Alexa Harrison
Staff Writer
The annual College Fair, which features representatives from 134 schools, was held to inform students about colleges Oct. 6 in Fisher gym.
Most representatives distributed pamphlets and had course handbooks available for viewing. Students were able to ask questions regarding the college admission process, tuition, acceptance rates and programs.
“I thought the fair was an amazing success. We had a large diversity of colleges varying in location and size as well as 35 new schools,” Mira Costa College and Career Center Counselor Gail Currey said.
Schools from the University of California system such as U.C. Los Angeles, U.C. Davis, U.C. David and U.C. San Diego attended, as well as out-of-state schools like Vanderbilt, Harvard, and Yale.
“The students all seemed very enthusiastic and anxious to visit each college and learn more about places they might one day be attending,” Drew University admissions office Liam Dunfey said.
Each school was given a booth at which one or two representatives or alumni answered students’ questions. The fair spanned both Fisher Gym and the small gym to accommodate all the schools.
“I thought the event was organized pretty well, but it was really crowded so it was hard to get information from the really popular schools,” junior Alexa Thomas said.
Mira Costa or Redondo Union High School rotates hosting the College Fair. Last year, the event took place at Redondo. Students from both Mira Costa and Redondo were invited to attend the informational event.
“I wanted to go to the fair to get a better idea of my education options after high school,” junior Shivani Patel said.
The CCC counselors organized the event with the help of parents and staff.
Donations from Classic Tents, the Mira Costa Parent Teacher Student Association, the Manhattan Beach Educational Foundation and the Pipkin family funded the event.
“The college fair was extremely helpful because it gave the students and opportunity to see a lot of the more unknown colleges out there. It also provided good information on the requirements and the steps needed to get into those colleges,” junior Sean Judge said.
Overall, the organizers said they viewed the event as a success because it showed students more schools and increased their knowledge about the college experience.
“I had many people comment to me about how the fair opened up their eyes to new schools and the realization that they could actually get into schools they might have previously thought otherwise,” Currey said.
See more stories by Alexa Harrison.
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