BY DANIEL LIEBOWITZ
The Greater Fort Lauderdale National College Fair was held at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Convention Center on October 12th to allow students to interact with admission representatives from a wide range of postsecondary institutions.
College Fairs are ways for students to get information about colleges and to connect with them. Instead of going to their website, you can physically interact with an admissions counselor and ask them questions about the college, experiences, and summer programs. By attending these fairs one can also demonstrate interest with colleges to make lasting impression on the admissions counselor. College Fairs can range from having hundreds of colleges to a single college all trying to entice applicants For instance, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale National College Fair, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, Nova Southeastern University, Purdue University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Miami, and many more colleges were in attendance.
College Fairs aren’t the only way to learn about and interact with colleges, but prospective students can also attend College Visits. While very similar to College Fairs, they involve a singular institution visiting Cooper City High School or a hotel in the surrounding area. They tend to offer a more personal college-student interaction.
“It helps (students) explore opportunities in both the admission requirements as well as talk to the college admission officers,” Broward Advisors for Continuing Education (BRACE) Advisor Christine Siwek said.
While the time commitment or transportation to the fair can be an issue for an already busy student, there are benefits of attending a College Fair or Visit. Students have the ability to speak with an advisor and have questions answered. Attending these information sessions help students make the critical choice of where they will be spending the next four years. Several factors that are considered include, but are not limited to, academic programs, athletics, fine arts, location, and cost. Talking with a university representative offers an alternative to navigating websites and traveling to the college.
“[College Fairs] are a good opportunity to not only expose yourself to more schools, but learn more about the ones you already know about,” Senior Joseph Torres said.
For more information on College Fairs and Visits in the surrounding Broward County area, you can visit the BRACE section of the Cooper City High School website.
