Who’s counting….but there are only 217 days until the last day of school. For many, that means preparing for what’s next. Keeping that in mind, BSSD sponsored the College Fair on October 10, hosted at BSHS. This event gave upperclassmen a chance to learn about their options after high school. Senior Jack Dolan attended to do a little “window shopping.” While there, he learned a lot about the economics of the situation.

“I’ve learned that some of them cost way more money than what I have. That was my main takeaway, how steep tuitions are. It’s disappointing but not really surprising,” Dolan said.

Despite the steep financial commitment, Dolan wasn’t discouraged.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of college. I like seeing the people and all the campuses, really find out what each place has to offer,” Dolan said. While there, Dolan looked at individual schools to find out interesting facts about college life, such as course load and scholarships, and overall found the fair very helpful.

Junior Ava Merriott attended the fair with an interest in finding out what colleges would benefit her dream of being a premed major. Merriott wants to attend Missouri State but she kept an open mind at the fair and found it extremely helpful, especially when hearing about scholarships.

“Northwest Missouri State gives a scholarship to those who have a GPA of 4.0 to 3.7 with a 27 through 36 for an ACT. It’s four thousand dollars a year given,” Merriott said.

Merriott recommends attending a college fair.

“It is very helpful in learning the very specific in detail information about what department you’re going to live in and about scholarship opportunities,” Merriott stated.

And she isn’t the only one who suggests attending the fair; junior Mollie Lederer also encourages others to reach out and learn about their options.

“I would recommend attending a college fair because I know if you’re anything like me it’s an easy way to eliminate some options right off the bat,” Lederer said. “You might even see colleges you didn’t realize were a thing. I saw a few from Kansas that I didn’t know existed,” Lederer added.

As a Wildcat Ambassador, Lederer helped set up and promote the fair.

“We had a wildcat hour meeting in the counselor’s office, where we were given a packet of information to kind of make our reps feel comfortable. We were supposed to set them at their table, help them set up if they wanted, direct them to where things were  (restrooms), get them food, just whatever they needed. When parents came, we were supposed to do the same thing for them. We facilitated the entire night,” Lederer explained.

Lederer was very pleased with the outcome of the fair and was even surprised to see a couple of underclassmen.

“There were alot of seniors, but I expected that. I also recognized lots of sophomores, and I know that I didn’t go to my college fair sophomore year. I was kind of really happy to see that many kids there really concerned about their future,” Lederer said.

While the fair is a good place to start, Lederer would recommend for students to do more.

“I think the college fair is extremely helpful but I do think it’s just a starting point. For example your top five colleges you could go on college visits, which our school offers. Just go to the counseling office and pick up a page and have your teachers sign and go on a college visit,” Lederer said.

The college fair, Lederer thought, was a great success and she can’t wait to do it again next year.