On April 15, Choate’s Worthington Johnson Athletic Center hosted more than 150 colleges and universities for the 2019 Spring College Fair. From 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Choate students were able to interact and speak with representatives from schools across the country and abroad.
The fair was the second of the two college fairs Choate hosts annually, the first of which occurs in the fall. College fairs allow students to explore a number of different colleges and learn more about specific colleges they may be interested in. Each college had its own table and provided handouts and presentations. Representatives helped answer student questions about their respective schools.
The College Counseling Office held a dinner with the representatives before the event to touch base and connect with them. They also surveyed the representatives to collect information about topics regarding admission and gap year policies that are not publicly available on schools’ websites. This information was then added to Naviance, a software used by the School to help students prepare for college and benefit students interested in a certain school’s admission data.
According to Ms. Marcia Landesman, Director of College Counseling, the goal of this event was to give Choate students more exposure to a variety of colleges and universities. It also provided an opportunity for them to introduce themselves and interact with knowledgeable admission representatives who could potentially end up reading their application to a school.
“As a whole, I find that Choate students are mature and well-spoken. This fair can be an opportunity for them to highlight those skills and make a good impression on the admission directors. This fair is also an opportunity for students to go beyond the guidebooks and websites and have a genuine conversation with someone on a deep and personal basis. I have also found that students will discover and learn about schools they had not originally considered applying to at the fair,” said Ms. Landesman.
Ms. Landesman emphasized that, in recent years, colleges have begun focusing more on demonstrated interest: the degree to which a student has expressed their desire to attend a certain college.
Fifth former Matt Lee, felt that the college fair was not all that he had hoped it would be: “It was an inefficient use of my time. It seemed to be more about getting on to the mailing list and showing demonstrated interested than finding out more information about schools.” Demonstrated interest can be shown through formal visits to the college’s campus or by reaching out to the school’s admissions office early in the college application process. “Some schools are starting to keep track of a student’s demonstrated interest. If a student has never visited the school, never opened an email from the school, and never spoken to an admission officer at the school, the college will think the student is likely not going to attend their school if accepted. As a boarding school, it can be hard for students to show demonstrated interests through activities such as school visits,” said Ms. Landesman. The college fair provides Choate students a chance to reach out to a school’s representative to demonstrate their interest, as well as talk to people who have first-hand experiences on campus to get a feel for the school.
Ms. Landesman said, “Good college counseling starts with self-knowledge and self-reflection. Students get to know themselves to understand which school is the best fit for them, and we, as counselors, help students to tell their unique story to colleges.”
