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College Fair features 75+ institutions
Sep 20, 2004 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Darlington hosted its eleventh annual College Fair Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the A.J. Huffman ’67 Memorial Athletic Center. This year’s fair boasted 76 colleges, the largest number the fair has ever hosted.
“This event is my one big chance to entertain college representatives and show off Darlington and our students,” said Sam Moss (’63), associate headmaster and dean of college guidance.
In addition to the many colleges in the Southeast, the fair hosted institutions ranging from Mt. Holyoke, Syracuse, Tufts, Boston University and Columbia in the Northeast, to the College of Wooster and Washington University in the Midwest, to Rice and S.M.U. in Texas, to the University of Colorado in the West.
All students in grades nine through 12 attended. “In a way, it’s a lot like window shopping,” said Moss. “As a freshman or sophomore, you probably won’t know where you want to go to college, but you can see how to prepare for what type of school might interest you. The juniors and seniors are obviously much more focused. They are going to zero in on their choices.”
The most popular booths included the University of Alabama, Auburn, Appalachian State, Emory, Furman, Georgia Tech, the University of Mississippi, Presbyterian College, Sewanee, Vanderbilt, the University of Virginia and Washington and Lee.
"I was thoroughly impressed," said sophomore Brett Henson. "I am glad that there were so many schools here this year."
Darlington alumna Ivey Harrison (’99) attended the fair as an admissions representative for her alma mater, Presbyterian College, and said she was thrilled to revisit the campus.
“I have been looking forward to recruiting at Darlington since the college visit that I attended my senior year in high school,” she said. “My admissions counselor from PC was the one who inspired me to pursue this career, and I feel like everything will come full circle on Tuesday.”
According to Harrison, during the four years she was at Presbyterian, there were six or seven fellow Darlington graduates. However, in recent years, the number has decreased.
“It is my mission to change that,” she said. “I remember someone telling me that I would love PC because it was much like Darlington, but it was a college. It was very true. The people at PC are the most genuine, giving and kind people in the world. I think that many of the morals and values that are instilled in the students at Darlington continue on with the PC tradition. The students are outstanding leaders, and seeing how engaged they are at PC reminds me of Mr. Rhodes always saying ‘get involved.’”
Moss said the admission representatives are always very complimentary of Darlington and find the College Fair to be a very attractive way to market their institutions. “I usually receive half a dozen letters afterwards with wonderful comments about our kids,” he said.
Lisa Howick, admissions representative for Sewanee, shared her comments. “Sewanee is so much a continuation of Darlington,” she said. “We look for students who are composed and confident in a small classroom environment, eager to interact with the faculty and who evidence a passion or expertise and want to share it in our community environment. Darlington students come to us with a myriad of experiences and abilities, and they naturally continue that at Sewanee.”
According to Moss, some of the schools participating in the College Fair will return for a private visit later this year, including Samford and Mercer universities. He added that some schools that were unable to participate in the fair, such as the University of Tampa and Amherst College, have already scheduled private visits.
“This event is my one big chance to entertain college representatives and show off Darlington and our students,” said Sam Moss (’63), associate headmaster and dean of college guidance.
In addition to the many colleges in the Southeast, the fair hosted institutions ranging from Mt. Holyoke, Syracuse, Tufts, Boston University and Columbia in the Northeast, to the College of Wooster and Washington University in the Midwest, to Rice and S.M.U. in Texas, to the University of Colorado in the West.
All students in grades nine through 12 attended. “In a way, it’s a lot like window shopping,” said Moss. “As a freshman or sophomore, you probably won’t know where you want to go to college, but you can see how to prepare for what type of school might interest you. The juniors and seniors are obviously much more focused. They are going to zero in on their choices.”
The most popular booths included the University of Alabama, Auburn, Appalachian State, Emory, Furman, Georgia Tech, the University of Mississippi, Presbyterian College, Sewanee, Vanderbilt, the University of Virginia and Washington and Lee.
"I was thoroughly impressed," said sophomore Brett Henson. "I am glad that there were so many schools here this year."
Darlington alumna Ivey Harrison (’99) attended the fair as an admissions representative for her alma mater, Presbyterian College, and said she was thrilled to revisit the campus.
“I have been looking forward to recruiting at Darlington since the college visit that I attended my senior year in high school,” she said. “My admissions counselor from PC was the one who inspired me to pursue this career, and I feel like everything will come full circle on Tuesday.”
According to Harrison, during the four years she was at Presbyterian, there were six or seven fellow Darlington graduates. However, in recent years, the number has decreased.
“It is my mission to change that,” she said. “I remember someone telling me that I would love PC because it was much like Darlington, but it was a college. It was very true. The people at PC are the most genuine, giving and kind people in the world. I think that many of the morals and values that are instilled in the students at Darlington continue on with the PC tradition. The students are outstanding leaders, and seeing how engaged they are at PC reminds me of Mr. Rhodes always saying ‘get involved.’”
Moss said the admission representatives are always very complimentary of Darlington and find the College Fair to be a very attractive way to market their institutions. “I usually receive half a dozen letters afterwards with wonderful comments about our kids,” he said.
Lisa Howick, admissions representative for Sewanee, shared her comments. “Sewanee is so much a continuation of Darlington,” she said. “We look for students who are composed and confident in a small classroom environment, eager to interact with the faculty and who evidence a passion or expertise and want to share it in our community environment. Darlington students come to us with a myriad of experiences and abilities, and they naturally continue that at Sewanee.”
According to Moss, some of the schools participating in the College Fair will return for a private visit later this year, including Samford and Mercer universities. He added that some schools that were unable to participate in the fair, such as the University of Tampa and Amherst College, have already scheduled private visits.
