During the fall season of every year, the Aspen Middle School Parking lot fills with large white tents and hundreds of informational booths, as college representatives from all over the country flock together for the annual College Fair, hosted by College Outreach.

The college fair aims to support students in navigating the right path for their futures within applications and acceptance. Over 100 universities and other post-secondary resources attend the College Fair, while hosting a variety of post-secondary-based lectures and workshops. Students of all grade levels can attend the fair as either participants or volunteers, but depending on grade level, the excitement for the fair may vary.

Karen Hawkes, one of Aspen High School’s post-secondary counselors, is adamant that attending the fair is advantageous for high school students of all grade levels.

“It benefits them to go every year because you grow a lot in high school…having these college admissions reps come to speak with students and families about schools is a great way for you to understand what schools are out there and what they have to offer, and what schools might be a good fit for you,” Hawkes said.

While professionals like Karen advocate for the College Fair’s importance, some freshmen do not recognize it; this confusion causes them to lack excitement about the fair and avoid seeking out what it has to offer them. Elena Creamer, freshman at AHS, falls into this category.

“I feel like in freshman year, it’s not that important to attend the college fair.I really don’t know a lot about it and I feel like there’s not that much information,” Creamer said.

While some freshmen might not recognize the fair’s benefits, high school seniors like Adeline Christensen do. Christensen has attended the fair for four years and knows it’s ability to help further her understanding of post-secondary education and the college application process.

According to the AHS Post-Secondary department, the importance of this information may grow as students become upperclassmen. Although it’s still a strong tool for underclassmen to use when learning about their interests and what’s to come on the road ahead.

“It’s really helpful in determining where I really want to go and what I’m interested in, because times ticking for me. Going to the college fair and actually talking to the people who are going to admit you really helps,” Christensen said.