Huntington's Mini-College Fair Draws Dozens of Schools
Juniors and seniors enjoyed a real treat this week as more than 50 institutions participated in a mini-college fair at Huntington High School. The event, which was aimed at upperclassmen, provided the teenagers with exposure to a cross-section of colleges without ever having to leave the friendly confines of the high school building.
More than 400 students attended the fair, which spanned two morning periods. "Students engaged in dialogue with the admission counselors and the feedback I received from those counselors was very positive," said Bernadette Walsh, Huntington's college counselor. "The students were asking some great questions about majors, financial aid, internship opportunities, etc."
Huntington is a member of a 12-high school strong North Shore mini-college consortium. The group also includes Harborfields, Elwood, Smithtown East and West, Half Hollow Hills East and West, Central Islip, Northport, Hauppauge, Commack, and Kings Park.
"Approximately 50-55 colleges travel between the 12 high schools over a four day period," Mrs. Walsh said. "This twice per year fair schedule (fall and spring) provides students at each school with exposure to a multitude of colleges."
In an effort to meet the needs of every student, the participating colleges were quite diverse in terms of size, selectivity, distance from Long Island and majors available. "In previous years, the fair was slotted only for seniors, but as a department we felt strongly about opening the experience to juniors, as many are beginning their college search already."
The participating schools included Adelphi Univ., Univ. of Alabama, Baruch College, Dowling College, SUNY Farmingdale, Fashion Institute of Technology, Five Towns College, Franklin Pierce Univ., George Washington Univ., Hobart and William Smith College, Hofstra Univ., Iona College, James Madison Univ., Johnson & Wales Univ., King's College, Lafayette College, LeMoyne College, LIM College, LIU – C.W. Post College, Univ. of Mary Washington, Marywood Univ. and Mount St. Mary College.
Muhlenberg College, Nassau Community College, Univ. of New Haven, New York Institute of Technology, Niagara Univ., Nichols College, Northwood Univ., Nova Southeastern Univ., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rider Univ., Roanoke College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Sacred Heart Univ., Saint Leo Univ., College of Saint Rose, Univ. of Scranton, Seton Hall Univ., SUNY Albany, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Stony Brook, Univ. of Tampa, Towson Univ., Univ. of Vermont, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Wagner College and Wilkes University also participated.
With the fall fair now in the history books, Huntington High School students have already been heard discussing the spring fair.