Students gathered in the STEM commons on the evening of Tuesday, March 11 in search of the start of the next chapter of their academic lives. The College Fair organized by the guidance department, aimed to allow students and their families to familiarize themselves with many colleges and learn about the different opportunities after high school.
College representatives and alumni set up tables and gave out informational pamphlets to the crowd of students. Junior Golda Mark said that events such as these are important for students to learn about schools that they would not have otherwise been able to connect with.
“I think it’s important because not all the students have the ability to go visit these colleges and go on tours, and so if they come all in one place, [it’s a] more an accessible way for them to meet colleges and show that they’re interested in certain colleges,” Mark said.
Long Island University Associate Director of Admissions Jordan Malmstrom said that college fairs, like the one at the high school, help bring exposure to his college.
“It is a great opportunity to connect with students and their college counselors, to have students realize that there’s a lot of opportunities, a lot of schools out there, then there’s a lot of great ones,” Malmstrom said. “A lot of students are just trying to find a certain school where they belong, or resources or majors that are available to them.”
The College Fair is a good opportunity for students to learn more about colleges and determine whether or not they would be a good fit for the school, according to Mark.
“I kind of wanted to go because it’s really nice to connect with the representatives from different colleges,” Mark said. “I have a good idea of the colleges I want to go to and the ones I don’t, but it’s really nice to connect with the representatives, talk to them and also some colleges like Trinity Dublin is here that I wouldn’t normally get to go and visit so that’s pretty amazing.”
Junior Liam Coddington said that he attended the College Fair to get a better understanding for the schools he was looking into.
“You can get more information than [from] just Naviance,” Coddington said. “It’s very crowded, but it’s nice to be able to talk with people from there to get a better understanding.”
Malmstrom said that he enjoys meeting new people and prospective students at the fairs from a variety of different areas.
“It’s a great time to kind of figure out what their academic journey is, what their interests are,” Malmstrom said. “On my end, it’s enjoyable to see what they’re passionate about, what they want to pursue.”
