Advice on College & Career Fair

[Anonymous]

Tomorrow night, Arlington County is hosting its College & Career night. I'm planning to go with my junior daughter, but to be honest, I'm not really sure what one does at College Night. I have some stupid questions:
Should she dress up?
Wander from table to table, or target certain ones?
Is their time for one-to-one discussions, or is it really more just to grab brochures?
Should we come prepared with a list of schools and a list of questions?
Do parents participate, or is it mainly geared to the kids?
Oh, and my daughter wants to know if there's swag (cups, pencils, candy, etc.)

Thanks for any advice from anyone who's had recent experience!

[Anonymous]

My experience isn’t recent, but it’s less than 5 years old. Honestly, I thought it was a waste of time. It is crowded, and hard to navigate and for us, there were very few schools we were actually interested in. It was at Washington Lee when. We went so maybe the layout is better at Wakefield.

No, your daughter doesn’t need to dress up, and yes, there is some swag, but it’s kind of lame. Re targeting:I think you can just meander down the rows and stop at the ones that interest you

[Anonymous]

Waste of time. Strivers will try to get noticed (for some reason) and suck up to the reps.

[Anonymous]

Of course it’s geared towards kids. And perhaps those few adults that want to go back to school. You are so going to stick out and look like a helicopter parent there.

[Anonymous]

My son went last year as a junior (I did not go with him) and will stop in tonight to talk to reps from schools he is applying to.

Your daughter does not need to dress up.

Parents do not need to go, and it's probably better if your daughter does this on her own.

It's useful for a couple of things - getting info on colleges she's potentially interested in, and making contact with reps for colleges she's definitely interested in.
Some colleges care more than others about "demonstrated interest," and talking with a rep at a college fair is one way to demonstrate interest. For colleges she thinks she is interested in, it's worthwhile to ask the rep a few questions about programs and majors she's interested in, extracurriculars she's interested in, what the atmosphere at the school is like, and whether a rep will be visiting her high school this year or next year.
For colleges she might be interested in but isn't as sure, she could just pick up their brochures, and ask questions if she has some.

It'll be very crowded, with booths or tables for many colleges, so it'd be a good idea for her to look ahead of time at the list of schools that will be there, and decide which ones she wants to visit.
The list is here: https://www.apsva.us/beyondAPS/

[Anonymous]

OP, you got some cynical answers above. Wow.

My DD and I went to the FCPS college fair on Sunday at Fair Oaks Mall (yeah, it was a huge fair--probably 100 colleges and universities had tables there? And the place was packed). I would disagree with the posters above; it was pretty useful for us and especially for our own junior DD.

I don't know how the Arlington college and career night is done but if it's the kind of fair where colleges have tables with representatives, here's how I'd respond to you:

Dress up? Only if she wants to. Kids were wearing shorts and t-shirts and some wore dressier stuff. Most were casual.

Wander or target? Absolutely target specific schools at the start! Can you get a list of participating colleges in advance? FCPS had a list online and my DD highlighted several schools whose tables she wanted to visit. If it's a large fair, you are going to waste a ton of time if you just wander. Have your kid identify a few schools and go see those first, then wander. If there is a map available showing which schools are where, that's even better -- have your DC mark the locations for the schools of greater interest so DC doesn't miss them. Be sure to wander at the end, though. We just happened to pass by tables for two small colleges DD and I hadn't even really thought about but things caught our eye--in one case, a big brochure about her field of interest, in the other case, I knew the college's name as some friends had gone there. DD ended up intrigued by both and is going to find out more about them after talking to their reps.

Is there time for one on one discussions? Yes. DD was interested in three liberal arts colleges and frankly they weren't getting hordes of people lining up to grab things, so we had time to talk with the reps. The reps are there to sell the colleges to the students and parents -- so your kid has the power here; they want to talk to your DD and want to hear questions. No question is stupid! These reps know that many kids and parents there have never heard of their schools so even the most basic question is not going to be treated as dumb, OP....DD had fairly long talks with three reps for different colleges and was impressed enough that she now wants to visit two of those three.

With some colleges it was impossible to do more than grab brochures because the tables were mobbed five people deep all the way around (Va Tech, Michigan, Northwestern and most of all UVA, which had two lines, each about 40 people long, at one point--we skipped it anyway). At one large-university table that was very busy, DD did get to ask a question and got a good reply from a rep. If your DD is interested in large, in-state schools, you had better get there early and make a beeline for those tables first if you want to engage the reps for more than a few moments.

I think I've covered the next question -- yes, come with your list of schools and a few key questions. If there's a true deal-breaker for your DD, know what that is. For instance, if your DD absolutely would never want to go to college in a huge urban environment, you don't even look at schools that are in the middle of cities. Questions -- my DD had a specific one she asked at all the schools in which she was interested, related to a particular major.

Do parents participate? At the FCPS fair Sunday, yes. I kind of tried to hang back and let DD walk up, ask questions, etc. but frankly as the night went on I did ask questions too. I heard parents asking about financial aid and housing, while teens were asking more about majors and programs, generally speaking. Reps addressed both parents and kids equally but did seem to try to focus on the kids! Do go around with your DD unless she really strongly wants you to leave her to do her own thing. The PP who said "you are going to stick out and look like a helicopter parent" -- well, that certainly wasn't the case at the college fair on Sunday, where it seemed most teens had a parent nearby, though some parents didn't stick closely to their kids.

Swag? A bit. Pens or stickers, mostly. Sorry for your DD but no cups or candy! I think they've all spent too much on the fantastic, huge brochures to have money left for swag....

I hope this was helpful, OP. It may be helpful as it was for us, or it may be a wash. A lot may depend on what schools are there and how busy it is. I hope your DD gets something out of it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Some colleges care more than others about "demonstrated interest," and talking with a rep at a college fair is one way to demonstrate interest. For colleges she thinks she is interested in, it's worthwhile to ask the rep a few questions about programs and majors she's interested in, extracurriculars she's interested in, what the atmosphere at the school is like, and whether a rep will be visiting her high school this year or next year.

Same PP: for showing "demonstrated interest," that works if the reps write down her name. Some may do that (some did when my son asked them questions last year), some won't, and in that case I wouldn't ask them to or worry about being noted as showing "demonstrated interest" at the fair.

There will be other opportunities to show demonstrated interest for the schools she ends up wanting to apply to: visiting them if she can, going to their website and requesting information (checking off particular areas, so they send her info on biology or history or whatever departments she checks), going to the session at her school when the rep visits and gives a presentation, etc. This is just one other way to do that, and to get answers to general or specific questions she may have about the schools.

I don't think it's terrible if you go, but it's not necessary and might be a slight negative. But if your daughter strongly wants you to go, you could. If you do, though, let her ask most or all of the questions and take the lead in any discussions with reps. (This will serve you well on college visits, too, where you will want to go with her - and colleges expect that many parents will come - but she can take the lead on questions and can go to some sessions, visit classes, etc., without you.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think it's terrible if you go, but it's not necessary and might be a slight negative. But if your daughter strongly wants you to go, you could. If you do, though, let her ask most or all of the questions and take the lead in any discussions with reps. (This will serve you well on college visits, too, where you will want to go with her - and colleges expect that many parents will come - but she can take the lead on questions and can go to some sessions, visit classes, etc., without you.)

Same PP - after reading the helpful post from the parent who went to the FCPS fair, I think I've changed my mind on this. It's probably fine for you to go as long as your daughter does more/most of the talking and you don't take over (but OK for you to ask some questions, especially as the previous poster noted about financial aid, housing, etc. which your daughter may be less likely to ask about).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think it's terrible if you go, but it's not necessary and might be a slight negative. But if your daughter strongly wants you to go, you could. If you do, though, let her ask most or all of the questions and take the lead in any discussions with reps. (This will serve you well on college visits, too, where you will want to go with her - and colleges expect that many parents will come - but she can take the lead on questions and can go to some sessions, visit classes, etc., without you.)

Same PP - after reading the helpful post from the parent who went to the FCPS fair, I think I've changed my mind on this. It's probably fine for you to go as long as your daughter does more/most of the talking and you don't take over (but OK for you to ask some questions, especially as the previous poster noted about financial aid, housing, etc. which your daughter may be less likely to ask about).

Hi PP and OP -- I'm that poster at 10:01 from the FCPS fair. Regarding demonstrated interest -- we have done one college visit in person, in the summer just because we were close to a school of interest on vacation, and that college has sent plenty of mail since then and acknowledged the visit specifically. So I know that at least DD's name is on that school's radar. It can't hurt, especially with schools that are not sitting back and waiting for applicants but which are more interested in telling students about the school. DD says she and other kids get told at their high school to be sure to get on mailing lists etc. as colleges do note who has approached them for information, according to her counselors' office.

FYI, OP, the FCPS fair encouraged students to go online in advance and get a bar code that they then took with them, and college reps (mostly) had bar code scanners; the rep could just scan the code and the kid's name was automatically on the mailing list and marked as having attended that particular fair. OP, see if they're doing this for your Arlington fair.

If not, one good piece of advice I read was to have your kid print out a bunch of sticky labels with her name, address and e-mail address so she can stick those onto the colleges' paper mailing lists or information cards they'll ask her to fill out. We didn't use those because we had the bar code, but taking labels would save a lot of time that your DD would otherwise spend filling out cards by hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't think it's terrible if you go, but it's not necessary and might be a slight negative. But if your daughter strongly wants you to go, you could. If you do, though, let her ask most or all of the questions and take the lead in any discussions with reps. (This will serve you well on college visits, too, where you will want to go with her - and colleges expect that many parents will come - but she can take the lead on questions and can go to some sessions, visit classes, etc., without you.)

Same PP - after reading the helpful post from the parent who went to the FCPS fair, I think I've changed my mind on this. It's probably fine for you to go as long as your daughter does more/most of the talking and you don't take over (but OK for you to ask some questions, especially as the previous poster noted about financial aid, housing, etc. which your daughter may be less likely to ask about).

Hi PP and OP -- I'm that poster at 10:01 from the FCPS fair. Regarding demonstrated interest -- we have done one college visit in person, in the summer just because we were close to a school of interest on vacation, and that college has sent plenty of mail since then and acknowledged the visit specifically. So I know that at least DD's name is on that school's radar. It can't hurt, especially with schools that are not sitting back and waiting for applicants but which are more interested in telling students about the school. DD says she and other kids get told at their high school to be sure to get on mailing lists etc. as colleges do note who has approached them for information, according to her counselors' office.

FYI, OP, the FCPS fair encouraged students to go online in advance and get a bar code that they then took with them, and college reps (mostly) had bar code scanners; the rep could just scan the code and the kid's name was automatically on the mailing list and marked as having attended that particular fair. OP, see if they're doing this for your Arlington fair.

If not, one good piece of advice I read was to have your kid print out a bunch of sticky labels with her name, address and e-mail address so she can stick those onto the colleges' paper mailing lists or information cards they'll ask her to fill out. We didn't use those because we had the bar code, but taking labels would save a lot of time that your DD would otherwise spend filling out cards by hand.

And there you go! Another helicopter parent that will join you there!

[Anonymous]

The Arlington college fair does have that barcode option:

Student Registration:
Students have the option of registering online.

https://register.gotocollegefairs.com/Registration/StateSelect

Students will click on the “Student Register Now” link;
Select “Virginia” from the map;
Select the Wakefield High School fair offered by VACRAO on Oct. 17, and;
Click the “Register” button to register.
Once students register by creating a profile, they will print a barcode to bring to the fair. The barcode is to be presented to college/university representatives of their choice (registered with VACRAO), who will be able to access student information by scanning the barcode. This eliminates the completion of prospect cards at each table.

Participating C

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son went last year as a junior (I did not go with him) and will stop in tonight to talk to reps from schools he is applying to.

Your daughter does not need to dress up.

Parents do not need to go, and it's probably better if your daughter does this on her own.

It's useful for a couple of things - getting info on colleges she's potentially interested in, and making contact with reps for colleges she's definitely interested in.
Some colleges care more than others about "demonstrated interest," and talking with a rep at a college fair is one way to demonstrate interest. For colleges she thinks she is interested in, it's worthwhile to ask the rep a few questions about programs and majors she's interested in, extracurriculars she's interested in, what the atmosphere at the school is like, and whether a rep will be visiting her high school this year or next year.
For colleges she might be interested in but isn't as sure, she could just pick up their brochures, and ask questions if she has some.

It'll be very crowded, with booths or tables for many colleges, so it'd be a good idea for her to look ahead of time at the list of schools that will be there, and decide which ones she wants to visit.
The list is here: https://www.apsva.us/beyondAPS/

No, it's not. The colleges send a lot of alumni and young counselors to these things. They aren't going to remember you. These things are too big.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

One-on-one only if the Rep is not busy, and is receptive. I don't think there is any wrong way for your DD to handle it. Don't take it to mean too much if she feel overwhelmed. It can be very crowded. Since we were always looking at out-of-state I often asked the Rep, "so, how did you get here" I was interested in transportation ... airport served, etc. Some far away colleges were really out in the middle of no where , with no close airport, and would not work for our family