<p>my son attends a 2 year old math and science charter school in maryland. the administration would like me to organize a ’ college fair" to both expose the kids to varioous colleges and start getting our school’s name on the map. any hints about how to start one?? also i am planning this year to have the kids attend the national college counselor fall college fair in baltimore and will keep my eye out for the colleges that change lives tour…</p>
<p>One way to help attract college reps is to piggyback on fairs already scheduled–this are fairs that college reps may be planning to travel to anyway, or would travel to if they had a number of fairs they could cover on the same trip. For example, a lot of the major high schools in Dallas schedule their fairs in the same week (albeit on different nights!)–so reps pack their bags and plan to be there all week. It’s very efficient for those who travel.</p>
<p>If you’re a small school, you might be better off trying to go in with other smaller charter schools in your area. You want to make it worth the while of the colleges invited, and that will only be true if there is a critical mass of college-bound students who will attend. If you want to put your school “on the map,” then you could host it at your facility, but include other high schools in the area which don’t already have a college fair.</p>
<p>Get your son’s guidance counselor involved. Odds are an admissions rep will respond faster and more favorably to an adult.</p>
<p>That said, Maryland, especially Montgomery county, is a ‘good’ state for admissions, meaning that lots of top colleges take 5-10% of the freshman class from the area. So many college reps may be overbooked and unable to come.</p>