By Isabel Costian
In order for students to be prepared for upcoming college applications and scholarships, the College and Career Center held a College and Career Fair at the school library on Thursday during all lunches. Students had the opportunity to talk to college representatives and take information packets.
This year, instead of focusing on juniors and seniors, the College and Career Center wanted to include underclassmen as well.
“We want to reach out to all kids, 9-12,” College and Career Coordinator Jaslyn Greene said. “I hope the ninth graders understand that they can get scholarships and that they’ll want to get more information.”
Since the college representatives can give students a large range of information, with much of it pertaining to freshmen and sophomores, Greene wanted all students to be able to talk to them and make sure they are on track for their dream school.
“I want to see what colleges are expecting us to do and find out their academic goals for us,” sophomore Soheil Haftbarataran said.
The amount of Americans attending college is increasing, which means that there’s more competition for scholarships and more pressure to have nearly perfect scores on college entrance exams.
“I don’t want to get behind,” freshman Hisham Salahudeen said. “I wanted to start now instead of waiting for my junior year.”
Kansas State University alumni Charlie Cole agrees with Greene about how younger students should become involved in their collegiate futures. He comes to college fairs around the nation to inspire students earlier rather than later.
“I love interacting with younger students and people who are just starting out,” Cole said. “They have a lot of the same questions I had.”
If a student has a question about a college, the answers are usually on the college’s website, but college fairs are a way to speak one-on-one with an expert about specific questions and concerns. These experts travel statewide and sometimes even nationwide to spread information about their schools.
“I want to be the change that you want to see in the world by helping with the admission process,” said University of Texas at San Antonio Admissions Outreach and Financial Aid Officer Carlos Martinez. “It’s a really great way to pay forward and help my community and to help students reach their educational goals.”
If a student has multiple colleges they’re interested in, a college fair can guide students by comparing colleges side by side to see which schools fit them best.
“I think it’s great because it’ll help us with college in the future,” freshman Aaliya Stoman said. “I want a school that’ll really help me.”
There was a districtwide College and Career Fair on September 19 at the University of Texas at Dallas, but since it was on a Saturday, many students weren’t able to attend. Greene said she thought that the fair at the school supplemented the districtwide college fair well.
“It’s nice to bring the colleges here,” Greene said. “I just felt like the best way to make students aware was by bringing the representatives here.”
Even though freshmen and sophomores were encouraged to attend, the majority of students who came were juniors and seniors.
“Being a senior, I feel like college is the next step,” senior Adrienna Bell said. “It determines your career in the future, and I want to go to the best college for my career.”