The Ultimate College Fair Checklist

Why Have a College Fair Checklist?

            Creating a college fair checklist can be a great way to ensure that you get the most out of your college fair experiences. College fairs are great ways to gather information about colleges you may want to attend and great opportunities to make connections and perfect your first impression. But the event can be a little hectic and overwhelming. Usually, you get one day, just a couple of hours, to get through several college booths, ask your questions, get an idea of what each school has to offer, and make deductions based on that. It can be a lot.

            So, what can you do to ensure that you make the most of each college fair? Our college fair checklist takes you through the steps to prepare along with some college fair tips to help you maximize your time at each booth and fair. So, let’s get right into it…

How to Prepare for a College Fair

            While the actual event is arguably where the magic happens, the preparation for it is just as important. This is the part where you refine your search.

            But, before you even start looking at how to prepare for a college fair or at the colleges that may be attending, you’re going to start by looking inward. And by inward, I mean at your email address.

Check your Email Address

            Before attending a college fair, signing up for anything college related, and definitely before applying to college, make sure that you have a personal email address that is professional. This is the email that you’re going to use to communicate with colleges, which means this is what they’ll see when they’re communicating with you or looking over your application.

            What doesn’t count as a professional email? Any email address that does not include your name or initials. You also probably don’t want to use the email that you created in middle school with whatever funny and dumb trendy “keywords” were going on at the time… It’s hard for colleges to take “skibidytoilet14” seriously and it’s really not a reputation you want them to associate with you when they’re deciding who gets to attend their school.

            Additionally, I would recommend not using your high school email address. Yes, usually it is your name, but often the school will cancel your email address once you’ve graduated. If that’s the email address you use to do all your college communications, then once you hit summer after graduation, you’ll lose access to all those communications. Not ideal.

            An easy way to set up a professional email address is to use at least your first name, followed by either your last name or the first initial of your last name, and a random combination of numbers if needed. Ideally, the numbers won’t be part of it, but if your name is at all common, it can be difficult to create a username that isn’t already taken. However, if you do have to include numbers in your email address, DO NOT use numbers that are relevant to your identity (including but not limited to: birthday, grad year, social security, etc.).

(for budget-friendly options, Gmail offers free email accounts).

            Once you’ve set up a professional email that isn’t middle-school-level humiliating or your high school’s property, you’re ready for the next step of the college fair checklist.

Do your Research

Depending on the specific college fair, you might have a lot of schools or just a few. If there are a lot of colleges, you’ll want to do some research on the colleges that are planning to attend or have a booth. Look at campuses, majors, programs, or anything that might be important to you, as a prospective student.

There are bound to be some colleges that interest you or have appealing characteristics and probably some colleges that you aren’t super excited about—and that’s okay. For this part, just get an idea of what schools are going to be there and what each of them may have to offer.

            Dress Code

During your research, you’ll also want to see if the college fair has a dress code. Some do, so it’s important to be prepared for this aspect and show up accordingly.

If there is no specific dress code, then dress smart. What does that mean? It means no crop tops, no ripped clothing, no shorts, no deep-V-necks, no graphic tees with inappropriate writing or images. The purpose of a dress code is to give a professional impression, so even if there isn’t one, take advantage of the opportunity to show up looking professional. Pants, nice jeans, modest T-shirts, blouses, polos, or button-downs are all great options.

Make a List

Make a list of your top 5-10 colleges based on what you want/are interested in. Your research should have given you an idea of which colleges are most interesting or offer something exciting to you. Maybe these colleges have the programs you want as well as a desirable location. Maybe their campuses or dorms are the most to your liking.

Whatever the reason, make a list of your top colleges from the ones you know are attending the fair. Then, you’re going to look a little deeper into each of them.

Make a Plan

            Now that you have your list of colleges, you’re going to come up with a list of questions to ask each college’s rep. It’s important that you looked through the website of each college carefully, so that your questions are unique and not something that can be easily answered from the website.

            Having intentional questions shows that you’ve done your research and are invested in choosing your college search. Additionally, you’re bound to be left with some questions about programs, student life, dorms, and the college in general after looking through the website. Speaking to a college rep is an amazing opportunity to talk to a living person and get personalized and primary detail.

            Here are some example questions you may want to ask:

• What kind of support does your school have for students looking for internships or how does your school help seniors transition into career roles?
• What opportunities are there for research?
• How is your school’s ____ department? Can you give me examples of alumni who graduated with that degree and are doing well?
• How does your school support students during finals with stress and overload?
• What is the school spirit like at your school? Are athletics events well attended?
• How is the student life? Are most students happy to be there? What would the average student say about their social experience?
• Is there a current student or recent alumni I could talk to?

            Once you have your list of questions, you can start making a plan for which tables you’ll go to first, and in what order. This is not necessarily a must in terms of all the items on our college fair checklist, but it can be helpful. If you know the layout of the college fair and which college tables will be where, you can map your way around. Otherwise, you can plan according to your order of preference (i.e. your top choice first, second choice second, etc.).

College Fair Tips for the Day-Of

            Now you know how to prepare for a college fair, let’s talk about some college fair tips for the day-of.

Take Notes

Grab a notepad and pen or pencil to bring with you. I know that seems outdated, what with everything being done on laptops now. But keep in mind that there probably won’t be anywhere for you to prop your laptop to take notes at each of the tables/booths, so something you can hold in your hand is better.

            You can also use your phone for notes if you prefer, but I would suggest not recording your conversations with college reps unless they say it’s okay. If you want to take voice notes after each table to record your own impressions of each school, that’s a great way to take notes. However you choose to do it, be sure to take notes about each college, what each rep says, and things that stand out, whether good or bad. These are important to refer to later when you’re weighing which colleges to apply to or attend.

            Be sure to ask all your questions, but be polite about it. Remember that you’re at a college fair with plenty of other students, and their goal is to reach as many students as possible. Not only do they need to be available for other students, but you also need to be aware of other students who want the opportunity to ask their questions and introduce themselves. So, take your opportunity to talk to them, but don’t monopolize their time.

            Ask your questions, be polite and active in listening, and make sure to grab materials from them.

Grab Materials

Most of the time at college fairs schools will hand out materials that give information about their school or little gift things. Occasionally, colleges will hand out monogramed stress balls, pens, or even T-shirts in some cases.

Those are of course fun, but don’t forget to grab the info-things as well; things like pamphlets, brochures, and guidebooks. These informational packets are the things that you’ll look back at later on to help inform your decision. Taking these also signals to the college reps that you’re serious about looking into their school, not just talking to them for the cool T-shirt or foam ball.

One of the most important college fair tips I can give you is to ask for a business card from the college reps you talk to. If they don’t have a business card, it’s okay to ask if they have an email address you can use for additional questions. This gives you a personal contact at the college, and someone you’ve already met. Asking for this shows that you are intentional and interested in pursuing this college and communicating with them. Keep this contact information for later.

Take a Breather

College fairs can be overwhelming, and there can be a lot of information to take in at once. Feel free to take a break between college booths/tables if you need to. Step outside, look over your notes or questions for the next college, sit down and breathe, and then get back to it.

Follow Up After College Fair

            Remember when you grabbed a business card or email address from the college reps? This is where those come in handy. You’re going to get those out and send them an email with a subject line something like “follow up after college fair.” In this email, thank them for talking to you and answering your questions about their college. Ask any follow up questions you may have, and you can even ask what you can do to stand out in the admissions process.

            Following up with college reps after the college fair is one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the mass amounts of students they talked to. This small action makes you much more memorable and can give you a primary source for application advice. You never know, they may even look out for your application.

The College Fair Checklist

            Alright, now that we know how to prepare for a college fair and know some important college fair tips, let’s put it all together. To simplify the process, here is our complete college fair checklist that you can use to make sure you set yourself up to get the most out of every college fair:

1. Setup a professional email
2. Research the colleges attending the college fair
3. Make a list of the colleges you’re interested in
4. Make a list of questions for each college/make a plan
5. Visit the tables and ask the questions
6. Collect materials and business cards
7. Follow up with the colleges you liked best

College fairs can be hectic and overwhelming, but you can still prepare for them like a champ and use them to propel you toward the colleges you want. Use this college fair checklist and get the most out of each experience; you’ve got this!

For more information about Christian colleges and universities, or to be entered into one of our scholarship drawings, visit us at The Christian Connector.