Central New York prospective college students and their parents filled Onondaga Community College's SRC Arena Tuesday for the Syracuse National College Fair. More than 200 college representatives from across the country were on hand to help students jump start their paths to a higher education.
Cayman Burke, who’s an OCC student, attended the fair to search for the perfect school to transfer to after he finishes his coursework at the community college. For him, the local fair saved him multiple trips to different campuses, he said.
“It’s just nice being able to come and grab all this information at one spot, rather than going to New York [or] Ohio, just for one school,” he said.
Erin Maroney and her daughter, who's a high school sophomore, haven't given college much thought until attending the fair. So, they were a little overwhelmed by the 200 representatives from different schools, she said.
“But this is a good beginning, just to get some information, she’s not sure if she wants to stay home, go away.” Maroney said. “So, that’s why we’re here to narrow it down a little bit, just so we can get an idea.”
Erika Howe represented Simmons College in Boston at the fair. With concerns about institution size, campus life, transfer credits and internship opportunities, Howe said, the fair can easily overwhelm students.
“I think it’s great to bring all the information to them – to getting them to start thinking about college and the different types of post-graduate opportunities that may be available to them,” she said.
The college fair continues tonight until 8 p.m. in OCC’s SRC Arena.