<p>My DS and I are going to a National College Fair tomorrow. :) We have some questions already written down to ask. Can anyone think of some questions that maybe we haven't thought of? </p>
<p>Just ask whatever questions you have about each school. If there is a particular major that your son is interested in, he can ask about that. If you have questions about possible scholarships, ask about that. Each person attending is going to be looking for something different in a college so the questions will most likely be focused on what your son wants out of his college experience. You can find almost any information you desire about a college online so if there are some colleges that your son is more interested in, look at their Web sites and see if you have any questions after looking at the Web site. Have fun! College fairs are kind of overwhelming :).</p>
<p>If you have already done web site research on each college, you may have questions not answered by the web sites. Write these down and ask the college representatives.</p>
<p>We have researched all we can for schools, but is it ever really enough. Some sample questions are a mix of mine and my S. Do you have a gaming club/organization? Are there any preferred SAT subject tests when applying for the engineering school? What is the % of out of state students? Is it a dry (no alcohol ) campus? Why do you most love about the school? Do you apply to Honor’s College or do you have to be invited to apply? (Cousin told me for South Carolina you have to be invited to apply but it is not clear on website.)
How’s this for questions? We will be looking at USC-Columbia, BAMA, NC State, UTen, Va Tech, and UNC-Charlotte.</p>
<p>Does the college have a specific program to assist undergraduate placement into internships?</p>
<p>The schools you are interested in are all very popular and their booths will be very busy and have tons of attention from fair goers. I wouldn’t waste time asking things that are easily discovered elsewhere. A quick internet search before you go will answer % OOS students, dry campus, gaming club, etc. I think college fairs are best used to introduce students to schools and make contacts but not necessarily to obtain very specific information. Obtaining business cards from the school reps will allow your student to follow up with more detailed questions via email. It’s great to start with a list of target schools to see, but also try to be open to exploring new schools.</p>
<p>You may want to print out labels with your student’s contact info (name, address, email address, birthdate, grad year, possible major) to save time filling out cards at the tables. Have fun exploring!</p>
<p>I staff a booth for my alma mater at College Fairs. Honestly, I would leave the questions that you could look up on line out (as they may or may not know them off the top of their heads) and ask the ones you can’t.
So % of out of state students you could figure out, but “What do you love the most about the school” you can’t get on their website. </p>
<p>I agree, we attended one college fair and the booths for the big universities were swamped. You will be lucky if you can even talk to them. Even luckier if they can answer anything other than the most basic questions.</p>
<p>Between Google, CC, and the Fiske Guide…you should have most of your answers.</p>
<p>A quick Google search for NC Sate found…
<a href=“http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/archives/enrollmentdata/f13enrol/index.htm”>http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/archives/enrollmentdata/f13enrol/index.htm</a></p>
<p><a href=“Technology Services | Academic and Student Affairs Intranet”>Technology Services | Academic and Student Affairs Intranet;
<p>However, many colleges do look at if you show “interest”. So at least get a postcard or whatever they have for you to take and send in to get more information and fill it out.</p>
<p>One thing I discovered at an overcrowded college fair - some of these reps love to talk, especially about their college. They want to talk about their school, so you could start with a generic question “tell me why I should go?” and then ask questions based on what they say. Thank them, ask for an email address or get your card scanned or grab a postcard to show interest.</p>
<p>We went to one last year while my D was on a tour with school orchestra. I was the one actually asking questions. The most important information I have received is about the merit aid application. Some schools have no separated applications while some schools only offer to EA applicants. This really affect the application schedule. </p>
<p>My Ds tended to ask questions that got to the school environment, especially if the rep were a recent grad. On the “positive” side, Qs like “what did you like most?” or “what makes the school unique amongst its peers?” (Answers ranged from dormitory housekeepers to professor accessibility to a professor that created a niche class because of interest the students expressed.) Then they asked the flip side, which often made the rep really think. Rather than ask “what did you like the least?” my Ds usually asked something like “what would you change about the school to make it even better?” There were a few “nothings” but some very candid answers that gave additional insights.
We asked Qs about job placement stats and similar at campus visits - they seem to have better info for data Qs than the fair reps. </p>