went. And both were very disappointed. They both took the time to prepare resumes, and labels. It seemed to them that the college folks were more concerned with getting the labels or other sign ups than to answer questions about the schools.</p>
<p>Neither of the colleges they went to were at the college fair (which was a HUGE New England dog and pony show).</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the input. “College Night” is next week, in the evening. S has nothing going on so he will check it out, but I don’t see any reason why I should attend. I had wondered if any preparation was necessary but other than the label suggestion, it doesn’t seem so.<br>
Individual colleges are also starting to make visits during the school day, so although he hates to miss classes he is going to attend the Princeton presentation next week as well.
I will post back on his impressions of both.</p>
<p>I actually went to the college fair on behalf of my D when she was on a tour with the school orchestra in Spring. Anyway, I found there mostly parents asking questions while the kids are just hanging out with their friends. The parents are more interested in the financial aid and admission requirement.</p>
<p>I said I would report back so here is what I found out:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>S did not end up going to the Princeton presentation because it was during APUSH and his teacher told him it would not be an excused absence if he chose to go so it would affect his grade.</p></li>
<li><p>The college fair was last night. He said that some tables were manned by parents of students (freshman) that attend the colleges. Strange. Hamilton sent some current students…Colgate had some alumni, and when he asked one “why Colgate?” the response was “the name”…some of the SUNYs had reps that were completely disinterested in being there…he said it was crowded and chaotic and there wasn’t a map of any sort so he never even found a couple of the colleges he was looking for. Besides that, it was a very local representation and there really weren’t any schools there that he was truly interested in.</p></li>
</ol>
Anyway, afterwards I insisted and seriously-hovered while he wrote a ‘thank you’ note to her. I had him mention his submitted application, and it’s corresponding ‘reference’ number. More pushy than what he would have done left on his own. He was not a shoe-in for the school, so maybe it made the difference. He is now attending there (he’s a sophomore) </p>