College Fair questions

oldmom4896
Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:36:42 +0000

I have represented my alma mater (state u. of NY) at college fairs. We live in NYC where there are around 400 different high schools of different size and rigor. At big, citywide fairs, like the one run by the State U. of NY and private agencies, with hundreds of schools in a convention center, there is always at least one rep who works at the admissions office. At individual high schools, it’s much more likely that there will be one or two alumni with a bunch of brochures.

In neither case was there any opportunity to take resumes, although there were students who tried to hand one in. But a list was kept or cards collected or electronic scans at the big fairs for students to be placed on a mailing or email list. So for schools that give brownie points for expressing an interest, it may be useful. But it’s a very surface kind of connection. I started working at these fairs when my daughter was a sophomore and I did a circuit of the room each time to talk to people at tables for schools that I thought she may be interested in, and according to whether there were reps or alumni, and how well-informed the alumni may have been, it might have alerted me to a school I hadn’t thought of on my own.

Of course it may be very different at places that aren’t as huge as NYC and for schools that aren’t as selective (very!) as my alma mater.