You heard a cacophony of voices mixing as you moved down the hallway. As you approach Minnechaug High School’s gym, the voices grow louder and more clear. Questions ring through the echoing gym. 

Although usually used for sports, on this day, students are attending a college fair. Tables are lined up in a horseshoe around the walls of half the gym. Inside this horseshoe, a smaller square fills the gym, making an aisle where students walk and talk to college admission counselors.

At Minnechaug’s annual college fair, seniors and juniors had about 30 minutes to walk, look at different colleges, and talk with the representatives. In all, 95 different colleges were on hand.  Throughout this 15-year tradition, Minnechaug has had up to 100 colleges participating in this event.

“I do wish there were some more competitive schools, but I do understand that there is some difficulty with getting those to come,” said junior Ian Wall.

Other than Minnechaug, about 13 other high schools in western Massachusetts participate in the annual college fair. The fair is a five-day event, moving from high school to high school, and this year, it ran from October 23 to 27.

At Chaug, students were called down on the intercom and made their way to the gym where their possible futures awaited them. Even if students were not looking to go to college, they were still invited to the fair, where nonacademic institutions, such as the military, were also present. 

“The college fair helped me see some new colleges I may not have been aware of,” said Wall.

Even for students who maybe aren’t thinking about a four-year college, they do have other options, such as military programs.

One junior, Alayna Lucas, said, “I think it was nice that there were military options also because it’s reminding everyone there are other options after high school that aren’t college if that’s not the path you want to go down.” 

The college fair went very well and Mr Poulin, who is one of our counselors even said, “We received a lot of compliments on the behavior and thoughtful questions on the part of the Minnechaug student.” 

Many parts need to come together for the fair to be successful not only for college representatives but for students as well.  

“We also rely on teachers and students in PE classes to help us set up and break down the tables. The custodial staff is always needed and relied upon to make this happen as well,”  said Poulin in his continuation of compliments toward the school. 

In the process of helping students to find colleges many people contribute and according to Poulin’s positive recollection of the fair, it’s safe to say it was a success.