Okay, so I missed watching the New England Patriots play in the Superbowl this week and watching my favorites, TB12 and Gronk, crush their opponents. While I admire their antics off the field, I loved their competitive streaks when playing. They demonstrated many valuable skills that can be applied when approaching a college fair! Like with any game plan, preparation is the key to success!
There are two ways to attend college fairs: in person or virtually. NACAC offers both options, and you may also have one at your school or nearby. Your guidance counselor or college counselor can provide that information.
First, get to the fair early to be on time when the doors open. If virtual, make sure to schedule appointments ahead of time and be in the queue before the meeting starts.
Second, know your offense, opponent, defense, and coaches and research the list of all the schools attending the fair.
- Offense – If in person, get a room chart, if possible, and start at the back of the room first and move toward the front. Everyone else starts at the front of the room, so you’ll be stuck in the same blob of people hoping to beat the crowds to talk to your favorite school. Go to your most selective or favorite school first, and wear smart/casual clothing. And PLEASE have a firm handshake (no floppy fish!) or do an appropriate fist pump (you don’t want to break anyone’s bones) while looking the admissions officer in the eye
- Opponents – other students angling to get questions answered by the same influential admissions officers with whom you’re hoping to speak
- Defense – anticipate your opponents’ moves so you can be prepared for when you have a moment to talk one-on-one with the college officer
- Coaches – admissions officers for the college whose table you’ve approached
Game Plan:
- Have a list of colleges in which you’re certain you’re interested.
- Are there other schools that you’re curious about? – in this football analogy, we’ll call them the special teams since you don’t know what to expect from them
- For each school, research their website (even the special teams) and take notes so you don’t get all the info jumbled up with the other schools
- Look at the following:
- Academic programs, research and internship opportunities, study abroad programs, student life, signature programs, clubs and organizations, and traditions – anything you’re curious about that you’d want to be involved with during your next academic chapter.
- Now ask yourself: Did I see or hear about something unique? Did I like most of everything but am unsure about something else? Was there a burning question about the academic program that would make me choose this school over another IF it had that one missing element?
- Admissions – do they have a minimum average standardized test score for accepted students? Do they prioritize Early Action students over Regular Decision applicants for spots in the incoming class? What percentage of the entire class is usually admitted in the EDI and EDII rounds?
- Write those questions down, PER SCHOOL, on a notebook page, a piece of heavy paper, or your phone. When you get through your opponents and have used your offensive (not offensive 🤪) skills to navigate the defense, and your moment has arrived, you’re ready to get the intel from that admissions officer you so preciously seek
- As with a good offense, you’ll also need some tools in your pocket. Make yourself a QR code on your phone before the fair. There are plenty of free options online. To that QR code, you can attach a PDF of your resume and your contact info. The admissions officer can then scan your QR code and instantly include you in their database as being clever and cool enough to know this technology existed (obvi 😉). You did an awesome job demonstrating interest! If you’re doing a virtual college fair, have your resume handy if you want to attach it to your registration with a specific school.
IMPORTANT! Make sure to do the following while meeting with the admissions officer:
- Get their contact info so you can send a quick follow-up text or email (that day, if possible, for some really big cred and to show you’re organized and on it!) thanking them for the time they spent talking with you and letting them know how much you enjoyed learning about x___.
- Manage your time – as much as you want to hang out with the Notre Dame team and talk about the Fighting Irish, you also have other schools you want to check out. You don’t want to be that person to get a red flag for hogging the table while also making a bad impression. If you plan on 5 minutes of quality discussion with an admission officer per school, that’s a success! Then, you’ll have made an impressive statement by re-engaging later in the day with a thoughtful text/email! Don’t worry. After the fair, you’ll have time to digest all the information you gleaned.
And as Gronk (who was in the National Honor Society, fyi) said:
“Just like any other game we’re taking on, we’ve got to prepare, prepare hard, mentally, physically.” Have fun at the fair. Spike that ball!! Let’s GO!!!
