How to Choose a College
September 2007
Step One: College Fairs
"C'mon
kids! We're going to the fair!!" I let them pile in the
minivan with images of scones, roller coasters and disturbingly large
cows dancing through their heads. I didn't tell them it was
the College Fair. Thank goodness we homeschool!
They'd had so many experiences going to homeschool conventions, that
their first College Fair seemed very comfortable. That's
because college fairs are just like homeschool conventions, but instead
of trying to sell curriculum, it's trying to sell a college.
A college fair can be a good starting point in choosing a college, and
right now is college fair season.
Arranged like a homeschool convention, each booth at the college fair
hosts a particular college. And like a homeschool convention,
most of the booths will have giveaways of magnets, pens, and
pencils. They will try to get you to take their
college "view book", and other literature about them.
Non-college vendors are represented as well. You may see The
Princeton Review, or The College Board or other organizations talking
about college admission testing. Stop by those booths, if you
see them, because they will often give you a free sample test to take
home and try. Those vendors are trying to sell you on their
review classes, as well as talk you into taking their tests (The SAT,
PSAT, or ACT, etc.)
Find a College Fair
The first step, of course, is to actually FIND a college
fair. There are a large number of college fairs each year;
some huge, and some small and specific. There are some major
national organizations like National Association of College Admission
Counselors (NACAC) that have college fairs. NACAC National College Fair
events are free, open to the public, and jam-full of college
representatives eager to talk to college-aspiring students.
You can find a fair near you from their website:
www.nacacnet.org The North American Coalition for Christian Admissions
Professionals (NACCAP) has a college fair of Christian
universities. Call 888.4C-FAIRS or check their website
www.naccap.org to find a Christian college fair near you.
There are also smaller organizations that have college fairs.
In Washington State, for example, we have the Pacific Northwest
Homeschool College Fair. Imagine having a college fair
specifically for colleges to recruit homeschool students! How
times have changed!! Some small college fairs are national, not
regional. There are college fairs that are specific to certain majors,
like the Performing & Visual Arts College Fairs.There are
groups of colleges that gather together to have college fairs, like The
Exploring College Options Consortium, which represents Duke,
Georgetown, Harvard, Penn, and Stanford in all fifty states and most
major United States territories each year.
What do you do at a college fair? Bring your kids!
This
isn't a time primarily for parents! Much of it
is centered on the students. Make sure they dress clean and neat, but
not necessarily dressy. You do see some teenagers that look
bored or frustrated, but in general the colleges are there to meet the
students. It can have a "job interview" feel to it.
Have your kids ask questions of the colleges. They need to
know if the college has the classes or major that they are interested
in. Not all college have a degree in engineering or French,
for example. Beyond academics, the student will want to know
if their favorite activities are on campus. It may be
important to your student to find out if they have a pool, a sorority,
or a piano in the dorm. They want to find out about academics
AND the social life. Have them speak directly to the college
representative. Some kids are ready for this experience in middle
school, but others wait until their junior year (11th grade.)
to search for a college. Fill out the information cards that all the
colleges have - unless you have decided that you are really NOT
interested. As with a homeschool convention, bringing address
labels from home can really speed this process up.
It's not all about the kids, though. Parents should ask
questions too! After all, we might be financing this
endeavor, and the colleges know that. Parents might want to
ask questions about homeschooling. "What records do you like
to see from homeschoolers?" "Do you have any special
requirements from homeschoolers?" You can gauge their
reaction to homeschoolers, and decide if you are willing to jump
through their hoops - or not. You may want to ask what kind
of financial aid is available. If you know your child's SAT
or ACT scores, you can find out if they have financial aid related to
their SAT score. If the student has a weakness, you might
want to ask about their area of weakness. You can download a
list of questions to ask when you are there, in case you get stuck.
Take a Class!
And just like a homeschool convention, there are classes you can take
at the college fair. You can take classes about SAT
preparation, financial aid, admission requirements, college life, and
other topics. For example, at the Pacific Northwest College
Fair I will be speaking on "How to find a college" and "How to get big
scholarships." Some of the information may be
helpful to you - and you can just leave the rest
behind. There are counselors available to speak to
your unique situation. Keep in mind that counselors have a
bias (as we all do) and they don't know your child. If they
recommend a particular college, check it out for yourself.
The counselor that we spoke to recommended an obscure college on the
other side of the country, even though our sons wanted to stay closer
to home.
When you leave the fair, bring home the bag. Sometimes you
will find some great information about colleges and financing college
in those bags, so it's worth looking through it. I found some
great information about scholarships. My son found some
concise articles about college life that he found helpful.
You can read the brochures from colleges that didn't attend the
fair. The purpose of a college fair is to determine which
college you want to visit. Whether you add colleges to your
list, or eliminate colleges, you are still working toward your goal of
finding the right college for your student.
No College Fair?
If you can't get to a college fair, there are other "first steps" you
can take. The College Board has an online search engine that
will help students find a college to visit. It's like a
college match-making service, available online. You can
search for colleges on FastWeb.com, which focuses on financial
aid. You can search with Peterson's, the SAT review company,
or through US News & World Report. There are lots of
online search engines! You can also find colleges by taking
the PSAT. When your student takes the PSAT, they are asked
some survey questions about their interests and grades. The
results of the survey are given to colleges, and they may contact your
student.
As homeschoolers,
we have the advantage! You will be a great high
school counselor for your child! Who else will know your
child so
well, and care so much about the college they go to? You are
perfect
for this role! You can do it!
Email: Lee@thehomescholar.com
Call Toll-Free: 1-888-LEE-2HELP
"Your transcripts and records were
the best organized and documented I have seen"
~ Bryan Jones, Associate Director of Admissions,
Seattle Pacific University
Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
