As many of you know, we are in the research phase for DD. We were interested in completely different schools for her than DS and given our location, trying to maximize our ability to experience a variety of schools. Hence, looking for fairs. The closest ones are still over 6 hours away from us. Being that it will be a full day travel commitment, I’m wondering what we should expect from such a fair, and how we should prepare. Our intent at this time is purely to research and get exposure to schools.
Should we be prepared for interviews at this time?
Should she have basic information readily available?
Can we just window shop?
Is it worth a 6 hour one-way drive to go or are there better options?
TIA!
We found the fairs to be a good way to gather a lot of information in a short period of time. You can get more perspective from speaking to a live person than you can get from a website. I would not expect the admissions reps to ask interview type questions (except basics like what are your interests…). On your end I would come with a list of specific questions you want answered. Questions that will give you a sense of student life, types of students, academics and support, etc.
Personally, we found that the way the admissions reps presented themselves was a pretty accurate representation of the cultures at their schools. Some of those first impressions made us cross schools off the list right away. On the plus side, the fairs introduced us to schools we had never heard of before, and we ended up visiting some of those schools.
Our son attended the TSAO fair when it came to town for the express purpose of interviewing with two of the schools so we didn’t have to travel to them. The interviews were booked in advance, and he filled out an online profile/conversation form beforehand. Ironically, he ended up at a school that wasn’t on his list because the rep for that school meaningfully engaged him and got him excited about their programs. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to interview with her at the fair and ended up having coffee with an alum a few weeks later, but he got very interested in Choate at that event even though he had never heard of the school at that point.
So, yes, @buuzn03, you can definitely window shop. That’s the main purpose of these fairs IMO. If your daughter knows in advance that she will be applying to any of the represented schools and those schools will conduct interviews at the fair, then I think it’s a great idea to do so if she’s ready. I also agree with @dramakid2 that the fairs are a good way to gather a lot of information in a short period of time. Definitely go if you can.
Have fun and good luck!
@dramakid2 believe it or not, I did research and saw a post from you a while back skimming this topic! 
I just want us to be prepared…i.e. Not show up in tshirts and flip flops (not that we would) or conversely, dressed to the hilt. I also wasn’t sure how much “memory” these schools might have, should I happen to have one of my all-famous “buuzn” moments…lol. I can just picture two years from now at an official interview “haven’t I met you before?? You remind me of a time when ___________. Are you sure that wasn’t you!!!” =))
We had planned on going to the Dallas event this fall. I woke up this morning remembering that, and checked the website. Alas, it is today. Oh well. We’ve had a bit going on the past few weeks…hopefully, they will have a spring event.
Thanks also, @ChoatieMom as we were hoping to use the fair for just such a “weeding out and/or planting a seed” (cultivating our garden is better said) experience. I’m glad to know we weren’t too far off in that approach. I had just mainly heard of people actually interviewing at these events, which made me somewhat cautious.
We have a secondary school fair at my kids’ K-8 school each fall, so we’ve attended several times. At ours it is not a time when they schedule interviews, but you can talk to the AOs as much or as little as you want and gather a lot of information. My kids used it as a time to “practice” speaking with the AOs, and they went prepared with a handful of questions as conversation starters (though as at interviews, the AOs are very easy to talk with). The kids attended in interview-appropriate outfits, though i’m Less clear on what that means for girls. Enjoy!
I’ve posted our memorable moment from the fair several times. In our son’s Andover interview, he told Bill Leahy, the AD at the time, that Exeter was his first choice. Bill said, "Did you mean “Andover?” and our son earnestly replied, “No sir, Exeter is my first choice.” Bill said he’d admit him just for honesty and the best laugh he’d had in a long time.
Sigh. Boys.
Our local fair (45 min away) was huge for us. We got info on multiple schools, met AOs and local alumni that ultimately interviewed my son and were major advocates for him being accepted. I suspect that reps at fairs outside of NE have an interest in identifying good candidates to promote geographic diversity. They also clearly remembered us from the fair…so be on your best behavior.
@buuzn03 …therefore, I’m glad I wore my leather flip-flops and not my canvas ones.
Our first TSAO event I am embarrassed to admit, we went with a resume format handout for our son- complete with his photo. Just found a copy of it as we were cleaning out old files. Our younger kids were horrified to see this and super thankful we only used this approach once.
Should we be prepared for interviews at this time? → If you arrange early enough, you may be able to get 1~2 interview with schools that you won’t be able to visit later for an interview.
Should she have basic information readily available? → I believe it will make a difference if she knows enough about a school to ask a genuine and meaningful question specific to the school and herself. The school won’t be asking her academic states at the fair.
Can we just window shop? → Absolutely. However, there are not many schools and not many attendance. And there won’t be too many applicants for each school. At least not too many to prevent those AO’s to remember you and your daughter anyway. It’s better to be ready to give a better first impression even if you only plan to window shop.
Is it worth a 6 hour one-way drive to go or are there better options? → It’s worth. And it will be more worth if you are prepared and share ride. Better yet, if you had already visited and interviewed at a school, you can use the fair as an opportunity to connect with the AO.
I have seen overdressed parents and kids but I don’t think it had any negative impact on their admission. Well dressed people are always eye pleasing. I would wear business suit if I were to do it again. For your daughter, read other threads like this;
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-chances/1398507-what-to-wear-for-the-interview.html
Or go to the school’s website and social media to see what style their students are wearing.