<p>I read this thread the day after the performing arts fair was in Boston, unfortunately, so we missed that boat. Does anybody know if the Boston area will host something similar later on?</p>
<p>For those who are interested, there will be fairs in California on Saturday 10/28 from 1-3 at Nob Hill Masonic Center Exhibit Hall, 1111 California Street, San Francisco and on campus at UCLA on Sunday, 10/29 from 1-3. It will be held at Ackerman Union Grand Ballroom. We went last year and got a ton of stuff.</p>
<p>Wow - what an enormous thank you to those on this thread who suggested the label idea! We went to the fair at Juilliard last night, and having the labels prepared freed us up to speak with the reps instead of spending time filling out the mailing list cards.</p>
<p>It was surprising to us that a number of the college reps were less than fully prepared, unsure of what materials they had with them, and some of whom were less than bubbly and enthusiastic about their school than we would have expected. There is one well-regarded school in particular that my D is no longer considering because of the way the rep spoke about it, and there is another school that shouldn't have bothered sending anyone, because an empty table would have represented the school better. On the flip side, there are definitely a number of schools that moved considerably higher up D's interest list because they were so well represented last night. So a note to the several school reps who regularly read these threads -- please think about who you send to represent you at these college fairs, and remember that your audience is 16 year olds who are making judgments about your school based upon that one representative!</p>
<p>BrownSugar,
How lucky you guys are to be able to go to something like this. There was nothing remotely like that in my neck of the woods. A senior I'm working with was there last night too and told me about it. </p>
<p>I can't blame you guys for forming impressions of the school from these initial contacts with school personnel. I don't know the positions these folks have at the colleges. </p>
<p>You are right that schools need to pay attention with the impressions that are made via who their reps are at such events. Your post reminds me of how some families decide on interest (or not) regarding a school based on their tour guide when they do a visit. One thing I like to caution, however, is that while it is only natural to form first impressions, that it is VERY possible that the impression you get from that person may have more to do with that person than whether you will truly like the school itself or not. So, it is helpful to try to look beyond that person and talk to MANY on campus before ruling out a school. </p>
<p>The only time I would take exception to that is the ONE example you have where you say the way the rep spoke about the school, made you not like what you were learning about the school. But otherwise, you can get an ineffectual rep or same with a tour guide who isn't really an accurate representation as to the school or if you'd like it, had you talked to five other people, or in this case, actually visited. But as you say, teenagers (and even parents) DO form judgments based on a representative, so colleges need to think a lot about that "first line" that prospective students and families come in contact with. It may be a rep at a college fair, a secretary who answers the phone, or a tour guide. At the same time, when you visit a college, be sure to talk to many different people, and not just the "official" ones either.</p>
<p>We were at Julliard last night too. Thanks so much for the label suggestion and the recommendation to arrive early. It got quite crowded as the evening went on. </p>
<p>The labels were a great help to my D in making the most out of the evening. We were turned off by a of couple school reps as well but most were helpful and provided my D with the info she needed. We were most impressed with the reps that provided her with a detailed description of their program, and asked about her interests and strengths. She has definitely opened her eyes to some new possibilities.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for the great tips.</p>
<p>Soozie, I couldn't agree more. We will of course not drop any schools from consideration based solely on who we met last night, but colleges should remember that teenagers are quick to form lasting judgments based on who they meet. </p>
<p>In the one example about my D not liking what she was learning about the school from the rep, it wasn't an issue of us forming opinions based on an ineffectual rep, but rather the light in which he shaded the content of his response to our specific question. I'd rather not go into the specifics here.</p>
<p>BrownSugar, yes, that was the one exception I meant....where it wasn't a reflection so much on the rep but the contents of what was said about the program which may not have been appealing. THAT is a different story, and is one of the reasons why you do go to these fairs or visits, to find out if you like what the program is about!</p>
<p>Rizzo's Mom,</p>
<p>I'm glad the labels helped! At first I didn't want to use them but once I realized how usefule they were I thought they were pretty awesome.</p>
<p>As well as Rizzosmom and Brownsugar (darnnit I would have loved to meet people from CC lol) I was at the fair at Julliard. Yes the line streched to the end of the block lol. What colleges were people that went turned off by (you don';t have to say if you don't want). I was very impressed with teh rep. from Emerson, he really took the time to talk to people and wished everyone who talked to him good luck. I also really liked Lawerence University. I was very intersted in it from Loren Popes book, but I became more interersted in it. They are a nonaudition BA school but they have a highly regarded conservatory program and do about 12 shows a year. I also liked Florida State though they only take 14 :-/ . I thought it was very imformative but was upset that Otterbein and Webster were not there. Alot of colleges seemed to be missing. Im not sure if anyone else noticed that. I noticed CMU was not there, Oklahoma City was not there, I didn't see BOCO, though they may have been. All in all it was very imformative and a good experince.</p>
<p>DefyingGravity, Boco was there last night, in the same room as UMich and CCM. In addition to CMU and others, Syracuse was also not there.</p>
<p>Good Lord!!! Went with D to the performing arts fair at Manhattan School of music last night. An absolute zoo! The rudest, pushiest bunch of people I've been around in a long time. My mood had been soured before we got in, as we stood outside in a line that snaked around the block for an hour. Luckily, it was a beautiful night in NYC & that neighborhood is full of lovely buildings.</p>
<p>The problem was choice of venue. The school tables were set up in hallways, or crammed into small rooms where the aisles just dead-ended. I stil can't believe that a school without a large gym or similar space was chosen to host this. Of course, MSOM couldn't control for the dumb-ass questions someone would be asking while ten other families waited patiently to get NEAR the table --i.e.: "How can I get on your mailing list?"</p>
<p>It was useful from my personal point of view: D is simply too in love with one particular school & she needed to start finding positive qualities in other options. My standard mom question was very useful in evaluating the schools: "Do you place equal emphasis on academics and audition?" The reaction was very strong in either direction, and we could quickly rule out a few right off the bat.</p>
<p>If I were running this show, I'd skip the alphabetical layout & give added space to schools like Steinhardt. It was very awkward to be waiting in the NYU crowd and make idle chitchat with the lonely reps from Nyack Christian.</p>
<p>SS, I've only ever attended one of this type of fair for performing arts, and it was with the son of a friend who was looking at college programs. Never did this when my D was applying, in fact, I don't even recall this type of thing being publicized back then. In any case, my experience was similar to yours, tons of very pushy, obnoxious individuals (mostly parents!). </p>
<p>I would caution anyone about forming ANY opinions or conclusions, either positive or negative, based on one of these fairs. You might run into a school rep who is friendly, outgoing, and very sweet and informative, and that school may still not be a good one to add to your list. Conversely, a negative experience with a rep should not make you immediately remove that school from being a possibility. Even the information about the individual school and program itself may be colored by something as simple as the way the information is conveyed by that particular person. </p>
<p>Use these fairs as one (probably small!) piece of the puzzle in your search for appropriate schools, if only for the reason that many schools do not participate in these. It really should be just a tiny part of the research necessary to assemble an appropriate list.</p>
<p>I too was at The Manhattan School of Music last night...with my S who is a junior. My impression was a different one...although the venue wasn't without its problems. The dead ends were odd, some rooms were warmer than others...</p>
<p>On the positive side we had fun! Some colleges just send admissions people, and some send people from their performing arts program, professors, instructors, former students, Deans and the like. Many had people from financial aide too! Like any large group some are better than others. For example, it was dissapointing that CMU only had one person at their booth, from thier music department. Hoewever when you spoke to someone who was full of life, excited to explain their school and offer personal attention, it was great. Shenandoah, Boston Concervatory, Penn State, Hartt, Buffalo State, CW Post and others were excellent. The booths were only as good as the people working them.</p>
<p>It was also a little like a carnival atmosphere..."get your music theatre..right here!"</p>
<p>I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it...thought I might be able to find most information on the web, on the phone or right here on the board, but I was glad we went.</p>
<p>It's a good idea to have stickers with name, address major, GPA and email.</p>
<p>Sorry your experience wasn't as good as our StickerShock...sorry, as I most likely stepped on your toe last night along with at least 50 other people...however it's a good conversation starter!</p>
<p>Isd, I'm sure if you stepped on my toe, you quickly apologized. Many of us were banging into each other accidently & having a shared eye roll over the bad venue. It was the deliberate shoves that got to me. </p>
<p>As I said, it was useful. A few schools D might not have considered were discovered. Also, a few representatives made us aware of performances or open houses that we might hit. The crowded venue, however, made it really difficult to have a chat with every school that I wanted to steer her toward.</p>
<p>I don't want to pressure my sophmore D and make her start thinking about all of this too soon, but I heard that the upcoming fair at UCLA only comes once in every 3 years. Is that true? Also, can we get summer program info there? Thanks!</p>
<p>HSN, if I had known about this fair during D's sophomore year, I'd have brought her. The idea of having virtually every performing arts school all in one place is a great one. My problem was with the venue. If the fair at UCLA is held in a spacious ballroom, or gym, it will be great. If it's held in cramped hallways & snakes around a series of small rooms, then the rudeness & survival instinct takes over in many people. The good part about face-to-face fairs is that you can ask questions not answered on the website or in the literature. </p>
<p>If your D loves performing arts, I'd guess she already IS thinking about the next step. The fair will be fun, and she'll learn alot.</p>
<p>HSN, I believe the fair at UCLA is held this time every year. We were also planning on going last year when my D was a sophomore, but we had a conflict and missed it. This year she is really focusing on specific schools and I think this fair will really open her eyes to schools she knows very little about. I don't think sophomore year is too early to think about the different programs out there. It will probably motivate your D; but only you know if it will be overwhelming to her. Frankly, the next year and a half already feels overwhelming to me. (Great tip about the labels -just printed them)!</p>
<p>Great idea about the labels. What would be a good size? The fair is tomorrow... can't wait!</p>
<p>We went last year. Label size doesn't really matter. We used the label size that gave you 30 to a page, but the point was to provide name, address, email address, year and major, so that your student can spend his/her time speaking to the representative instead of simply filling out a form. Have fun!</p>
<p>D and I went to fair at UCLA yesterday. We were both impressed with the number of colleges present (approx 90!) and that there are many more opportunities out there beside the handful she's heard about. I, on the other hand, could confidently point out the lesser known schools to her because I leaned about them from all of you! She was particularly inspired by the reps from Muhlenberg, University of the Arts, Wagner, and Baldwin-Wallace, and the fact they are small BFA programs with strong liberal arts concentrations - at least we narrowed that preference down! However, last night was a reprise of "What if I don't get in anywhere?". Logic did not come into play as I tried to reassure her that if she includes a few of these schools that have smaller applicant pools, she has a better chance of getting accepted, and her only focus now in her junior year should be to continue training on working on audition skills to go into next year with confidence. Anyone else having junior year meltdown?</p>