How to Make the Most of College Fairs

If you’re a high school student approaching the college admissions process, you’ve probably been invited to or heard about a local college fair. But exactly what is a college fair?

College fairs are a great way for students to learn about colleges and universities in their area and beyond from local representatives who can answer questions directly. It’s a great way to learn about schools and their unique offerings, especially if you can’t visit the campus for an official tour or just want a more interactive option than browsing a website (that being said, students can now attend virtual college fairs if there are no in-person college fairs in their area).

Usually, you can find local college fairs by asking your school’s guidance counselor or simply Googling “college fairs” and your area. Depending on how many schools plan to send representatives, they’ll probably be held at large event spaces, like convention centers or gyms. These admissions office representatives often travel the country during the college admissions cycle to speak to students like you — so make the most of it!

Here’s what you should know if you plan to attend a college fair soon.

Image source: Nashville Parent

Preparing for the College Fair

College fairs can be overwhelming, so it’s best to go in with a game plan. While your interactions with representatives at a college fair are not guaranteed to impact your admissions chances, you will probably be interacting with the person who is reviewing your application, since the admissions officers who are in charge of your region are often the ones on the road. So, not interacting with an admissions officer much at a college fair won’t hurt your chances — but making a strong impression at one could potentially help you!

Here are some steps you can take to prepare for your college fair:

• Make a list of colleges whose booths you’d like to visit. You can usually see a list of participating schools in the brochures or other promotional materials for the college fair. Even if you’ve not created a formal college list (more info on how to do that in this blog post), you can still make a list of 10-15 potential schools that are most interesting to you so you can make sure you at least visit the top few schools on the list. College fairs are usually overwhelming, fast-moving events — if you’re not prepared to make the most of it, you may miss out on talking to representatives from schools that could be a good fit!
• Do your research, and prepare some questions. Now that you have your list of schools, you’ll want to do some preliminary research to see what further information you would like to get from these schools’ representatives beyond what you’ll find on the brochure. Get specific — look into the programs and majors that would best suit your interests, and think about what campus life actually looks like. Chances are that this representative is also an alum or can at least speak in greater detail about what it’s like to be a student on this campus.
• Look and feel your best. This may seem obvious, but you want to put your best foot forward at a college fair. Even if the college fair may take place after a long day at school or after sports practice, you want to give yourself enough time to refresh and wear a nice outfit (and don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes). After all, when you look your best, you perform your best.

During the College Fair

Once you’ve finally arrived at the college fair, it’s time to hit the ground running and put your preparation into practice. However, while it’s great to let the plan you’ve made guide you, don’t let it limit you either. Maybe there is a new school there that catches your eye, or a college representative asks you a question you didn’t anticipate. Take a deep breath and adapt accordingly. You may be surprised by what the diversion could offer you. You’re there to explore, so keep an open mind!

Key Questions to Ask College Representatives

Here are some ideas of particularly important questions to ask an admissions rep:

• What are the strengths of (your desired academic programs) at your college? What are the most popular majors on campus?
• How many extracurricular activities does the average student participate in? Do many extracurriculars have an application or audition process (especially if they’re performing arts-related)?
• What are the most popular student organizations or activities?
• How does your school support students emotionally? What mental health resources are available to students?
• What kinds of internship opportunities are available, and how does your college assist with job placement?
• What merit scholarships and/or financial aid options are available?
• What types of study abroad programs are available, and how easy is it to participate in them?
• What are the on-campus housing options, and is housing guaranteed for all four years?
• What is the average class size, especially for introductory courses? What is the student-to-faculty ratio?
• Can undergraduates get involved in research?
• How active and supportive is the alumni network in helping graduates with careers or internships?

Use this list of questions as a jumping-off point, and make it your own so it better addresses your interests and needs.

Making the Most of College Fairs

Nowadays, it can be so difficult to get face-to-face time with admissions representatives, especially at the most competitive schools, so attending a college fair is particularly valuable. Make sure you ask the college representatives questions that actually help you in your college search, not just questions you think they want you to ask. And make sure that you get ahold of the representatives’ contact info just in case — they usually will be handing out business cards to anyone interested.

Image source: Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling

What Should You Do After Attending a College Fair?

You also want to make sure that you walk away from a college fair with a clear to-do list for yourself. As mentioned above, you should get college reps’ contact information in case you have any further questions (just don’t use it to spam or send meaningless emails to them). Make sure you collect college brochures or at least write down the schools that you’d like to research further, and if there are any other events these representatives are hosting in your area, make a plan to attend if you’re available.

You can also follow up with your college counselor to see if any of the college admissions reps you met are holding a campus visit at your school. That would allow you to get even more hands-on time with college admissions representatives and address any additional questions that you may have forgotten to ask on the night of the fair. 

If you’re a senior, it’s usually best to get right to work on your college applications for these schools, bearing in mind the information you got from your conversations with college representatives. When it comes to working on your college essays, this information might be particularly useful for the “Why School?” supplemental essays, which usually ask for specifics about your reasons for applying to this school. Remember the facets of the student experience these representatives emphasized in your conversations, and think about which details resonate with you the most.

Common Mistakes to Avoid at College Fairs

Now that we’ve discussed what to do at a college fair, we’ll leave off by telling you what not to do! Here are a few mistakes that students make when attending college fairs:

• Don’t spend all of your time at one booth and/or ignore the smaller schools. You can almost guarantee that students will be swarming the booths for the most prestigious and popular schools in the country. Try to scope out smaller, less-known schools that could potentially be a better fit so you’re not wasting all of your time in line. Especially if there are fewer people at the school, the representative is more likely to remember your conversation.
• Don’t ask generic questions. The more specific you can be, the better. Show them you’ve done your research, as described above. If it’s a question that can be answered with a quick Google search, you might want to go for a more interesting question. Even better, ask the representative about their personal experience at the school, if they’re an alum.
• Don’t get distracted by your friends and/or just follow the crowd. You may be attending a college fair with your friends from your school. While that can make the event more fun, it can also distract you from the reason you’re there and convince you to stay with your friends the whole time, even if they’re at booths of schools you don’t like. It’s usually better to go with family members if you can since they have a vested interest in your success, but just be careful.

Conclusion

College fairs are a great opportunity to learn more about the schools that are a part of your college search and open your eyes to the sheer amount of opportunities out there. Using the tips above, you can make sure you’re seizing the opportunity to the fullest extent!

Want help making your college list? Schedule a free consultation today with one of our seasoned college admissions consultants.