On April 13, Boise State university is hosting the Boise Spring College Fair in the Student Union Building in the Jordan ballroom. The BSU hosted college fair is free to attend, and is not required for students, but is highly recommended. To attend, students must register online with Strive Scan, filling out a quick forum.

College fairs provide an excellent opportunity for students and families to expand their knowledge of colleges, meet with professionals, explore financial aid options, and dormitory housing choices. According to the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling, an organization and website that works to assist students as they prepare for colleges, 71 universities and college representatives are sought to make an appearance at the Boise spring college fair as of March. 24. In addition to free entry, the event will have free parking located in the Lincon garage as well. The event will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and the college reps will begin preparing at 11:45 a.m. According to the Pncac.org, there is an anticipated attendance of about 350 students from the West Ada school district.

Many students looking to attend college claim that college fairs can be an extremely beneficial tool to students and families.

Taylor Jenkins, a student at Shenandoah University states, “I went to two college fairs in my senior year of high school. After attending two I decided to commit to Shenandoah University, as the representatives made me feel more comfortable in my decision and supported in a financial sense.”

Jonas Lockhart, senior at Rocky Mountain, stated, “Attending the most recent college fair has helped me expand my knowledge on colleges so much, I now have a large variety of colleges to choose between and really good scholarship opportunities.”

In addition to Rocky students, many Mountain View Highschool students claim that college fairs convinced them to commit to a college, just after attending. Skylar Pruitt, a senior at Rocky Mountain, said, “I went to the college fair in early March and committed to University of Idaho directly after, the representatives were so helpful in explaining the financial aid options and dorm selection.,” said MVHS senior Skylar Pruitt.

Attending college fairs may also help you save money, as stated by college raptor.com, where they state “visiting all the colleges on your shortlist is expensive and impractical. Attending a college fair gives you a sneak peek into life at that particular campus.”. By visiting a college fair rather than a campus, you may save money on gas, travel, or other school mandated fees. Although a college fair may not replace the experience of visiting a campus in person, it may provide extensive information and resources for students and families.

To attend the Boise Spring College Fair, a student must register online via StriveScan, where the website will then send participants a barcode to their email or phone number. Students will be asked to show their barcode prior to entry to the event. Following students’ attendance to the Boise spring college fair, students will receive an email with a report of all college and university booths attended by students, a list of representatives’ students spoke too, and multiple forms of contact information and social media profiles, as states by pncac.org.

Visit the Boise spring college fair from 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. on April. 13, at Boise State University, Student Union Building, 2nd Floor, Jordan Ballroom, 1700 W University Dr, Boise, ID 83725.