<p>My older D found one of the colleges she applied to at one of those huge fairs. It had everything she was looking for, and she got in, though went elsewhere. My younger D and I have been to the much smaller HBCU fairs where at some booths the actual Dean of Admissions was manning the table. She’s had good talks with them and has added to her list as a result. We added another school after talking to this woman who was actually there representing a bank, but whose D was at one of the possible schools on D’s list. She couldn’t say enough about t and as she didn’t have an agenda, gave us the honest answers to some of the questions ad coms or recent grads might not want to daylight. So I do think the fairs can be useful, but I don’t think they can replace visiting (if that’s at all possible).</p>
<p>“My sensitive, violinist son still tells the horror story of his visit to the Hampden-Sydney table at a recent college fair. Cue old Southern white guy: “So what kinds of sports are you into, son?” My child: “Actually, I play the violin and I’m very involved in social justice issues. I’m taking yoga too.” SOuthern white guy: Dead. Silence. Big old stare.
GUess who didn’t apply?”</p>
<p>I would say you ended up getting very sound info. Not a fit and he would have hated H-S.</p>
<p>My daughter too found her college at a large fair. While she made use of the internet she never would have found this perfect fit for her if she hadn’t met the admissions counselor at a college fair.</p>
<p>I have staffed the table at a number of these events as an alum – both for Bryn Mawr and for Harvard. It’s a hoot to contrast those two experiences! I also attend them frequently on behalf of my clients. The vast majority of my interactions are very positive, on both sides of the table and for both schools.</p>
<p>I want to distinguish meeting a bad representative from meeting a good representative who shares information showing that the school is not a match for your child. The first is unfortunate; the second is actually valuable. It is usually a mistake to let one unimpressive/rude representative turn you off of a school that otherwise seems like a match. However, I do sometimes confirm at these fairs that school A is wrong for student B.</p>
<p>I visited both Clemson and USCarolina a few years ago and was actually seriously turned off by Clemson. The tour guide was terrific but the infrastructure so poor. Poor maintenance in dorms, a library that looked like it was last updated in the 1970s, and even new buildings (biology) done on the cheap. The only place that was updated was the fitness center ( true at so many schools, though.) The USCarolina campus was in much better shape. It made me wonder if education was even a priority if students did not have an updated and modern place to study (library) at Clemson. Perhaps I did not get the full picture from a short visit, but it left me wondering.</p>
<p>Both Spygirl and I were turned off by several reps at the one and only college fair we attended a few years back. There were two reps who were especially ill equipped to be representing their schools. The one from University of British Columbia couldn’t answer anyone’s questions, looked hungover and was bordering on rude. Another from Gonzaga didn’t know the answers to basic questions about majors, transportation, dorms, and was very flustered. Why any school would hire these folks and not train them well is beyond me. Thankfully, Spygirl did not let these interactions color her decisions. </p>
<p>I would think that the alumni that attend the fairs (of which I am one) would tend to be fairly motivated as this is an optional activity and we do it because we are supportive of our alma mater.</p>