College Fair by COD Newsroom licensed under CC BY 2.0

Attending a college fair can be intimidating for students and their parents, especially if they come unprepared. Depending on the college fair, there could be anywhere from ten to hundreds of colleges in attendance. Where should one start? If students come unprepared, they may miss out on opportunities to talk to colleges that could be great options. Therefore, students should prepare before the college fair to ensure they get the most out of the event. Here are some tips for a successful college fair:

Get to know yourself and what you want in a college.
Depending on the size of the college fair, students will not be able to visit every table. Students should get to know what type of colleges they would enjoy attending. Students must ask themselves the following questions:

• What locations would you consider? Do you only want to be a certain amount of miles away from home? Do you only want to consider colleges in certain states?
• What majors are you interested in studying? It is okay to have multiple interests or not know at all. If students have multiple interests they should search for colleges that offer all of the majors they are interested in studying.
• What size college do you want to attend? There are colleges that have only a few hundred students to colleges that have 50,000 students.
• Do you want to attend a college with religious affiliation?
• Is there an extracurricular activity that is very important to you?

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