College fair tips

Greetings from the road!  I’m sitting in the airport, on the way back from a wonderful visit to Georgia as I type this.   Other than some much needed rain for a day or two, the weather in Atlanta and Augusta was quite nice.  Much of my time during this trip was spent at several big college fairs, so that’s what I want to mention in this post—college fair tips (great minds think alike Pat).

College Fair Tips:

1.  When you approach a college’s table, introduce yourself.  Admissions counselors don’t bite!  If you’re in a hurry we understand you might not have time to chat, but if you have questions don’t be afraid to ask us for answers.

2.  Bringing pre-printed labels with you will be a huge time (and wrist) saver.  To avoid carpal-tunnel and increase your college fair efficiency, use pre-print sticky labels which you can affix to colleges’ inquiry/mailing list cards.  Make sure the labels include not only your name and mailing address, but also your e-mail address, year of graduation, gender, and high school (with city and state).

3. If you’re with your parents, you should be the one to fill out an inquiry/mailing list card.  There is nothing that says “immature” like you standing around while mom and dad fill out a card with information we know you know.  [If your arm is in a cast, you’re except from this rule.]

4.  Think of a college fair like an exotic market full of free samples.  Resist the temptation to loiter in aisles talking with your classmates and instead spend your time sampling what all the diverse and varied colleges out there have to offer.  College fairs are an excellent opportunity to not just speak with the schools you’re interested in, but also interact with colleges you may no little (or nothing) about.  They might turn out to have many of the things you’re looking for in a university. 

Not only did this trip remind me of college fair pointers I wanted to pass along to you, but it also allowed me a few hours to play tourist.  A friend who lived in Atlanta introduced me to a local fish house called “Six Feet Under.” It overlooks the city’s Oakland Cemetery and has the best alligator bites you’ve ever had.  I also had a chance to visit the Atlanta History Center, which has a fascinatingly large and diverse number of exhibits related to many different facets of the area’s culture and past.  As an “Olympics-junkie” (Yes, I said Olympics-junkie) I went just to see their exhibit on the 1996 centennial summer games (which were hosted by Atlanta) and wasn’t disappointed.  The exhibit has an interactive trivia game you play against others who are currently visiting the exhibit, and a sports lab where you can “jump” as far as Mike Powell’s world record long jump or race sculls head to head against a friend (On second thought, maybe “Olympics-nerd” is a better description).

Olympics Trivia Game

   Atlanta History Center Olympics Exhibit

Kelli J. Powell
Assistant Director of Admissions