Getting the Most Out of a College Fair

College fairs can be a wonderful opportunity to gather information, speak with admissions office staff members, and get answers to your questions all in one place. Plan to attend at least one college fair during your college search process and you will walk away with plenty of new information and resources to aid in your search.

Do your Homework
Plan to attend college fairs well in advance so you can select fairs that have many of your top choice schools in attendance. Find out which schools will be there and make a list of the schools whose tables you want to be sure to visit, as well as schools on a second tier list if you have time to check out more of the tables at the fair.

Be Prepared on College Fair Day
Dress neatly and professionally for the college fair–you don’t have to be formal, but you want to be neat. You can’t go wrong with business casual. Bring along a bag large enough to carry materials you collect at the college fair, a pen, and a notepad to write down things you find out. When you arrive at the college fair, find a map right away and plot out where you want to go first and your plan for the day. Many college fairs can be busy and hectic, so taking a moment to plan ahead will make a big difference.

Ask Good Questions
Spend some time looking at college websites before attending and prepare a list of questions that you have about each of your top choices. You want to ask good questions that you could not answer from the website or admissions materials. This will help you to gather information as you make decisions about college and also help you to stand out to potential colleges. Subjective questions can provide more interesting information than objective questions, like class size, which can often be answered from admissions booklets. Ask the people representing the school about the things that makes their college unique, their favorite traditions, and what college freshmen would say about their first year on campus.

Keep an Open Mind
While you want to be sure to get to all of your top schools, allow some time tat the college fair just to wander and see the other school’s displays. If something catches your attention, stop and ask questions. College fairs can be a great time to add schools to your list and explore options you may have not heard of in the past.

Team Sports and Learning Life Skills

Being part of a team in high school can be a good way to learn many skills that will be applicable down the road in college and in your career. Team sports provide a great way to stay active and be social at the same time, giving teams a built-in social circle that can be extremely helpful to high school freshmen and provide a great way to meet people throughout the four years.

Team sports offer leadership opportunities and give high school students the chance to take charge and be responsible for their own group. Serving as a captain or co-caption teaches planning, cooperation, and the skills necessary to be a fair and skilled leader.

Participating in sports also give high school students experience planning out their own schedules and making time for multiple commitments. Learning to balance extracurricular activities with academic work is a skill that will be critical to your success in college. College students must create schedules that allow for plenty of study time, along with extracurriculars, part-time jobs, and other responsibilities. Having a busy schedule in high school can be the start of a lifetime of involvement in things that you enjoy.

Even the closest and most compatible teams will have occasional conflicts. Teammates may disagree about something on or off the field and need to work through a difference of opinions for the good of the group. This is a valuable learning experience that is applicable in many areas of life. Friendships, study groups, and relationships are all built on the ability to disagree amicably and solve problems as a group to move past conflicts.

Teams experience wonderful wins and disappointing losses together. No matter which side is most common for your team, you’ll learn a lot in the process and develop skills to help you celebrate in the good times and handle losses with dignity. These skills will be valuable far beyond high school and help you to become a mature and adaptable person.

Sports not exactly your thing? There are plenty of teams out there for you. Consider joining an academic-based team like debate or the school paper. School musical organizations also provide a similar setting that teaches cooperation, leadership, and commitment to participants. There’s a team out there for everyone to match each individual’s interests and preferred time commitment.

Being part of a team in high school is a valuable experience that will stick with you throughout your life. There are many options to choose from and many ways to get involved and enjoy being part of something special.

Senior Year Planning for High School Students

Planning for the senior year of high school can be both an exciting and stressful time for many students. It is a time when balance is critical and students are working to maintain their current academics with SAT tutoring and solidifying plans for the years after graduation. By sitting down and planning out the senior year, students can ensure that they successfully maneuver this critical year.

Preparing college applications is a priority for most students and taking the SAT should be at the top of their to-do list. Students will want to begin SAT test prep early so that they will be well prepared for test day. Taking an SAT course or finding a program that offers SAT tutoring are both great option for students looking for ways to prepare for the test. SAT test prep involves studying the content of the SAT, becoming familiar with the format of the test, and taking practice tests. A good SAT course will be reflected through a student’s confidence and preparedness on test day.

It is important for students to plan ahead when it comes to choosing classes for senior year. They should not only look at their high school’s requirements, but at the course requirements for their top college choices. Many have preferences regarding the number of years in high school that students should have taken each of the major subjects. Colleges may also have requirements about foreign language and offer students a chance to place into a higher level or test out of a requirement if they have completed additional years of language in high school. Choosing to take advanced placement (AP) classes can make for a tougher academic year, but can also help students to test out of required courses during their first year of college.

Keeping up with extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, and volunteer work, can be tough during senior year, but can also help students to shine on college applications. Students may also be working to maintain a part-time job. Staying organized is not only the key to a successful senior year, but can help students to hone the organizational skills that will benefit them during college.

Students will need to work hard senior year to stay in control of their academic schedules and maintain a good GPA and SAT prep schedule. These will be important factors in their college application process. With a solid schedule, it will be possible to make time for college campus visits, extracurricular activities, and everything else that students will want to fit into their senior year.


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