Youth Attend SAYA's College Fair
On Saturday, June 9th, SAYA held a carnival-themed College Fair at our Elmhurst community center. The event welcomed approximately 50 high school youth, and hosted representatives from nine institutions: Adelphi University, The City College of New York, CUNY Staten Island, LaGuardia Community College, Barnard College, Hunter College, Kingsborough Community College, St. John’s University, and the Macaulay Honors Program at CUNY. The day began with a college fair, made up of nine school booths, followed by a panel featuring all attending representatives. Here SAYA youth were able to ask additional questions, ranging from school-specific to the application process in general. Thank you to all colleges who joined us!
Below are reflections from two youth attendees:
By Shams, 11th Grade
SAYA’s college carnival at the Elmhurst Center was no average college fair. It had all kinds of fun extras, and provided plenty of information about the many colleges that were there - Kingsborough Community College, Adelphi University, Hunter College, St. John’s University, and many more. The first half of the carnival allowed us to walk around and ask each college representative all kinds of questions, such as “What programs do you offer?” or “What are your requirements for the SATs?” After learning more about Adelphi University, I am very interested in their Digital Media and Arts Program. The program provides students with hands-on work experience for their future careers, rather than confining them to a classroom lecture. I was also interested to learn about their Summer Pre-College program for high school students. I really had a lot of fun learning about these schools, and I know others can say the same.
By Joshua, 10th Grade
The College Carnival was a really fun event! Students from 9th to 11th grade were able to meet with many CUNY colleges. For the first half, all the representatives had booths where they handed out pamphlets and spoke about the many highlights of attending each school. I liked this set-up, because it allowed us to mingle, joke, and talk with the representatives, instead of just reading a brochure. The second part of the carnival featured a panel with all of the representatives, where students had the chance to ask even more questions, helping us to decide what we’re looking for in a school and where we want to apply.
The whole carnival was fun and very informative. My favorite part was chatting and joking with the representatives while we visited each booth, and hearing their personal thoughts on their school. The atmosphere was comfortable and pleasant, which made learning these things much more fun. Before this, I was nervous about what to expect in college, because I’ve heard rumors about how hard it was to get in, and how expensive it can be. After the carnival, I feel much more at ease. Now I know a lot more about what these colleges are looking for, and the application requirements for each one. It was a great experience!
