The grounds that were filled with children’s laughter and pig squeals, the sweet scents of cotton candy and elephant ears a week ago saw a very different kind of fair at the new merchant’s building Monday night. More than 300 Hillsdale County high school students attended the Hillsdale County College Fair.
For seven years now, the Hillsdale County Community Foundation, in partnership with the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO), hosted the fair. More than 10 high schools and 60 colleges from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, were represented at the event, along with members of the armed forces and National Guard.
The fair used to be held at Hillsdale High School and was less widely attended. Since the change of location and the community foundation’s involvement, the fair has seen a steady increase in attendance each year. Local high school counselors play a key role in this.
“The counselors are doing a really good job of promoting [the fair] to their own students,” said Amber Yoder, communications officer for the foundation. “The more they get the word out, the more students we see at the fair.”
Jonesville High School counselor Bob Drake said that when it comes to what students want out of a college experience, the answers are varied. One concern has become more predominant in the past few years, however.
“I can tell you that there’s not one thing that students want out of college that isn’t something that all students want,” Drake said. “Obviously they want a good education, but it also comes down to a good job anymore.”
Drake said students want to know that they can pay off student loans after they graduate, and that’s what worries parents most, too. Parents frequently ask about the average salary of a particular college’s graduates and what the likelihood is that their child will get a job when they graduate.
The cost of education and earning potential are big factors in the college decision for Jonesville High School senior Brandon Cavanaugh. He is considering both the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. While MSU would be the cheaper option, he prefers U of M.
“I want to go to a big school and a prestigious school,” Cavanaugh said. “I’ve read that studies have shown that salaries are generally higher with prestigious schools.”
Cavanaugh is also seeking a school that offers lots of opportunities for extracurricular involvement.
Of the 11 students at the fair who were asked what they were looking for in a college experience or education, most of them said they wanted a good program for their major that prepared them for their desired job or for graduate school.
One student, junior Reagan Bumb of Pittsford High School, answered differently. She said that she wanted a college education that would lead her to become more open.
“I just want to see what’s out there,” Bumb said.
Most students said that high school had not been difficult for them, and that they were looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities awaiting them in college.
The Hillsdale County Community Foundation recently joined the College Access Network of Michigan, which helps them track students’ college enrollment rates and test scores. The percentage of the county’s high school seniors who applied to college last year was roughly 46 percent, or 216 students.
“There’s always something to improve upon,” Bob Drake said, regarding what schools can do to prepare their students for further education.