<p>I think that, for the colleges sensitive to "demonstrated interest", attending such an event and registering that you did so can be a plus. If he has a safety or match school doing this and he will not be visiting the actual campus, I would attempt to determine whether that school is sensitive to demonstrated interest and make sure he can so demonstrate - whether through the fairs or other ways.</p>
<p>Really jmmom? That's interesting. I'd heard that visits (the 'group tour' type) didn't have any impact on the admission question. Maybe I'm wrong about that?</p>
<p>College fairs involving massive numbers of colleges may not be very valuable, but information sessions run by traveling representatives from individual colleges may be.</p>
<p>My daughter attended one of these and found it very helpful even though she had already visited the campus and even though the college does not track demonstrated interest. In addition to the standard presentation by the admissions representative, several young local alumni spoke to the group and answered questions. That's an opportunity you don't have when you visit a campus.</p>
<p>If you do decide to go, print out labels in advance with your son's name, address, and high school. Then you can just stick them on "interest" postcards or on the sign-in lists. Saves a lot of time and wear.</p>
<p>Also, take a large tote bag for any info your son wants.</p>
<p>The benefit of the sessions is that there may be a school there that your son never considered but now will be on his radar. It's like browsing in a bookstore - sure you can find the same book on line, but sometimes you find some hidden gem just by browsing the shelves.</p>
<p>That's a good point, Marian.</p>
<p>The thing--even when my son goes to a college he doesn't have any questions! We just research schools, talk about it a bit, then tour (afterwards he'll tell me his insights/thoughts; e.g. "I liked the self-contained campus" or "I liked the research opportunities."). I'm thinking that unless you have a very verbal, proactive student who would engage the off-site admissions officer or alumni--maybe it wouldn't be worth it as much?</p>
<p>College fairs with a dozen or more colleges can be a little overwhelming, but are sometimes the only opportunity to see a college representative in a particular town. The smaller (six or fewer colleges) information sessions are usually well worth while if any of the colleges are colleges of interest to the student. </p>
<p>
[quote]
I think that, for the colleges sensitive to "demonstrated interest", attending such an event and registering that you did so can be a plus. If he has a safety or match school doing this and he will not be visiting the actual campus, I would attempt to determine whether that school is sensitive to demonstrated interest and make sure he can so demonstrate - whether through the fairs or other ways.
[/quote]
You can see how important "demonstrated interest" is to some schools from their Common Data Set section C7 in the row labelled "Level of applicant's interest" which will be checked Very Important, Important, Considered, or Not Considered. Google can find the CDS, but not all schools publish it.</p>
<p>the college fairs Ive attended wernt staffed by alums but by those in admissions/programs they were representing.
Helpful & I would agree opportunity to show interest, ask questions,and to even see who else shares your interest similar colleges.</p>
<p>also opportunity to get info from schools you didn't think you were interested in. Agnes Scott for example had a very helpful and friendly ad rep & my niece ended up at her college because she liked the ad rep that came to her school.</p>
<p>I didn't go to any large college fairs, but I did find some rep visits + off-site info sessions nice to attend.</p>
<p>A lot of the brochures start to look the same after awhile, especially if you're receiving heaps of them in the mail every day. Even if I didn't get a lot of important info at an event like you're describing, I liked adding a human element to the research process. Sometimes, I learned enough about a school towards which I was wishy-washy to decide whether or not it was worth a visit (or simply more research). In at least one case, there was a school that I loved, but my parents weren't excited about, and attending a regional presentation gave them a chance to talk to local alum, other parents, ask about some of their own concerns, etc.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that the benefit was usually huge (demonstrated interest aside...I don't know how it does or doesn't factor in)...not necessarily worth "driving hours" for. I only ever went at my HS or into my city--30-45min drive. There would've been more/larger events at another city in our region, but that would've been a 2hr drive, and none of the events I caught would've been worth that travel time, even though I was used to traveling that distance on a regular basis. I'd say that if it's relatively easy to get to + about a school (or set of schools) that might interest your son, it's worth the trip (Chedva's bookstore analogy is a great one). But if you're really miserable, the trip is a huge pain, or you have other plans, few of these events (if any) are probably worth bending over backwards to attend.</p>
<p>I have heard on this board that the Claremont info session, in particular, is well put together (can't vouch for that firsthand...I never attended...just something that stuck in my mind from some admissions thread or another).</p>
<p>Good luck to you + your son during the process :)</p>
<p>ETA (Cross-post):</p>
<p>
[quote]
The thing--even when my son goes to a college he doesn't have any questions! ... I'm thinking that unless you have a very verbal, proactive student who would engage the off-site admissions officer or alumni--maybe it wouldn't be worth it as much?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Quite the opposite in my case. I never had any questions (or wanted to ask them, even if I did think of one), either, so I wanted to do as much listening as I could. Of course there's overlap between tour guide, campus info session, regional presentation, etc., but each was an opportunity to hear a few extra tid-bits of info, other people's questions, another adcom's opinion, etc. If I'd been more verbal/proactive, maybe I could've gathered all the info I wanted in just one interaction :p</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for all that info! I never would have thought about the pre-printed labels, Chedva!</p>
<p>We haven't actually done a 'smaller' admissions' session (ones w/just a few schools) -- have only done a few of the huge ones that fill an entire HS gym. There are a few smaller ones coming up this week---maybe we can give them a shot & not dismiss based on the previous experiences. They are only a 40 min - 1 hr drive.</p>
<p>Last question: the "Colleges that Change Lives" fair is at exactly the same time/day as the "Harvey Mudd" etc. consortium one. If son is a comp sci major (not engineering) I'm thinking the Colleges that Change Lives would be the better bet? (he doesn't have ivy-stats, though good test scores, so would like to explore some schools off the beaten path..). Not sure if anyone had been to the Change Lives one....</p>
<p>The CTCL fair is quite good - I've been to 4 of them (two kids). Son doesn't have the stats for Harvey Mudd (not top 10%), so we're focusing on schools that aren't as selective - Rose-Hulman, Allegheny, Missouri S&T, Michigan Tech, WPI, RIT, RPI (though it's a reach), Stevens, maybe Santa Clara. </p>
<p>That Zits is priceless! Had no idea that was today's strip when I posted earlier.</p>
<p>I think if you do not know the schools, these can be very helpful.</p>
<p>Are they worth the time? Eh...yes and no, I guess. From the learning about the colleges, not so much...although my daughter found it mildly useful to meet a couple people or alums from each school.</p>
<p>Where it can be useful is starting to make yourself known to your target college. This doesn't work for large universities, but the key to getting accepted at schools on the scale of Harvey Mudd and the CTCL schools is to, over the course of the application process, make yourself known to the admissions office. </p>
<p>With any luck your regional admissions rep will work the fair. You get a chance to introduce yourself to your local admissions rep and, by taking a business card, the ability to personalize ALL of your communication with the school through your local admissions rep.</p>
<p>Is that the end all and be all? Probably not. But, it's one of the ways you can work the process to stand out from a stack of applications.</p>
<p>So, yeah. If it's colleges you may be interested in, these fairs are probably worth visiting.</p>
<p>Is anyone familiar with the "Exploring College Options" program?</p>
<p>"Exploring College Options is a unique program featuring five of the country's leading universities: Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard College, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania. At each event, representatives from the five schools will offer brief slide presentations about their institutions and answer your questions about the sometimes-mystifying world of college admissions. You'll learn about what distinguishes one fine university from another, what competitive colleges look for in the selection process, and what you can do to enhance your college application."</p>
<p>Sophomore son is considering Georgetown and possibly Stanford; we will likely visit the Georgetown campus next year. Would this local program will helpful this early in the search?</p>
<p>DD1 never attended one. DD2 attended one and found a college she was intrigued by (most she considered "boring"), visited and it is now on her application list for next year.</p>
<p>On the issue of what questions to ask:</p>
<p>My kid can be the quiet type who rarely asks questions. We made a list of the activities she did in high school and other interests, and built questions along those lines. For example: "I've been horseback riding since I was 7 and want to know about your equestrian programs." "I started a tutoring service for the local elementary school, are there any programs like that at your college." </p>
<p>It worked. Because her questions revealed something specific about her interests, it gave the college reps something specific to talk to her about -- different from the generic "what SAT score do I need" and "do you have a pre-med program" questions. She got specific information about the colleges. </p>
<p>She also visited colleges that were not overflowing with students, so she had more time to talk to each rep. It ended up being good practice for interviews. She also became interested in colleges that she hadn't considered before.</p>
<p>I think it's a good idea to go prepared. Get a list of the colleges that will be there ahead of time and make note of the ones you want to visit. Focus on ones you may not plan on visiting in person, because this is a way to demonstrate interest.</p>
<p>archiemom, we attended an "Exploring College Options" program. It was very well attended and did not provide any real chance for individual discussion with the college reps. We came away with a folder of information for each college, did have some of our questions answered, and she briefly considered applying to Harvard after it (we had gone mostly because of her interest in Georgetown). So I can't say it was extremely helpful, but since reps from those colleges don't visit our high school, it was her chance to see them locally.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You can see how important "demonstrated interest" is to some schools from their Common Data Set section C7...
[/quote]
You can also take a look at their application (or Common App supplement). Some have checkboxes for you to indicate whether you have visited campus, gone to an Information Session, been on a Tour, attended a presentation by the college in your area, had contact with a professor, etc. etc. For those schools, not being able to check any boxes is a disadvantage, I'm thinking. Else, why would they be asking?</p>
<p>Thanks mamabear. We're deciding whether to squeeze this info event into a week filled with conference lax tournament games. Since we're so early in the process, I figure any amount of info is useful as it starts the college exploration rolling. We'll report back, if we attend.</p>
<p>I took my son to the Exploring College Options one, and we're glad we went. He got to meet the Duke rep, and that sealed a trip there last summer. He came in not wanting to see Penn but came out saying he wants to apply there. He also liked Harvard's portion of the program. This year, we're going to see one that involves Cornell. If anything, the program does do a nice job of introducing the students to the schools.</p>