<p>I can only speak for us, but we are two hours from the nearest (East Coast) city. Add to that rush hour and parking, plus having to miss whatever activities are scheduled for that particular weeknight, and it’s a hefty time commitment just to pick up some brochures.</p>
<p>Weekend afternoons are filled with rehearsals, and D wouldn’t skip those to go to a college fair, so the weekday evening actually works bettter for us. We had to travel a couple of hours to get to the fair we attended but combined it with college visits and spent the whole day in the city.</p>
<p>After reading pros and cons I decided to go to the fair here in Chicago yesterday. I thought it was very helpful. My son could not go because he had a marching band competition. Nevertheless, the questions that need to be asked and notes to take were all discussed and I found that I could talk to all the target schools we were interested in. Some of the schools that we had eyed were dropped merely because a conversation about curriculum made DS preference a no go for that school ( ie Lawrence dept of Composition does not even begin working with students on composition till their third year). I found the reps variable in their ability to speak to the department he is interested in, but overall knowledgeable rather than not. It was nice to come home with material to review from the schools, names of professors to contact, and a admissions contact to email with questions. It was crowded but that doesn’t really bother me. One room was very crowded and one room had lots of space. I only had to wait for 1-3 people to talk to the rep. Almost every school that I wanted to talk to that said they would be at the fair was there. Eastman didn’t show. I think that most if not all the information would be available on the web or for the asking so it is not a big deal if students/parents don’t go, but if it is available and not a stretch to get to I would recommend it.</p>
<p>Went to the one at the Manhattan School of Music last year. Son thought it was very informative but we did not select any schools just based on the fair. However, for schools a fair distance from us it was a great way to meet the music admissions staff (in leiu of a physical visit before the audition) and in some cases get an idea of how many slots would be open in a particular professors studios the next year. I was very suprised at the large number of music schools attending (over 200) and even several from the UK etc. The large number of schools there told my son and I that there would be a place for him somewhere to study music. Did find it very crowded (best to get there very early or come later I think) especially at the University of Miami desk but the usual 80/20 rule applied, 80% of the kids were crowded around a few of the desks and most reps at the other schools had plenty of time to chat and were very helpful I thought.</p>
<p>N8Ma - Re: accessibility: We live pretty much equally distant from NYC and Philly - 1 1/4 hours without traffic, but on a weeknight probably closer to 2 1/2. Truthfully, I would love to see them a little earlier in the day - you might have to leave work/school a little early, but you wouldn’t get home so late on the other end. I also wish there was a way for them to get to the East Coast a little earlier, but only because we didn’t know about them last year.</p>