This week I did something scary and new: I attended an SEC College Fair Tour without my son. The fair was in Dallas, and there's no way we would have made it from Stephenville in time after football practice
As an aside, proud mama moment: I asked if he wanted to leave practice early. Some of you football mamas are like, "WHAT? How on earth could you ask that?" well I got schooled by my 17-yo, "We've all worked hard to get to our positions and I'm not gonna show the coaches I take it for granted by leaving early. Plus, there's other boys coming for my slot, and I'm not gonna give them the chance to get it."
So I drive up there and immediately feel out of place being a) the only mama without a prospective college student and b) being the only mama in football attired. which leads me to Mistake #1:
Mistake #1: Thinking a College Admissions Fair Starts the Athletic Acceptance Package
Now, it's never a bad thing to cover all your bases, but I learned real quick that as soon as they saw he was an athlete most of the admissions counselors did NOT want to talk to me. Athletic admissions is a separate process. One didn't even want to give me swag (for fear of tripping NCAA gift-giving rules). I'm not saying that the "college fair" admissions counselors don't talk to the athletic staff, especially for smaller schools. So after an awkward start at the first couple of schools, I learned to lead into the conversation talking about band and engineering. Which leads me to Mistake #2:
Mistake #2: Being Unprepared to SHOW What You Want To Do and Why (even if you don't know)
Thankfully, I had this one covered! My son has always wanted to design racecar engines and for years has talked about mechanical engineering. And, thanks to my girlfriends whose kids went before me, I knew to bring a resume. Ok, let's be real: he's a 17 year old boy with girls, football, and fortnight on his mind. It wasn't so much a "resume" as a postcard with several photos of him and some quick "highlight" captions. If you do an internet search you will see many other great examples of a college-application resume.... I just didn't have that kind of time.
- If your student really doesn't know what he or she wants to do (or even what school they want to attend) turn that weakness into a strength: "My daughter is so multi-talented, she's currently working / interning / volunteering with 3 different organizations to really hone down what she wants to do." No opportunities to work, intern or volunteer where you are? CREATE ONE! It's not that hard, honest! Reach out to me and I can show you how!
- If your child's test scores aren't that great (my son's aren't) but they excel in other areas, be able to highlight to the school why he's an outstanding candidate. So rather than say "I did fair to middling on the SAT," instead talk about leadership and volunteer work.
But remember.... the admissions booth staff aren't there to pick next year's students. Which leads me to Mistake #3:
Mistake #3: Forgetting that the Admissiosn Table Team Are Salespeople, not (usually) Admissions Decisonmakers
So far, most of the college fairs we've attended had people from the admissions office working the booth tables. But these are not usually the people actually making a decision on whether or not your child will attend that school, especially at a larger university. Thsoe decisions are more often made by the committee which may include some admissions staff, some faculty, Some schools will use regional admissions officers (like the ones who come to a college fair near you) to do the initial review for packages in that area and send up the best ones for further review. I love this because we live in a rural area. So I absolutely want someone familiar with our dairy, ranching, and rodeo town to review that application. That said, their job at the college fair isn't to determine whether your student is a good fit. It's to increase the pool of qualified candidates. In other words, they are salespeople selling prospective students on how awesome their school is and why they should apply.
Keep these 3 things in mind, come as prepared as you can and you will be successful at the next college fair (even if your student can't attend with you)
Would you like to see the video I made about this college fair? Click HERE
