So I texted my nephew on Sunday to see if he wanted to come over for breakfast…I was making French Toast, one of my specialties. Ryan said he couldn’t, and proudly announced that he was at NACAC’s Long Island National College Fair at Suffolk Community College, Brentwood, NY. Like any loving aunt who has written a book about the college selection and application processes (College Apps: Selecting, Applying to, and Paying for the Right College for You), I told him to make sure to get his barcode scanned!
Like many of today’s high school seniors, Ryan replied, “What barcode?”
So, here’s the deal…for both students and parents…because parents will remember to look this up in the future, as students will usually only remember what affects them today.
As a tenth grade student, you should enjoy a college fair like window-shopping at the mall…take a look around, pick up some brochures, smile and ask questions, if you’re brave enough…and get your registration barcode scanned at each college’s table that you visit.
As an eleventh grade student, you should be a bit more serious in your tactics. Preview the list of colleges that are in attendance at the college fair, mark off the schools that you’d like to learn more about, and make a plan to ask specific questions about each school, majors and programs offered, and available job placement resources…and get your registration barcode scanned at each college’s table that you visit.
As a twelfth grade student, you should have a list of 10 – 15 colleges to which you intend to apply. Hopefully, you’ve already started those applications! While attending your final college fair, you need to visit those schools ON YOUR LIST! You should ask thoughtful questions to each of the admissions representatives that you connect with, asking politely for their business cards for follow-up…and don’t forget to get your registration barcode scanned!
Now, all those brochures that fill your bag contain great visual, graphic portrayals of historic college buildings, beautiful campuses and happy students. However, most of the information (aka data) is more readily available on the Internet…and much easier to keep track of using downloadable worksheets available on my website atwww.alysonryan.com and even easier to store in the College Planning Binder…which you can learn more about on my YouTube Channel, Alyson Ryan for Sayville BOE.
College fairs are a great vehicle for expressing interest in specific colleges, and this data is very important to admissions committees. So please make sure to get “credit” for driving all that way, spending your valuable time in a potentially cramped, sweaty sea of students and parents, tables and swag, with a traveling bandwagon of college admissions reps. And don’t forget to get your registration barcode scanned!
Trish Portnoy is a YouTuber, blogger, writer, app developer and high school teacher who helps high school students and their parents research colleges, understand their options, and make choices using resources from the Internet, guidance counselors and other helpful people.
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