Schools
College Expo So Successful a Second's Planned for April
The Plainfield Township-District 202 program in November attracted 600 people and 30 colleges and college-related groups.
Matt Starr had done everything he could to make his first College and Financial Aid Expo a hit, but he still could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the line of people stretching all the way around the corner and down the hall at .
Starr, the young tax collector who took over as chairman of the township's youth committee this year, doesn’t have to look back very far to remember how overwhelming getting into college can be.
“Having recently gone through the college decision-making process, I knew what people were looking for,” Starr said.
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With 600 turning out for the first college expo, hosted on Nov. 1 in partnership with Plainfield School District 202, an encore expo is on the calendar for April 19.
“The college process is very daunting to some people, and requires a lot of information-hunting” Starr said. “I wanted to make the process a little easier and a little less time-consuming.”
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About 30 colleges, universities and service organizations will be sending representatives to answer questions and offer information to teens and their families about higher education. There will be admissions information, financial aid and scholarship tips, and a booth where experts give help on filling out a FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
“Thirty schools and organizations all in one room ready to answer questions is enough to get any college-bound student and his or her family excited,” Starr said.
So is the prospect of taking home a free laptop. One Plainfield Central junior last fall came up with the winning raffle ticket that netted a Dell notebook computer.
With the open-house format, there are no presentations or speeches to sit through, just a roomful of representatives on hand to answer questions at a family’s leisure.
“It was comfortable and laid back,” Starr said. “Other than having people sign in and receive a folder, they were pretty much on their own for the evening. I think people liked that they could go through it at their own pace.”
The second College and Financial Aid Expo will be from 6 to 8 p.m. April 19 in the Plainfield Central High School cafeteria.
