<p>D has the opportunity to easily attend a local summer fair which will have reps from most of the colleges that she is interested in present. I am encouraging her to attend and try to connect with the reps. She seems dubious that these fairs have any added value to campus visits. Comments? Thanks!</p>
<p>My son and I attended one in Philadelphia last year when he was a rising Junior. It was good in that he got an idea of the many different colleges that were out there and was able to talk to reps of colleges that he was on the fence about visiting, but were more then a days drive to visit. Just talking to the reps made the decision to visit or not easier. The more personable ones made you want to visit their college - what a smart move for a college to have one of these reps for a first impression.</p>
<p>We had taken the time beforehand to look up all the colleges that had majors that he was interested in and then highligted them on the map when we got there. </p>
<p>We also took some address labels with son's name and address that he had made up before we got there so we could stick them on the interest cards that each rep offered. That was a very handy idea that we got from this board.</p>
<p>As far as brownie points for showing interest, I'm not sure if there's much value in that, but I could be wrong.</p>
<p>I think they are. I remember deciding not to go to my then first choice because they were so darned smug at one BTI (Before The Internet). It's certainly a relatively inexpensive way to get an initial feel for what different school are like. Can't hurt.</p>
<p>I'm convinced my S did benefit from the interest he showed in the school he finally settled on. Made a good impression, wound up in what they decided to count as his interview. Again, what can it hurt?</p>
<p>There is a slight possibility that by filling out the card at the fair- one is demonstrating interest to the school. There are schools who will "track" a students interest based on contacts with college. I went to Long Island Fair last year. It's crowded-hot-and not much fun. Luckily this fall some of the schools my d is interested in will be at the college fair at her High School. So she'll show her face at that venue where the crowds will be much smaller. I am going to suggest you check the Ad Com's schedule for schools your kid is interested in. It is quite possible that they will be at a local HS. thus allowing you to avoid the often crowded College Fair. PS Most of the info you get at these fairs can be obtained on the website.</p>
<p>GC's at kids' HS strongly recommended attending college fairs and talking with the staff and signing in at the booths of schools in which they might be interested. Schools do track the number of contacts prospective students make with them. When it comes to reviewing apps, they'll note that. (The story GCs told was that a student was rejected by a school that was a match/safety--she hadn't made any contact with the school other than apply. The school assumed she wasn't really interested.)</p>
<p>The cards also often have a place for the rep's comments. All these get read. A candidate highlighted as seeming really special might get some extra attention from admissions.</p>
<p>It all depends on the type of college fair and who is representing the college. Some fairs just have local alumni passing out information while others have official reps from the school who might sit down with a student, take notes, schedule campus visits, etc. Some of the better fairs will offer seminars on essay writing, interviewing skills and financial aid.</p>
<p>I heard of a HBCU college fair in the S.F. Bay Area that would offer on-site acceptance to qualified students in attendance, but that is rare. There can be so many fairs in the Bay Area sometimes that they seem as common as flea markets or swap meets. </p>
<p>I always recommend families of high school and even middle school students to attend a college fair just to pick up free material, business cards and get a look and feel of the various colleges out there. Even pick up an application packet, if available, and start looking at the essay questions, what type of rec letters are required, what is requested about ECs and community service experience, etc. Even take a look at application fees and start budgeting for the cost of applying to multiple colleges that can be cost prohibitive for some families.</p>
<p>Here in Silicon Valley, there is a huge college fair in the fall with 100+ schools represented, but many of the reps are just local alumni. Nevertheless, it provides a great opportunity for families to gain access to information, especially the business card of college admissions staff. That card can come in handy down the road when you want direct communication with a potential admissions decision maker.</p>
<p>I don't think college fair presentations influenced DD in the least, but I'm certain that meeting representatives and filling out cards benefited her. (Many times colleges will send the regional admissions officer to staff the college fair. In such cases prospective students will be speaking with the very individual who will be handling the application!)</p>
<p>If the OP's question is whether attendance and sign in at a large college fair event with a particular school that you have already visted, and already met with admissions personnel gives any boost to ultimate selection of that student, I'd have to say that that would be a rare school indeed. I do think that the smaller events with 1 to several schools in attendance with actual adcoms present could very well add to a student's demonstrated interest at schools that track such things. </p>
<p>While absolutely different, and a very legitimate question to ask, it does remind me of something I found quite humorous back in the spring. It reminds me of a question a student asked to a UPenn adcom at one of the 4 school traveling shows they attend with Harvard, Georgetown and Duke. A rather tenacious student asked whether or not his trips to the website, e-mails to adcoms, letters to school personnel, and college fair sign-ins would help to show how interested he was in attending. The exasperated but very impressive adcom responded that Penn had absolutely no system in place to track that sort of demonstrated interest. I laughed to myself that that might work in that particular youngster's favor. O.K.. Maybe it was outloud. ;)</p>
<p>I love college fairs early in the process when students need to get a feel for what they want. Colleges That Change Lives was instrumental in D's desire to attend two schools on her short list, and left us with very fond memories of other talented adcoms at Ursinus, Allegheny, Earlham that did a wonderful job of bringing their schools alive. In fact, when we later were on campus at one of the schools a few months later (one of the two D still has on her list), the adcom recognized my daughter from the fair and she him . "Hey, weren't you at CTCL in Dallas?" Yep. It was truly amazing and still impresses D (and me) to this day. It lead to an impromptu and wonderful interview that left that school at the top of the match list, even today 4 months later.</p>
<p>I don't see what harm there could be in going...a few hours maybe, hey we have seen movies that were a real waste of time and we PAID for them</p>
<p>I say, check them out, you never know what you may learn...and my D tried to collect pens from the various schools</p>
<p>Even "alum" reps get some training from the school they rep. We got a thick binder of info and rules and were encouraged to attend a training class if possible.</p>
<p>It is not that Alumni reps are bad, but that they are not the decision maker. And sometimes alumni bring "attitude" to the information table, particularly when it is obvious that they really don't want to be at a particular college fair. I've experienced it!</p>
<p>I don't see college fairs as places where you go to mix with the "decision makers". I see them as places where there are a large number of schools providing information about their programs, allowing students to sign up for more information, and offering a knowledgeable human who has some experience with the school to answer questions in person. I wouldn't go to one looking for an "admissions in" -- I would go looking for information. And for that purpose, an alumni staffing the table could be just fine (assuming their information is up-to-date).</p>
<p>If you attend a college fair as a sophomore and begin to receive information from them, do their tracking systems know that you are 2 years away from applying. Do they keep you on their list or do you have to begin the process of contacting them again junior year.</p>
<p>It is best if you find out ahead of time what schools will be there and which ones you are interested in stopping at. Otherwise, you can wander aimlessly - and my kids HATE that.</p>
<p>It certainly doesn't hurt to know ahead of time what colleges will be represented and which ones you want to focus on. Then, you can visit those schools first.</p>
<p>I think that college fairs serve as a good "weeding out" process . If the regional adcom is there you do get a gut feeling for the schools and how you may be treated once you get there.</p>
<p>Think of it a little like customer service because at the end of the day we are consumers of higher education. IF the adcom is stand-offish, and reluctant on answering your questions and this is the wooing stage, you know that you probably could cross them off your list. It also gives you a one on one moment to ask nagging questions. Some will give you their card, take information, and follow-up (which is a good sign). </p>
<p>I know that attending fairs and meeting some of the regional adcoms was a jumping off point for looking at schools such as Dickinson, Juniata and Ursinus which was off the radar for us. My daughter laughs because I kep a notebook in my bag where I took notes at every college fair and info session we attended.</p>
<p>I agree with NewHope's comment that, sometimes...those you meet at the college fair are the ones who are actually handling the application. It would be beneficial for any student to meet with them!</p>
<p>Also, they're fun...bumper stickers and what not are great. I'd go just for the little goodies and the flyers/brochures are always fun to look at.</p>
<p>We also thought it was fun to go around and collect all the information and speak briefly with the college reps. We did not bother to fill out cards, which takes too much time unless you bring labels. What was valuable for us is that it got my son psyched about visiting colleges. He came home with a bag full of stuff to review, had some nice conversations, and eager to become involved in the college search. It was interesting to get a visual for the popular colleges in our region - some booths were mobbed, while others were quite lonely!</p>
<p>College fairs can also be a good way to jump-start a more reluctant or passive college searcher.</p>
<p>One piece of advice I would give is to attend with a parent rather than a group of friends. From our experiences we found that if a group of kids approached a rep they spoke about beautiful campus, great food, sports programs, study abroad, etc. If a family approached, the discussion was more about academic programs, faculty, fin aid and admissions. Reps are salesmen and they know what sells. </p>
<p>We waited to speak to the rep of any school S was really interested in until the initial rush was over and we could have more individualized attention-generally later in the evening. S then sent a follow-up email to the reps the next day.</p>