HHS Mini-College Fair Draws 50 Schools
Several hundred juniors and seniors attended last week's mini-college fair in the Huntington High School cafeteria as more than 50 institutions turned out for the 90 minute event.
Waves of upperclassmen circulated through the fair, which provided the teenagers with exposure to a cross-section of colleges with the convenience of never having to leave the high school building. The fair was held over the course of two morning periods.
"The students were actively engaged in conversation with the admission counselors discussing admission policies, financial aid and scholarships, popular majors and athletic programs," said Bernadette Walsh, Huntington's college counselor. "The feedback from the admission counselors was very positive as both the juniors and seniors were extremely eager and prepared!"
Huntington is a member of the 11 member North Shore mini-college consortium. The group also includes Harborfields, Elwood, Smithtown East and West, Half Hollow Hills East and West, Northport, Hauppauge, Commack, and Kings Park.
About 55 colleges traveled to the consortium members over a four day period stretching from October 22-25. An even larger fair will be held on March 21, 2013 with an additional 50 colleges.
In an effort to meet the needs of as many students as possible, the participating colleges were diverse in terms of size, selectivity, distance from Long Island and academic majors available. For many years, the fair had been open to only seniors, but the Huntington guidance department felt juniors should be permitted to attend since many of them were already beginning their college search. Since the fair has been available to 11th graders, its popularity has grown.
Last week's participating schools included Adelphi Univ., Univ. of Alabama, Albertus Magnus College, Briarcliffe College, Castleton State College, Drew Univ., Five Towns College, Hartwick College, Hofstra Univ., Island Drafting & Technical, James Madison Univ., Johnson & Wales Univ., King's College, Lesley College, LIM College, LIU-Post, Lynn Univ., Manhattan College, Marist College, Mercy College, Molly College, Moravian College and Mount St. Mary College.
Nassau Community College, Nichols College, Nova Southeastern Univ., Polytechnic Institute of NYU, Rider Univ., Saint Leo Univ., Salisbury Univ., Salve Regina Univ., St. John's Univ., SUNY Albany, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Old Westbury, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Potsdam, Univ. of Rhode Island, Univ. of Scranton, Univ. of Tampa, Virginia Commonwealth Univ. and Western New England Univ. also turned out for the fair.
Mrs. Walsh said students are already talking about the spring mini-college fair and the additional colleges and universities that will attend that event.