UNIVERSITY HOSTS COLLEGE FAIR ON MONDAY

To help high school students decide what to do after graduation, a regional college and vocational school fair is planned Monday at the Show Me Center.

An afternoon session from noon to 3 p.m. is open to area high school seniors and their parents. The evening program from 6-8 p.m. is designed for parents and students in grades 9-11. Last year 900 students attending during the day and about 300 people attended the evening session. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Representatives from about 70 colleges, vocational schools and military services will participate.

In addition, several financial institutions will be on hand to discuss financial aid. About seven area high schools help plan the annual college and vocational school fair.

"Student have ready access to a lot of colleges they are not normally able to talk to face to face," said Jerry Witvoet, counselor at CHS. "The fair gives them a chance to meet and see a college representative face to face."

Students can also pick up current applications, information on scholarships and check on entrance requirements.

CHS counselor Pat Bratton said, "They can chat with someone from Murray State and then someone from Southeast and do a nice comparison."

Entrance requirements are an increasingly important item to check, the counselors said. Many schools are in the process of increasing requirements.

"If a sophomore is looking at a school, they need to make sure the schedule they set for the next couple years will prepare them to enter. A senior may look at the requirements to see if it's feasible to consider applying to a particular school," Witvoet said.

Making post-graduation plans can be mind-boggling.

"This is the biggest decision they have had to make," Witvoet said.

For some, the decision is simple. They know what they want to study and where they want to attend school.

For others, the decision is a lot tougher. "There are some 15,000 colleges and universities in this country," Witvoet said.

Bratton recommends students begin in earnest the search as a junior and attempt to narrow their choices to four of five schools by the time the start their senior year.

But Witvoet said some students need a little longer to decide. "Those students who like to digest things a little slower may want to begin writing for information at the beginning of their sophomore or even freshman year."