Colleges Descend on Huntington for Spring Fair
Hundreds of students and parents turned out to mingle with representatives from a hundred colleges and universities at the spring college fair held in the Huntington High School gym.
The event is co-sponsored by Huntington and Walt Whitman high schools and rotates between the two campuses. Huntington college counselor Bernadette Walsh planned this year’s gathering, which participants said was a huge success.
“Invitations were mailed out in early January and slots filled up by February break,” Ms. Walsh said. “Colleges were anxious to attend and we even had a waiting list of colleges who wanted to participate. We took in the first one hundred colleges that confirmed.
The college representatives were treated to a dinner catered by Whitsons Culinary Group and dined with the Huntington Director of Guidance Peter Paternostro and his counterpart from Walt Whitman, Michael Sinatra, and guidance counselors from both schools.
Parents and students packed the gym, gathering written brochures and books, bulletins and applications and holding informal discussions with college reps from across the country who eagerly answered questions about every aspect of academic and campus life. Although the students were predominately freshmen, sophomores and juniors, more than a handful of seniors turned out for the event in search of last minute opportunities.
“Overall, the event was an amazing success,” Ms. Walsh said. “Students were provided with a list of possible questions to ask the college reps and then they took off to speak with the reps.” Although the evening was designed with Huntington and Walt Whitman high school students in mind, many students were also welcomed from nearby Harborfields High School.
Participating schools included Albertus Magnus College, Adelphi Univ., Albright College, Alfred Univ., Arcadia Univ., Baltimore International College, Bennington College, Brandeis Univ., Briarcliffe College, Christopher Newport Univ., Clemens College, Colgate Univ., College of Mount St. Vincent, College of New Jersey, College of St. Rose, Cornell Univ., Culinary Academy of Long Island, CUNY John Jay College, CUNY Queens College, LIU – C.W. Post, Dartmouth College, DeSales Univ., Dowling College, Drew Univ., Elmira College, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Fordham Univ., George Mason Univ., Harvard College, High Point Univ., Iona College, Johnson & Wales Univ., King’s College, Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, Longwood Univ., Lynn Univ., Manhattan College, Manhattanville College and Marymount Manhattan College.
Also participating was Merrimack College, Mitchell College, Molloy College, Mount St. Mary’s Univ., Nassau Community College, Nazareth College, New York Institute of Technology, Nichols College, Pace Univ., Penn State Univ., Radford Univ., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Roger Williams Univ., Sacred Heart Univ., Seton Hall Univ., St. John’s Univ., St. Joseph’s College, St. Leo Univ., Suffolk Community College, SUNY Albany, SUNY Alfred, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Delhi, SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Maritime College, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Stony Brook and Susquehanna Univ.
Filling out the roster of schools was the Univ. of New Haven, Univ. of Notre Dame, Univ. of Scranton, Univ. of South Florida, Univ. of Tampa, Univ. of Tampa, Univ. of Vermont, Utica College, Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Technology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Wagner College, Wake Forest Univ., Washington Univ. (St. Louis), Wellesley College, West Virginia Univ., York College of PA, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Wilson Technological Institute, Quinnipiac Univ., Five Towns College, Florida International Univ. and St. Thomas Aquinas College.
“The spring college fair is an excellent opportunity for students and parents to begin the college decision making process and evaluate the various types of colleges, academic programs, athletic opportunities, and scholarship resources available,” Ms. Walsh said.
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