Last Thursday, Walnut High School held a college fair where admissions officers were invited to talk with students. Attendees from both Walnut and Diamond Bar High School flocked to the event in hopes they would obtain valuable college admissions information and exposure to colleges nationwide, both large and small.

The event started off with Walnut staff members herding attendees into the theater for a seminar discussing the college admissions process. Paul Kanarack, the speaker at the event, highlighted the competitive nature of the college admissions process, underlining the importance of standing out. 

In addition, multiple prominent attendees from both schools came to watch and gauge student interest. 

“Well, I’m just here to see what’s going on and see which colleges are here, ask students what they’re interested in,” principal of DBHS, David Hong said.

In addition to a schoolwide seminar, the gym also held a massive convention where students could come up to real college admissions officers, most prominently from the public UC schools such as Irvine, Riverside, Davis and Merced, along with private schools like Syracuse and New York University.

“I’m just trying to find colleges and I figured that this is a great opportunity to talk to people who work there and get more information,” DBHS junior Eva Liu said. 

However, larger schools like UCLA or Stanford were not represented at the college fair. Instead, smaller campuses made up the majority of the schools. Multiple representatives from colleges like Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal Poly cited that they believed coming to Walnut Valley Unified School District was a great opportunity to increase their appeal to high school students in the district. 

“I’ve seen a large amount of interest already at this fair, which is amazing,” one representative said. “Now I’ve seen that this is a really good area.”

Many representatives also believed in the importance of smaller or local universities as an option. Schools like Azusa Pacific and Cal State Fullerton marketed themselves as a great option for students who desired to attend smaller or local campuses closer to home.

Many students left the college fair last month excited, knowing their horizons were expanded. While the college admissions process will not be any easier, the information provided in the College Fair may shed much-needed light on what colleges are the best fit for them.