College Fair
College fair motivates upper classmenBY JORDYN WILLIAMS OCT 31 2014
College, a path chosen by some for their future, can involve four or more years of education after high school for students who choose this route. For many, college is neither a preferred choice for their future nor financially available, but for others it is a necessary step in the education process. For a group of about 100 Rose students, it is necessary.
The annual college fair was held on Oct. 21 at the Greenville Convention Center. College fair was a time for students to speak to admissions representatives from many public, community and private colleges in the state of North Carolina. It was also a time for students to learn more about the admissions processes, requirements and what these colleges look for. “Some of the universities that were represented at the college fair were: NC State, UNC Chapel Hill, Chowan University, Pitt Community College and North Carolina A&T,” senior adviser Bernetta Bradley said. Senior Rose students arrived at the convention center at 8:45 a.m. and were able to view those colleges until 9:30 a.m.; the juniors then went from around 9:30 a.m.to 10 a.m. These sessions allowed students to get valuable information from the many representatives present at the fair. “There were two sessions,” Bradley said. “We took the juniors and the seniors in the morning, but there was also an evening session where [college fair] was open to students from all grade levels as well as parents.” During the second session, parents were invited to a workshop to engage with the representatives and examine financial aid opportunities. A representative from the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) was in charge of this workshop. Though college is definitely an investment of time and money, many Rose students including junior Kayla Boston feel that it is an important stage in education. “College is a new environment, and I really want to be able to experience it,” Boston said. Boston went on to explain that college fair gave her an opportunity to get information from the representatives as well as ask them questions pertaining to particular schools. This gave her the chance to explore the colleges she was already interested in as well as new colleges that were introduced to her at the fair. “I’m mostly looking into UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte and NC State right now,” Boston said. College fair was not only a time for the students to get information about the colleges, it was also a time for the college representatives to get information on the students. During college fair, the students that spoke with representatives introduced themselves to the very people who would be making the decisions about their admittance to that particular college. “[College fair] is sort of like an interview; you go before them, and if you present yourself very well then they will keep a mental note of you later at application time,” Bradley said. For the seniors, this is the year that they will be sending in their applications for college, which puts added pressure on them to gather information and make good impressions. However, for the juniors, it is a time to prepare for the stress of college applications that will ensue in the following year. No matter their grade, it was a great opportunity for students to experience the basics of college admissions exposure, and for many it was a great learning opportunity. |
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