Huntington’s Fall College Fair Attracts 50 Schools
Culminating six months of planning, colleges from both coasts and plenty of places in between descended upon Huntington High School last week for the school’s annual fall mini-college fair. Seniors were able to visit about 50 colleges without ever leaving the building, and they loved every minute of it.
The event was the result of the organizational efforts of Huntington High School college counselor Bernadette Walsh and College Center secretary Lynda Abner. “The mini-college fair is a very popular recruiting event for colleges and colleges reserve their spot to participate months in advance,” Ms. Walsh said. “Representatives flew in from Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and even California!”
Ms. Walsh will be coordinating fall and spring college fairs through 2009 for the North Shore Consortium, a group of 12 high schools including Huntington, Kings Park, Commack, John H. Glenn, Central Islip, Northport, Half Hollow Hills East, Half Hollow Hills West, Smithtown High School West, Smithtown High School East, Harborfields, and Hauppauge. Admissions representatives from each of the colleges travel to each high school over the course of a week, meeting with students, parents and counselors.
The annual fall fair is open only to seniors while the spring one is set aside for juniors. Huntington’s spring fair is scheduled for April 2. The gatherings are held in the school’s large cafeteria. Tables are erected and college reps arrange promotional and informational materials, along with banners and giveaway items.
Ms. Walsh was pleased that the fall fair “went off without a hitch. It was fantastic!”
Colleges traveled to three consortium high school each day over the course of last week. Huntington prides itself on the high percentage of graduates who go on to college study each year. The school also has a large number of seniors who are accepted into top tier schools each year. Those results take a combination of hard work and planning and Mrs. Walsh wants to see it continue.
“The mini-college fair was a fantastic opportunity for the seniors to ask the admission counselors about specific admission requirements, majors and special programs on campus, audition deadlines and campus life in general,” Ms. Walsh said. “It was a great opportunity for seniors to meet with the representatives from colleges that are not easily accessible by car. Excited seniors left the fair with their arms full of view books, course catalogs and applications.”
The participating colleges included Adelphi University, Albright College, Castleton State College, Clarkson University, Dowling College, Elmira College, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Five Towns College, Hartwick College, High Point University, Hofstra University, Island Drafting & Technical Institute, Johnson & Wales University, King’s College, LIU/C.W. Post College, Lynn University, Manhattan College, Mount St. Mary College, Nassau Community College, Nazareth College, Nichols College, Nova Southeastern University, Radford University, Roanoke College, Sacred Heart University, St. Joseph’s College, St. Leo University, Suffolk Community College, SUNY Albany, SUNY Delhi, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Stony Brook, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, University of Connecticut at Stoors, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of New Haven, University of Rhode Island, University of Scranton, Wagner College, Washington College, Wilkes University, York College of PA.
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