NASHVILLE, Tenn.- High school students will have the opportunity to hear first-hand about the college experience from graduates of the nation’s top universities without ever leaving the classroom. Vanderbilt University will conduct a virtual college fair connecting high school juniors and seniors to a panel of college alumni via videoconferencing on April 30 and May 1.
“Choosing a college is one of the first major decisions high school students will make in their lives,” said Joan Rice, director of Vanderbilt’s Day On Campus program and an organizer of the Virtual College Fair. To help ease the decision-making process, Vanderbilt faculty and staff representing two-dozen universities will provide personal stories on how they came to choose their alma maters and share the experiences they had there. Representatives from each featured university will be given 15 minutes and will implement PowerPoint, websites, posters, books and other visual aids to portray their schools. The participating high school students will have the opportunity to ask specific questions of the panelists.
“During the Virtual College Fair, students will have an opportunity to hear some pros and cons of the schools and pick up on intangible feelings from the experiences of the alumni,” said Rice. “We hope the fair will provide a broader view of the colleges and universities where they may fit best.”
Universities in the East will be featured on Wednesday, April 30, from 9-11:30 a.m. Among those included in the East region are Columbia University, Brown University, the University of Virginia, Yale University, Harvard University and Duke University.
On Wednesday from Noon-2:30 p.m., universities in the South, including Vanderbilt, the University of Tennessee, Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State University and Spellman College, will be featured.
On Thursday, May 1, from 9-11:30 a.m., Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, Western Kentucky University and Duke University will be featured.
On Thursday afternoon from Noon-2:30 p.m., universities in the West, including the University of Kansas, the University of California and Pomona College, will be featured.
Media contact: Kara Furlong, 615-322-NEWS, kara.c.furlong@vanderbilt.edu