College Fair Educates

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the out-of-state college fair was held in the Porthole Theater and mall by the Regional Admission Counselors of California (RACC), which represents schools across the nation as well as around the world.

Although there was a small turnout, the fair was very informative and helpful for students seeking answers to their out-of-state college questions.

The first hour of the fair consisted of a slideshow presentation with statistics and reasons why considering an out-of-state college might be the right decision for students.

Jordan Burner from the University of Tennessee, who led the first part of the presentation, explained that more and more students from California are graduating from high school each year, increasing the competition and lowering the acceptance rates at colleges in California.

With 1,290 public high schools and 1,000 private schools in California, the number of high school graduates going onto college is very high. Jordan informed the attendees that “27,300 California high school graduates started college at an out-of-state, four-year university in 2010, up 90% from 2000.”

She argued that if resources, such as FAFSA, loan programs and college aid are used properly, out-of-state tuition would not be as financially straining as some in-state schools.

In addition to reviewing the benefits of attending an out-of-state university, she went over the facts every student interested in college should know about their dream schools such as class size, majors, extra curricular activities and weather.

She also stressed the importance of knowing your own academic strengths, such as your average GPA and your SAT/ACT test scores. Jordan explained the “three-tiered list” which consisted of how a student should measure their reach schools, target schools and likely schools and the importance of reviewing your desired schools’ admissions profile before applying.

The second half of the presentation was led by multiple members of the RACC, where each represented one out-of-state school.

Each representative was allotted time to give a quick preview of their school with information such as student-to-teacher ratios and popular majors. Schools spanned more than 15 states, ranging from Hawaii Pacific University to Syracuse University in the state of New York.

Booths were set up in the mall for students to browse each school and talk face-to- face with the representatives. Informational handouts and brochures for the out-of-state schools were given to interested students. College fairs continue to help ease the stress of planning for college with real school representatives and new, helpful information.