Taming the college fair in 3 easy steps. Step 1: Prepare for it

“I was overwhelmed!”  That’s one of the most frequent comments made by students after they attend their first college fair.  Having walked around the room looking like a deer caught in the headlights, they stumble out hours later with a bag full of brochures and a memory of talking to lots of college representatives, but no clue who said what.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  It’s all about preparing, doing, and following through.

Start at your high school guidance office.  

• If you don’t already know, ask for the website where you can find the most accurate list of schools that are participating in the fair.  You can click on the link for the list of schools for the 2009 PNACAC Spring College Fair in Seattle.
• Ask your counselor if you will need your own personal bar code to take with you to the fair.  (This is the wave of the future because by simply scanning your bar code, the college gets everything they need to stay in touch.)  
• If you’ve spoken to your counselor about college before, you may want to ask for recommendations of schools to talk to at the fair.

Back at home

• Print out a list of the participating schools.  Highlight schools recommended by your counselor, as well as any other schools you are already interested in.
• Do a simple college search to identify any other colleges that might have what you’re looking for.  Unless you are looking for something very specific (i.e. women’s ice hockey), you might consider using criteria such as location, size, and major, if you know what that might be.  Highlight these schools as well.
• Do some research on all the schools you have highlighted on your list.  Eliminate any that are obviously not what you’re looking for  (i.e. a women’s college, if you happen to be a guy).
• Compile a final list of schools you definitely want to talk to at the fair.  Keep it to a reasonable number –maybe 10 or so.  Remember, you’ll have a limited amount of time.
• Make a list of questions (1 or 2) you want to ask each college rep.  Not sure what to ask?  Check out the article: College Fair Questions: Insider Secrets from a Former College Representative by Grace Fleming.
• If the college fair you are attending is not using bar codes, make a sheet of self-adhesive address labels that include your name, address, email address, phone number, high school, and year of graduation.  This will save you from having to fill out the same info on contact cards for each college visit with.
  
• Decide whether or not a family member will be attending the college fair with you. 

What to take with you

• The list of schools you want to visit with
• The questions you want to ask
• A notebook to jot down anything you want to remember
• Large paperclips.  (This is optional, but it helps keep business cards and brochures together.)

Got it under control?  Now you can head to the fair without fear of dashing through the doors like a dazed dear.