<p>Does the student bring anything to a college fair like a resume or stats? We may go the the CTCL fair in NYC this month and I was curious. Also, has anyone been to this roadshow this year? Was it useful? S has one or two on the list; perhaps it might pare down a visit?</p>
<p>College fairs are more for the colleges to woo and interest students than vice versa. It’s not the time nor place to bring stats. It is, however, both the time and place to ask lots of questions, and get a reasonable assessment of whether or not a school may be right for you. It is a wonderful first step in the college search.</p>
<p>Save the resume and stats for the application, interview, and recommendations, after the student has already decided on where s/he will apply.</p>
<p>One pc of advice that helped my son was to bring a sheet of address labels so you can slap them onto “interest” cards that most college booths had. Adds you to their mailing list and with labels, you won’t waste so much time filling them out but can ask questions instead. Reps may be a combo of alums or admissions reps depending - who may or may not have any say in admissions. (I was alum rep for my college for a fair in our area for a number of years and I think people thought I had some sort of power in admissions, which wasn’t at all true.)</p>
<p>At all of the college fairs that my sons and I attended, there was usually a long line waiting to talk to each college rep, so there is no time (and also no privacy!) to discuss personal stats or review a resume. I agree with heyalb that college fairs are basically a way to gather information about the school and get questions asked. And the most useful thing of all is sometimes meeting the college rep who is responsible for your geographic area and may actually be looking over your application.</p>
<p>Just a good place to gather info on many schools at once and ask a FEW questions. Don’t expect an evaluation of your chances. Also don’t expect answers to obscure factual questions on how many classes are taught in some department. Those can be better answered on the college website.</p>
<p>Pick up literature and the business card of the rep - particularly if this is the actual regional admissions rep who will do the “first read” of your application. Labels are great - include your name, address, e-mail address and the hs you attend.</p>
<p>Thanks, I think I will open a new thread to get specific info on this fair which is touring currently.</p>