"The Central Kentucky College Fair, co-sponsored by Fayette County Public Schools and The Herald-Leader, was open for business last month; eager admission representatives and alumni from 162 colleges staffed tables throughout Heritage Hall. High school students poured in at a steady pace, most accompanied by parents. Some of the roughly 3,000 attendees had a well-thought-out plan of attack, although more than a few meandered. Roving groups of teenagers crossed paths with singletons; athletes, artists, cheerleaders, youth group leaders, student council leaders and just plain club members rubbed elbows as they tried to peer into the crystal ball that held a glimpse of their future.
Gary Martin, a now-retired counselor with decades of service at Henry Clay High School, sparked this phenomenon in the 1970s by organizing a college fair for Henry Clay students. Over time, students from other high schools were invited to attend, and eventually the entire affair was moved to the Convention Center. Martin sees the annual fair as a great way to encourage sophomores and juniors to begin their exploration and notes that some students eventually enroll at colleges whose representatives they first encountered at the fair. In today's world of online networking, the fair may seem anachronistic. But as Martin notes, where decisions about one's future are concerned, "The one-on-one is still actually the best route, I guess, to go. When you're doing things online, you don't really get a chance to talk to people face to face." Lesson #1: Every college search benefits from personal contact.
Educational fairs take place throughout the state and the country; they have inspired similar models for boarding schools, as some readers may have experienced when The Lexington School held its secondary school fair last month. Those who have attended these events know they are best suited for fleeting exchanges and initial information gathering. Having staffed college fair tables for years while on admission committees, I hold memories of hoarseness and contented exhaustion after busy evenings shouting answers over the din of an enormous meeting room. Seems to me it's easier to be on the students' side of the table; the students, though, may tell you differently. Lesson #2: The college search requires energy and focus, college fairs included.
"We view fairs as being the student's best way to become a higher education consumer and see what the best fit for them for higher education is going to be," said University of Kentucky's Jason Headrick, president-elect of the Kentucky Association of Secondary and College Admission Counselors. When asked to comment on the fair's benefits, Deana Ison of Transylvania University corroborated her colleagues' views: "These fairs are also beneficial for us to make contacts with students who are just getting started on their college search plans and provide them with valuable tips and information on the college search process." Lesson #3: College admission counselors are available to help, and are not solely "gatekeepers."
The longest lines of students waiting to talk to representatives seemed to be at tables for Duke, Elon, Murray State and Wake Forest universities and also, as one might imagine, for the University of Kentucky. Surprisingly, some highly competitive colleges with strong national profiles fielded only a small number of inquiries in comparison. Other gems on hand included some of the "Colleges That Change Lives:" places with somewhat more flexible admission requirements whose faculty truly do change lives. Centre College is the closest "CTCL" college to Lexington; Lawrence University in Wisconsin, Millsaps College in Mississippi, and several other CTCL consortium members were also available to talk with students and parents at the fair. Lesson #4: Exploring new possibilities and learning about places not widely recognized on a local level can lead to unexpectedly good matches.
Each college offered information about financial aid and scholarships right alongside their beautiful prospectuses. Inventive colleges in bordering states, like the University of Evansville in Indiana and the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Ohio, openly offered to match KEES dollars for students willing to cross the state line. Fifth Third Bank had a table at the fair to market its student loans and offered a well-written guide to financial aid to all comers. Lesson #5: While the cost of college continues to rise, plenty of resources exist to mitigate the financial pain.
Our community is fortunate to have had Gary Martin's leadership for this event year after year, as well as committed college admission counselors and alumni volunteers who wish to court our students. Did any students see their future last month at the College Fair? Quite possibly; at the very least, they found a window of opportunity allowing them to gather valuable information.
Jane S. Shropshire guides students and families through the college search process, drawing on over a decade of college admission experience. Send questions or suggestions to JShrop@att.net or visit Shropshire Educational Consulting, LLC at www.ShropEd.net.