CCC hosts annual Out-of-State College Fair

By Kayla Samimi
Staff Writer

Costa’s first annual Out-of-State College Fair in which regional admission counselors from schools across the nation answer questions and provide students with necessary information was held in the cafeteria on May 12.

Students of all grades had the opportunity to attend the fair. The College and Career center worked with a group known as the Regional Admissions Counselors of California to coordinate the event with college representatives from across the country.

“The purpose of the college fair is for students of all grade levels to be able to look into potential colleges they may have interest in,” Mira Costa High School principal Ben Dale said. “Anything that helps students make informed choices about their future is great.”

RACC is an organization that provides students with information on colleges outside of California. With connections with over 100 different regional admission officers, RACC works to plan college fairs and informative lectures at numerous California high schools.

“We enjoyed working with your counselors and Mira Costa High School students,” West Coast Regional Admissions Counselor Chuck Liddiard said. “Like many other high schools in California, we feel we can assist both students and parents with questions about our particular institutions and about benefits of going out of state.”

The fair began with a one hour powerpoint presentation on information on financial aid, college essays, and creating a resume. Speakers also talked about the importance of picking the correct college by considering aspects such as class size, academic profile, and campus life.

“The beginning presentation was very helpful since it gave a good overview of a lot of important information even though I already had heard most of it,” Junior Shelby Goore said. “I think that holding college fairs for high school students is much needed so that they can have a chance to talk to schools they might not have heard of.”

The second half provided time for students to roam different college booths that had been set up and ask any questions that they had about the different schools. Each college had one admission counselor attend and they were available to answer questions and provide flyers for students.

“Students got to actually meet the admission representatives who would be reading their application,” College and Career Counselor Caryn Ramirez said. “And since this college fair contains out of state colleges, students can consider applying to schools they had never heard about before that may seem like a great fit.”

A total of 28 college representatives attended the fair. The school’s ranged from across the US and included the University of Texas, Trinity University, Whitman College, and Hawaii Pacific University.

“Attending a college is so helpful because you have resources such as the reps themselves,” Texas Tech University Admissions Counselor Alexis Reynolds said. “We are the people who are going to fight with you and lead you through the entire application process.”