On October 19, Spotsylvania Towne Center hosted the College Fair from 6:30- 8:30pm. The College Fair is an annual event that has over a hundred different colleges come to the mall and talk to underclassmen and soon to be graduates about what to be looking forward to about college and what steps the students need to take in order to get into the colleges they want to. During the college fair, colleges offered admission information- how to apply and the personal qualifications for their school, information about the different programs they have, handed out a view pack of their college, and gave the students a quick glance of how their school operates.

Prior to college night, students were given a flier about the event. Within the flier it said to visit: gotocollegefairs.com. Students registered on that website to attend the fair; with registering, it maximizes their time. All students have to do is provide their information one time through the simple, online registration page instead of multiple times at each college table that the student is interested in. With this easy registration online, it increases the student’s face-to-face time with admission officers and giving them more time to spend learning more about the different schools instead of filling out paperwork. Also, this registration page allows students to easily put in their personal information, elaborate on their special interests, extracurricular activities, and their accomplishments. Students then brought the barcode they received in an email after filling out their registration online, to the different college tables who have a barcode scanner to capture the registration information the students provided, saving them both a lot of time and effort.

The students and faculty of Riverbend believe college night is very beneficial. Senior Caroline Loving said, “It was fun and helpful because it makes getting in contact with schools easier. There is a large variety of schools, so it fits everyone’s interest.” Guidance counselor Mrs. Rahm said, “I think College Night is beneficial because of the exposure to many different colleges/universities. A student can visit with many colleges in one night and may even find a college of interest that they never even heard of before. It is also an opportunity for a student to ask questions directly to an admissions representative.” The college fair was a great way for students to interact with representatives from different schools, so they can find the school that most interests them.