So I am going to this college fair that my mom found online. She told me that Wellsley is going to be there but couldn’t find the list of schools attending. I looked online and found the list and Harvard, my dream school, as well as Cornell and Brown are going to be there. I’m so nervous. What should I do?
Any tips?
Be friendly, introduce yourself to the rep (“Hi, I’m X from Y High”), and have one or two good questions you can ask—ones that are specific to the school and aren’t answered by the website. You can follow up afterwards with a very brief thank-you e-mail.
Thank you
There’s absolutely nothing to be nervous about. First off, hundreds of students attend these fairs, and I highly doubt that any college rep, including those at Harvard, will be able to remember most of the students they meet during the fair. They are just there to answer your questions, pass out brochures, and act as a spokesperson for the university. Secondly, the people who actually read your applications will most likely still be on campus in committee meetings trying to narrow down which students to admit come April 1st. Admissions Officers don’t have time to attend college fairs at this time of year. So, the people you meet are most likely NOT the people who will pass judgment on your application. So relax, and have fun!
^^ Exactly what @gibby says. Treat it as a an information session and nothing more. If you have a question or two, ny all means, go up and ask them. It’s good practice speaking with admissions people for possibly later but they won’t remember you now so don’t stress!
A general college fair like that is going to be pretty disappointing. It’ll be a cattle call chaotic madhouse unless it’s a more limited session with only a handful of select colleges. But you’re going there to learn – no one on this planet is going to remember you or care that you attended, to be blunt.
Although it’s generally true that there are hundreds of kids and few of them will be remembered, if you have something memorable about you (in a good way) and manage to convey that to the rep quickly, there’s a decent chance you’ll be remembered. Reps from two different Ivys definitely remembered my son after a couple of these college fairs. But I’m sure that at others, where he didn’t take the same approach, no one remembered him. Did it make a difference? In one case, we’ll never know, because he ended up not applying after getting in early elsewhere; in the other, we’ll see in a few weeks. My guess is that generally it won’t make a difference, and there can be advantages in being anonymous, particularly if you’re uncertain about the school.