Our Collegewise business partner, Arun, who worked in admissions at Caltech and the University of Chicago, once described to me that a college fair is like a buffet. It’s a great place to go find a lot of choices to survey, but not great if you’re looking for a specific dish cooked just how you like it.
What he meant was that you’ll inevitably find dozens, sometimes hundreds, of colleges in attendance. You can easily have conversations with reps, learn more about schools that interest you, and get general questions answered about majors, basic admissions requirements, housing, etc.
But many students show up to college fairs and ask very specific questions, like:
Are my SAT scores high enough?
How many community service hours would you recommend I do?
Can I do study abroad if I’m double majoring in business and Spanish?
It’s not that they’re all bad questions (though colleges do cringe when students ask the “How much community service is enough?” question). But the people staffing those tables range from admissions officers to enthusiastic alumni whose only training is an enthusiastic, “Go get ‘em.” Without an actual application in hand, even admission officers have a hard time answering questions about your potential admissibility. And whether the person you’re talking to actually knows the answer to your very specific questions about the school or the programs really depends on the luck of the draw. Maybe you’re talking to an alumnus who actually has experience with what you’re asking about, or maybe you’re dealing with someone who really has no idea whether or not the pre-med advising office is open on Sunday mornings.
The moral of the story (and of the buffet analogy) is that while you should certainly ask any questions you have, please don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the answers you’re looking for. Think of the fair as a way to survey broad options, buffet-style, and get a sense of what’s available to you. File away the answers that you are able to get. And understand that to get your more specific questions answered, you’re probably better served by calling the school, attending a presentation, or even visiting the campus.
Here’s a current schedule of fairs and some past Collegewise advice.