Making the Most of College Fairs and High School Visits

A Practical Framework for Admissions Leaders to Reach More Students, More Meaningfully

College fairs and high school visits have long been the bread and butter of admissions outreach. But are they still relevant in a digital age saturated with webinars, virtual tours, and TikTok campus tours?

The answer is a resounding yes! The 2025 E-Expectations survey of college-bound high school students shows they rate these experiences as helpful and impactful, with fairs standing out as one of the most widely used resources in the college search (RNL, Halda, & ModernCampus, 2025).

Here is the catch: just showing up is not enough. The latest research tells us that the true impact of fairs and visits depends on how thoughtfully they are designed, where institutions decide to spend their travel dollars, and, maybe most importantly, whether the students and families who need access the most are actually being reached (Huerta, 2020; Institute for Higher Education Policy [IHEP], 2021).

This blog brings together three key perspectives, each offering a piece of the puzzle:

• The student voice: What the latest E-Expectations data reveals about how students use and value fairs and visits.
• Practice-level insights: What enrollment professionals and researchers like Huerta (2020) have learned about structuring these events so they support, rather than overwhelm, students.
• Policy and systems view: How institutional budgets, recruitment, travel, and school selection practices shape which communities are included, or left out (IHEP, 2021; Niche, 2023).

By weaving these perspectives together, my goal is simple: to offer admissions leaders a practical framework, a clear and actionable checklist, for designing and delivering college fairs and high school visits that truly serve the full range of students and families you want to reach.

What students say about fairs and visits

In the 2025 E-Expectations survey, 80% of respondents attended a college fair, and 85% of those found it helpful (RNL, Halda, & ModernCampus, 2025). Helpfulness peaks in 10th grade but stays strong from 9th (82%) through 12th (85%). First-generation students also find fairs helpful (86%).

High school visits tell a similar story. Niche (2023) reports that over 70% of students say meeting an admissions representative at their school influenced their decision to consider a college. Campus visits are even more powerful: 85% said a visit nudged them to apply or enroll. The message is clear: students want in-person engagement even in the digital age.

However, college recruiters visit suburban and affluent schools more often, leaving rural, urban, and first-generation students with fewer recruiter visits (Niche, 2023). If your travel schedule seems stuck on the same comfortable zip codes year after year, you are seeing this problem play out firsthand. The right students are not always getting the right opportunities.

Reimagining college fairs for equity

College fairs and campus visits are only helpful when they reach the students who actually need them. Huerta (2020) does not sugarcoat the gaps: “traditional college fairs often disproportionately serve White and affluent students, while low-income, first-generation, and students of color are left out of these critical opportunities for exposure and access” (p. 3).

How can fairs and visits have a greater impact? Preparation is everything, especially for first-generation students. The right support before the fair can make all the difference. Huerta (2020) says it plainly: “Pre-fair activities such as setting up professional emails, preparing questions, or even taking short career tests equip students to maximize the limited time they have with recruiters” (p. 5). With a plan, the fair is less overwhelming and more empowering.

What about addressing affordability questions during these activities? Huerta (2020) is clear: “Workshops on financial aid, scholarships, and affordability should be at the center of college fair programming, not optional add-ons” (p. 6). Put cost and aid front and center, and you not only build trust, you tackle one of the biggest barriers families face. If you have ever watched a parent’s shoulders relax after a frank talk about financial aid, you know this is not just theory—it is practical, high-impact work.

Now picture a fair that feels like a true community event, a place where everyone belongs. Huerta (2020) recommends an equity checklist: multilingual resources, childcare, transportation, and intentional outreach. Suddenly, the fair is not just another recruitment event; it is a space where families actually feel welcome (p. 7). You are not just handing out brochures, you are opening doors.

Enrollment and admissions implications

• Go beyond the usual feeder and affluent schools and make a conscious effort to reach overlooked students.
• Prepare students and families with guides and resources before the visit.
• Strengthen access with multilingual support, childcare, and transportation options.
• Measure success by engagement of underserved groups of students, not just attendance.

Rethinking recruitment policies through the institutional lens

Zooming out, let us talk about how big-picture policies and budgets shape everything from your team’s travel routes to who gets a seat at the table.

Travel budgets shape access

Recruitment travel is costly and eats up a large chunk of resources. Public institutions report spending a median of $536 per recruited student and close to $600,000 a year on enrollment management vendors (IHEP, 2021). Almost one-fifth of recruitment budgets go toward travel for high school visits and college fairs (p. 9). Every travel dollar is a map, deciding which schools and communities get face time with colleges.

Over-investment in feeder and affluent schools

IHEP (2021) does not mince words: colleges target suburban and affluent schools, reinforcing privilege, while rural, low-income, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and AAPI students are left seeing fewer recruiters (p. 11). Nearly nine million students live in rural areas, but cost and assumptions about mobility keep colleges away (IHEP, 2021, p. 11). If you have ever skipped a rural or urban school because “it is too far” or “students from there do not enroll anyway,” you are not alone, but the pattern has real consequences.

The “iron triangle” of prestige, revenue, and access

IHEP (2021) calls the balancing of academic profile, revenue, and access the “iron triangle” of recruitment. Too often, access gets squeezed out by prestige or dollars. One example? The out-of-state recruitment push for higher tuition, which can crowd out in-state, low-income, and racially diverse students—the very populations public institutions were built to serve (IHEP, 2021, p. 10). There is a real tension here: the pressure to chase rankings and revenue versus the public mission to expand access.

Enrollment and admissions implications

Audit travel strategies so you don’t overlook rural, urban, and high first-generation schools.
Resist the urge to chase rankings or revenue at the cost of access.
Measure equity ROI to look at who you reached and not just enrollment numbers.
Honor the public mission—for public institutions, especially, recruitment travel should put in-state, underrepresented, and transfer students first.

The “Comprehensive Equity Checklist” for college fairs and high school visits

(Adapted from Huerta, 2020; IHEP, 2021; Niche, 2023)

If you are looking for a place to start, here is a checklist you can use to make sure your next fair or visit is as equitable and impactful as possible:

Access and Inclusion

• Provide multilingual materials (flyers, signage, applications, financial aid guides).
• Offer live interpretation services for families with limited English proficiency.
• Ensure transportation options (buses, metro passes, shuttles) for students and families.
• Provide childcare or family-friendly spaces so parents and guardians can attend.
• Make fairs and visits physically accessible (ADA-compliant venues, inclusive spaces).

Student and Family Preparation

• Equip students with pre-fair tools: professional email setup, question prompts, résumé templates, and career interest surveys.
• Offer prep sessions for families on navigating fairs, admissions language, and understanding financial aid.
• Provide clear expectations before high school visits (e.g., topics covered, documents to bring).

Financial Aid and Affordability Resources

• Make financial aid and scholarship workshops central, not optional, at fairs.
• Ensure recruiters can clearly explain the cost of attendance, aid packages, scholarships, and ROI.
• Share state aid and local scholarship resources during visits.
• Provide simple, multilingual financial aid guides for families to take home.

Recruiter Diversity and Training

• Send representatives who reflect racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity.
• Train recruiters in cultural competency, equity, and family engagement strategies.
• Encourage authentic, student-centered conversations rather than scripted pitches.
• Pair senior admissions leaders with feeder schools while ensuring new schools also receive attention.

Event and Visit Design

• Avoid overwhelming “information overload” by structuring fairs with breakout sessions (e.g., Paying for College 101, Essay Writing Tips, Navigating Campus Visits).
• Set up reflection areas where students can take notes and debrief.
• Schedule visits that reach all grade levels, not just seniors, to build early awareness (9th–10th grade especially).
• Balance large-scale fairs with smaller, targeted events for first-generation and underserved students.

Travel Strategy and School Selection

• Audit recruitment travel annually: which schools are visited and which are left out (rural, urban, high first-generation, under-resourced)?
• Intentionally expand beyond feeder and affluent schools to reach underserved communities.
• Balance in-state versus out-of-state recruitment to honor institutional missions and equity commitments.
• Use hybrid and virtual visits to reach schools where travel is limited.

Data, Metrics and Accountability

• Collect and analyze participation data disaggregated by race, income, geography, and first-generation status.
• Track equity ROI: not just attendance numbers, but who was reached and how engagement expanded access.
• Report back annually to leadership with both quantitative metrics (schools visited, demographics reached) and qualitative feedback (student and counselor satisfaction).
• Equitable recruitment means more than showing up. It requires intentional design, inclusive practices, and accountability. This checklist can help you ensure that your fairs and visits open doors, instead of reinforcing barriers.

The bottom line: Opportunity by design

College fairs and high school visits remain powerful entry points for students exploring higher education. The data is clear: students find them helpful, and when done well, these moments spark interest, build trust, and create momentum in the college search process. But as the research shows, the true impact depends on how these events are implemented and who gets to participate. Fairs that overwhelm students or focus only on affluent schools, and travel that bypasses rural or first-generation communities, risk narrowing opportunity rather than expanding it.

Admissions leaders hold both the keys and the responsibility to change this. Rethink what success looks like. Expand your travel map beyond traditional feeder schools. Center on affordability and preparation on every visit. Use a comprehensive checklist to plan. If you do, you will reach more students, more meaningfully. Measure the value of college fairs and high school visits by the quality of the student and family experience, the strength of your partnerships with counselors, and the breadth of the communities you serve. In doing so, you will not just make the most of fairs and visits, you will reaffirm your mission to open doors of opportunity for every student who is ready to walk through them.

References

• Huerta, A. H. (2020). Reimagining college fairs for equity: The role of high schools and post-secondary education. Hack the Gates Policy and Practice Brief. University of Southern California.
• Institute for Higher Education Policy. (2021). Rethinking recruitment policies. In “The most important door that will ever open”: Realizing the mission of higher education through equitable recruitment, admissions, and enrollment policies (pp. 8–18). Washington, DC: IHEP.
• Niche. (2023). Effectiveness of recruiting travel and campus visits. Niche Enrollment Insights.
• RNL, Halda, & ModernCampus. (2025). 2025 E-Expectations. Ruffalo Noel Levitz.