5 hints on how to make the most of a college fair

If you’re a parent or student planning to attend a college fair, here are five hints to make the most of your time.

• Do your homework. Research in advance which colleges will be in attendance, and when you arrive at the fair, map out your schools of interest so that you can efficiently meet all the reps. You will have limited time – arrive early!
• Be prepared. If the college fair has a scanning/barcode system, it’s easy and fast to give your information to colleges that you’re interested in. If not, be sure to bring a pen to fill in colleges’ info cards. Print neatly so that you can be placed on prospective student mailing lists. Bring a backpack to collect materials in case the fair doesn’t provide tote bags. Create a “professional” email address in advance of the fair – you don’t want colleges to write you at cooldude94@domain.com, do you?
• Ask meaningful questions. You can compare apples to apples by asking different colleges the same questions. Bring a list of questions in advance. Ask questions about popular majors, undergraduate research, and faculty-student interactions – things you can’t find the answers to with a simple online search.
• Be confident. Assert yourself when you meet a college rep. Shake his or her hand firmly and let the college rep know your interest in the college. If you’ve visited already, make that known – or if you plan to visit soon, that’s useful information, too. The college rep wants to know that you’re serious. Take a business card at the end of your conversation so that you can send a note – email is fine, but use formal language! – again expressing your interest in the college and thanking the rep for the time spent talking to you.
• Take notes. If you can take notes in a notebook or on your smart phone in between conversations with college reps, that would be great – but you’ll be busy hopping from table to table, so be sure to take notes as soon after the fair as possible. You’ll learn a lot about each college, which could come in handy when you’re later deciding which campuses to visit and eventually apply to.

Keep your eyes and ears open for local and national college fairs in your area – and be sure to make the most of your time there.