The College Fair is an annual gathering where students have the opportunity to meet with college admissions officers from all over the United States.

For the past two years, John Carroll has been unable to host a fair due to COVID-19, but this year, it was held on Tuesday, March 3.
The 2022 College Fair differed from previous years due to some lingering health restrictions, the biggest being that it was held after school this year.
In previous years, John Carroll held the College Fair during the actual school day, and only juniors and sophomores were allowed to attend.
This year, it was held in the evening, and anyone was allowed to attend as long as they registered ahead of time for it.
College Counselor Carrie Siemsen described the importance of the College Fair to the college process as, “allowing students to learn about and speak with a number of colleges at one time. It also allows students to ask any questions they may have about particular college.”
Mrs. Siemsen added that a number of the college representatives who attended the fair are actually the people who will be reading JC students’ applications next year, so it’s a great opportunity for students to meet these people in advance and start a relationship with them.
This year, John Carroll hosted a total of 61 schools, a smaller number than that of previous years.
Mrs. Siemsen said that the smaller number is because “schools are just now opening up to in-person events again.”
She added that “the number of students who attended was great. Juniors and sophomores were best represented, which makes sense as that age group is closest to the beginning of the college search process.”
The next step for the junior class, according to Mrs. Siemsen, is to create a list of colleges they would like to visit before the application process begins this fall.
Visiting colleges will narrow the options for schools down and will make the final application process easier.
In regard to the sophomores’ college process, Mrs. Siemsen advises them to “do research on the colleges [they saw] at the fair, using websites such as www.collegeboard.org or www.niche.com, to learn about what each college has to offer. At this point, sophomores should try to decide what they like and do not like about different universities.”