As seniors begin their final year of high school, they start applying to a variety of colleges.  College applications are one of the most stressful processes that a senior will experience–numerous frustrating and unexpected factors during applications can quickly become overwhelming.  However, Schreiber offers resources that help to reduce the stress of the application process.

One of Schreiber’s most useful college application resources is Naviance, a site that displays a thorough description of each college and its admission requirements.  The website also has a career finder which contains a survey, asking students many career-oriented questions, to see which path best suits them.  Most importantly, Naviance provides information on upcoming college representative visits, such as the location and period during which the meeting will take place.

Some of these college fairs take place during regular class periods, while other fairs happen during lunch periods.  College fairs that occur during class periods will not have many students in comparison to college fairs during lunch periods.  Seniors have many important classes and cannot afford to miss one.  Colleges should encourage students to attend classes and achieve stellar grades, as senior year grades still appear on college transcripts. 

“It would be beneficial if colleges moved their fairs to lunch periods because it will give more people opportunities to come. During senior year, you want to keep your grades consistent and not have to miss class for a great opportunity to see what colleges have to offer,” said senior John Funk.

Seniors cannot risk missing a single class because every class will contribute to their GPAs, and colleges are still examining their grades.  Moving these fairs to lunch periods will also prove more beneficial to colleges.  Holding the meetings during class periods will not attract as many students in comparison with the number of students present in the lobby during lunch periods. 

“Off periods are the time when most people are available to come to the college fair,” said sophomore Justin Park. 

If a particularly popular college hosts a booth in the fair during a class period, students who attend may miss out on important classwork. On the flip side, those who don’t attend may worry they missed important information at the fair. It’s a lose-lose for students.

College fairs occurring during regular periods require the teacher to mark the student with an excused absence.  Teachers only allow a certain number of excused absences for college fairs.  It is not fair for students to be limited to how many college fairs they are allowed to attend.  This hassle can easily be eliminated by moving these college fairs to lunch periods, removing the stress of excused absences when students have unlimited access to the college fairs.  They will not have to worry about missing class as it will not disrupt their regular class schedule.

Another reason why having college fairs held during lunch periods is more beneficial is because students can go numerous times.  If a student forgets to attend a college fair, they are still able to go during the next lunch period they have off.  If the fair was held during a regular class period, they would not have this option. 

Keep in mind, college fairs are not only for seniors.  Many students who are interested in college and have questions can attend a fair just to gain a sense of the college application experience.  Many students are in the hallways and lobby during lunch periods, so these fairs will certainly attract numerous students.

“College fairs would be better during lunch periods, so more people could check them  out,” said freshman Ollie Navo.

Holding college fairs during lunch periods will be the most beneficial for both the potential applicants and the colleges looking for their incoming class.