What to Expect at a College Fair

College fairs are scary. You walk into a big auditorium or gym or other multi-purpose room that's crowded with tables and people. You're telling me I actually have to talk to these college people? I can't just take their papers and run? What's this information card they're telling me to fill out? Did I just sell myself to Lehigh University?




Actually, college fairs aren't that bad. I was just at one this week, and it was a new experience, but it wasn't too scary. If you're planning on visiting one of these things sometime in the future though, here's my post on what to expect at a college fair.

For starters, you can expect to be asked a lot of questions. The three main ones are:

"Do you have any questions?"
If the person at the booth really has no idea what they're doing, they'll ask you this question first. I don't know why, so please don't ask me. But unless you came up with a list of specific things you want to know about each and every school you talk to, you'll probably end up answering this question with "no." The way I see it is this: You probably don't know anything about this school yet, so you have no knowledge to base your questions on. Plus, as my dad pointed out to me later, it's a bad idea to ask a closed-end question.

"Are you a junior or a senior?"
I understand wanting to know what year of high school a potential student is in, but does it always have to be junior or senior year? As some of you may already know, I'm a sophomore. So when people at college fairs ask me if I'm a junior or senior, I just feel the tiniest bit neglected. I don't mind  that people are asking me what year I'm in, but does it have to be junior or senior year?

"What are you thinking of studying?" / "What do you think you want to major in?"
This question actually isn't so bad as it is repetitive. Every person you talk to is going to ask you this question, so you should be prepared with an answer. If you haven't decided for sure what you want to study, that's okay. Even so, it's nice to at least have an idea of what you might want to do.

Click the jump for more!

Being Cyberschooled, Part 2

I'm back! In case you missed last Friday's post, I talked about the pros of being cyberschooled. This week, I've got the cons of cyberschooling. Are you ready? Actually, the bigger question is if I'm ready. Seriously. The School Loyalty Police might hunt me down if they read this.

Okay, not really, but let's just be honest with each other here. Every form of schooling has its drawbacks. Whether you're homeschooled, cyberschooled, or go to a public or private school, there are going to be some good parts and bad parts. Some forms work better for some people.

Anyway, that's all to say that just because I'm talking about the cons of cyberschooling, it doesn't mean I hate the system. Although it isn't perfect, it's something that works well for me, and I enjoy it. Although, between you and me, sometimes I wonder how I'd handle going to "real school." I'd probably get in trouble. A lot.

With that out of the way, the three major drawbacks of cyberschooling are after the jump!

Being Cyberschooled, Part 1

Hello everyone! I've decided to do a two-part post on being cyberschooled, which means Part 1 is this week, and Part 2 will be posted next week. So... here goes nothing!

I'm actually not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm a cyberschooler, and I have been ever since kindergarten. If you're unfamiliar with that term, it basically means that I go to a public school, but I do at home from my computer. I have online classes to be in at certain times, I have assigned things to read and projects to work on just like any other high school student. Except for the part that, well, I can do it in bed.

So this week I have the pros of being cyberschooled. Next week, the cons. Simple idea, right?