<p>College fairs, in my opinion, are useless (at least the ones I’ve been to). I learned NOTHING from fairs, and most of the information that I got, I could easily find online.</p>
<p>Most schools I applied to, I had to research online. Even this was a challenge.</p>
<p>Schools really need to make better websites with lots of pictures and multimedia (interactive tour guide like Rochester College’s).</p>
<p>I think smaller fairs, like the CTCL roadshow, can be very effective. And college fairs in areas where students may not be as savvy about the college process, or have it on their radar… But in our area, the college fairs are all in the fall of senior year, and that’s too late. Spring fairs make much more sense. I think they’d also be better if they had a short presentation about the search process at the beginning - guiding students with a few things to ask about - how to identify the right schools for them, etc. And a brief presentation on financial aid too. For most cc families, they may be somewhat obsolete, but many families aren’t as engaged in the process and don’t know the options.</p>
<p>Motherdear - We’re not Ffx, but neighboring, so have been to that college fair. It’s seriously insane. You must have an interesting perspective having been on both sides of the table. I went once with S2. He knew he was focused on e’schools so he’d scoped out schools to talk to on the map before we got there. The only things I really remember about that experience was him totally ruling out PSU because they insisted on trying to sell their 2+2 program that he had no interest in, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that one school might not be very good if they were offering him a free ride on stats alone. Just too foreign a concept for him. Of course VT, UVa, and W&M were swamped four kids deep. We decided it wasn’t a worthwhile event for S3. He’s done a lot of surfing websites, made a few visits, gone to some local information nights, continue to refine what he likes, and will visit four more schools over spring break. </p>
<p>I do think with the Internet the traditional college fair is less important. Obviously it can be very effective in some cases as with the HBCUs. Other schools should be taking notes.</p>
<p>I work large 2 day 300 college fair annually and there are strict no give away and no barkering activites allowed policies.</p>
<p>The CTCL roadshow was fun. It was in the summer, I think, because D wasn’t around( she worked as a camp counselor)
I went anyway by myself- she is first gen & it is a steep learning curve.
I chatted with Loren Pope who was remarkably spry considering he was in his 90s.
I was really taken with Agnes Scott college, but D had already determined " no womens colleges".</p>
<p>Are colleges not really getting enough applications?</p>
<p>Display famous alumni
Display easy ways to get aid
Offer instant discounts, sort of like the scholarship the person earlier here got when they showed their numbers. If the staff member is impressed enough with someone, either through numbers or simply from the encounter, they should offer a minimum of $500 off tuition if the person applies and is accepted.
Have staff members who actually know the answers to questions.
Follow up with every student in which they are interested, but make sure its personalized. An example would be having someone in the agriculture college e-mail a student who said they wanted to be a vet.</p>
<p>(Or run a cost-benefit analysis on doing college fairs and possibly discover your school should stop attending them, as they seem to be outdated.)</p>
<p>“How do we get to your University?” a lot of college reps don’t give a good answer. If I’m looking at out-of-state universities I want to know how my child will get there. Is there transportation during breaks from campus to an airport. Even if not university transportation, I need to know. And no we’re not going to drive the student across-country every time, and no the student will not have a car to drive themselves home. Out-of-staters pay a lot of money to be out-of-state, and I am also willing to pay a lot of money for my student to have a reliable way to get home. Telling me “students usually hitch-a-ride once they get to know other students” is not an answer. If I were a rep trying to recruit students from out of my area I would emphasize transportation. And if a university is serious about out-of-state, actual yield, they will make transportation a priority.</p>
<p>The article the OP linked to is completely useless. Most reputable universities are members of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, and NACAC has rules against doing the majority of all the advice they provide…ie. having extra reps walking around different areas, handing out items other than literature, conducting contests, etc… The policies can be viewed online here: <a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/about/Governance/Policies/Documents/SPGP.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nacacnet.org/about/Governance/Policies/Documents/SPGP.pdf</a></p>
<p>More useful information delivered more efficiently: advance emails (we’ve “registered” for college fairs held at our high school, then presented the barcoded ticket for scans as we visited tables) and follow-up; scattergrams which very clearly show admitted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected stats from the previous year; a list of unique programs or opportunities available; and a list of OOS tuition waiver/grants, scholarships and deadlines.</p>
<p>Also, just from our experience, either prepare the reps more thoroughly or make sure there’s at least a follow-up mechanism to answer the questions a student asks: DS got such a weak non-answer about the major he wanted to study (we knew the OOS state university had one) that we left the table concluding it must not be very strong.</p>
<p>It would be nice if you could fill out just one “interest card” at the entrance of the fair and then have it scanned at each table. All pertinent information could be contained on one common interest card - name, address, intended major(s), interests, etc.
If every school had a scanner, the student could fill out one card and just scan in the information at each table. This would leave more time for questions and information gathering. When we go to fairs I feel that we spend most of the time filling our paperwork!</p>
<p>National colleges fairs always have scanners. Also, West Virginia colleges participate in the “West Virginia tour,” which uses the same technology at high schools around the state.</p>
<p>But yes, as a rep, I would love to see every college fair use scanners!</p>
<p>My daughter went to one college fair. It was mostly a waste, but she did hear about schools she hadn’t heard about before, picked up their literature and–huge mistake–left them her address. We are still getting mail from those schools!</p>
<p>I do not see the point of such fairs when there are all these helpful algorithms on the internet to help match students to schools.</p>
<p>College fairs worked out very well for us. Our children didn’t go to them to discover schools they didn’t know much about. One daughter had known for many years where she wanted to go. Rather, we used them as an opportunity for the children to get experience talking with college representatives and learning what questions to ask. We try to provide them with plenty of opportunities to practice skills that they will need during interviews. For my son with Asperger’s, working on these social skills was even more important. We took him to several fairs just for that purpose.</p>
<p>By far, the best and most enthusiastic reps we’ve seen have been younger and fresh out of college. One school had a tall, very handsome, athletic-looking young man who could answer any question put to him. He was also approachable and down to earth. The line of high school girls waiting to talk to him was very long. That college knew what they were doing when they hired him.</p>
<p>"… a lot of college reps don’t give a good answer." Really, at time answers were embarrassingly naive. (I guess that’s why it’s called Marketing … wouldn’t want to offend anyone by providing actual information.) DDs collected many brochures, but didn’t apply to any of the schools. Wait, I have an idea … why not have booths manned by an upperclassman or two … persons that HS kids might relate to?</p>
<p>Why should I stop at your table? You have 5 seconds for me to scan your booth and determine if stopping is worth my time. If all you have is “name of college”, what does that tell me? What is your school known for? What differentiates your school from others? What is your target student?</p>
<p>The organizers should offer a screening tool. List your interesterest, and it prints off a list of schools that match your interests. Maybe highlight the tables on a customized map. It could also automatically send your contact information to the schools for them to follow up later. It could be done on-line in advance, and/or have stations at the fair.</p>
<p>It would be an alternative to having targeted college fairs. The one college fair that worked for me was one that was targeted towards voice (music) majors. Each of the 25-50 schools were actively interested in voice majors, and it was worth my time to find out what was different about that school.</p>
<p>“What is your target student?”</p>
<p>I think OperaDad is exactly right. When the booth shouts “GENERIC COLLEGE” there’s really no reason to stop. Brochures that tout “175 Majors!” aren’t helpful. And really, doesn’t EVERY campus has at least one photogenic building?</p>
<p>It would be easier if each school had something about them when we arrive. I know a lot of the schools already, but rarely see anything new, because I would walk right past a display, having no idea about a school.</p>
<p>For example…if they had where they are located, and a couple of details on a display. “Harvey Mudd, Liberals Arts school in southern California focusing on the maths, sciences, and engineering” Something that simple would help. </p>
<p>I like to know size of school, location, focus, before I even walk up to a display or go in to a talk.</p>
<p>Colorado School of Mines did have upperclassmen at the booth. They were very very helpful. Of course, they had both females there and the school has very few women. Maybe they are trying to target getting a better gender ratio.</p>
<p>What is it that you intend you ask/learn about the school, you already know of, in a college fair? Do you have a question about the school which can not be answered by visiting their web site?</p>
<p>I took my daughter to one of those fish market type fairs last year when she had just entered 12th grade.</p>
<p>If you are attending those fairs to find out what you need to do to get admitted … or to find out what kind of student they are looking for … the answer is pretty generic for all colleges … i.e: take the most challenging course load you can handle; do well in those classes; do well in standardized tests; find an extra curricular activity(s) you are passionate about and stick with it for few years; and etc … and it is often too late to act on that advice not only as a 12th grader but even as an 11th or 10th grader.</p>
<p>How I think they do help is by having representation by colleges we didn’t know existed. And I think those booths are staffed by some very well informed reps. Some of the more well known schools were manned either by alumni who graduated a couple of decades ago or by other volunteers or admin staff … wither way they don’t have the slightest idea how things have changed in their school in past decades and don’t have the answer to many questions.</p>
<p>Colleges already have the pool of applicants which is many times larger than what they can accept. So are they trying to lure more applicants for $75 application fee? I don’t think so. I think they want more applicants so they can boast their selectivity index and consequently their prestige (however misdirected it may be, but that is how it is measured by most).</p>
<p>I think</p>
<ul>
<li>that college fairs should be more geared towards the middle school students, and</li>
<li>that college fairs are colleges’ way of getting more students on their mailing list.</li>
</ul>
<p>On the other hand, I found those one-school-only admission information sessions to be tremendously helpful. They are run, in most cases, by the college admission rep for your region … the very rep who will actually be reading and evaluating your app when you apply, they know all about their schools, and the inquiries made by audience are all directed towards the programs, student life, financial aid about that particular school. It was all very relevant and informative and not just handing out the school brochure.</p>
<p>Our area, near a major metropolitan area, gets all types of college visits. We have the one-school shows (which I agree are the best) from schools all over the country. We also get a few of the multi-school traveling shows which I found interesting, and which usually exposed our son to a least one school that he was unfamiliar with in the context of other schools that he was interested in. The HS also has college reps meet with students in small groups during school. And last, and probably least useful, we have the college fairs. Ours was a zoo with little rhyme or reason to the attendance of the schools. Most of the schools my son was interested in were either not there or were so crowded that nothing meaningful could happen. Just leave your name and go on to the next.</p>
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<p>Based on a hint from somebody on CC years ago, we arrived at the college fair with a sheet of mailing labels with son’s basic info (name, address, e-mail, HS and year to graduate) which he could just stick on the info cards that the schools request you to fill out. If there was other info requested he could just write that in. I do love the idea of a scanable card, but we did it in the Dark Ages five years ago.</p>