Advice on College & Career Fair

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some good advice above. In addition, this is a good time for your child to walk up to representative, shake hands and introduce themselves (remind and practice this part) and ask questions or talk about the school.

They hate it when you shake their hands because of all the germs. They have weeks of these fairs to do and they need to stay healthy.

Giving out sway is not allowed at many of the fairs because it influences younger students. The military breaks this rule all the time, though, so if you want some junk, go find the military tables at college fairs.

This post really focuses on the important stuff! Swag and handshake germs. OP, be sure you give this vital post the consideration it so richly deserves....

[Anonymous]

OP here.
Thanks for all the helpful advice! We went tonight--it was fun and low-key. Just for reference for anyone else who might have the same questions I did, here's what I discovered:

Dress up? Absolutely not. Regular school clothes are fine.

Wander from table to table, or target certain ones? A little bit of both. I gave her a short list of colleges that I wanted her to take a look at--otherwise she just went where she pleased. Colleges were in alphabetical order. It might be overwhelming and unproductive to go in completely unprepared.

Discussions or just grab brochures? There was time for short discussions at some tables, but nothing in-depth.

List of questions? Nope--not necessary at all. She told them what she might be interested in, and they targeted their spiel from there.

Do parents participate? About half the kids had parents along. Many other parents seemed to be doing what I did--hang out on the sidelines and chat with other parents. I didn't accompany my daughter to any table.

Swag? No swag at all.

Not much handshaking.

And finally, worth going? Yep, for us. My daughter is finally motivated and excited about the college search process. If your kid already is motivated, or knows where they want to go, maybe not.