Mark Ermi, Program Manager, AVID Western Division, AVID Center
Schools can see the benefit of taking sophomores, juniors, and seniors to college fairs. What about middle school students? Field trip money is at a premium, and it takes valuable time to organize. So, should 6th-8th grade students, who are years from making a decision, go to a college fair?
Just like constructing a tall building, it’s all about the scaffolding. When students become upper classmen, so close to matriculation, they narrow their search based on key personal factors to decide where to attend. As a middle school student, the focus is less on the answer to where you want to go and more about the questions that lead to that big answer. What is college all about? What should I be thinking about when I compare colleges? What should influence my decision the most? What do I need to know to begin making a decision?
If your students have the opportunity to attend a college fair, design activities that make this lack of experience and information an opportunity. Short of coming up with your own, maybe you can make use of the ideas below.
Middle School College Fair Activities
Afterwards, reflect, reflect, and reflect. What do you know that you didn’t know before? What do you want to know more about? What schools are you considering and why? Can students compare and contrast themselves pre-college fair to post-college fair?
Take advantage of their lack of knowledge and build towards higher education decisions. Our AVID students are skyscrapers in the making. The more we scaffold, the higher they can go.
How do you recreate the college fair experience without leaving your classroom? Find out next time in a blog coming soon…
Mark Ermi is a Program Manager in AVID’s Western Division serving Oregon and Washington schools. Mark spent 24 years teaching elementary and middle school students in the Mount Vernon School District in Washington State. You can reach him at mermi@avidcenter.org