As Arun and I gear up for our annual trip to NACAC, I remembered a conversation I was lucky enough to have with Llloyd Thacker of the Education Conservancy at last year’s conference. The subject was college fairs, and how so many admissions officers are under enormous pressure to generate student interest in their schools. Given that the vast majority of admissions officers we’ve met are smart, likeable people with a genuine interest in education and students, how could these reps use a college fair to really help kids make even better decisions about their educations and their futures (if these reps were allowed and encouraged to do so)?
Here were some of the ideas we discussed, (though I’m sure the best ones are probably all courtesy of Lloyd).
1. Don’t focus only on the features of your college–share the real benefits of the process of education (this one was definitely Lloyd’s).