I was at a school in New Hampshire last month and had such a great experience. I had a table set up with a bunch of UMass Boston information on it, and it was the tail-end of a college fair. There were only a few dozen students milling around their gym talking to various college representatives. A young man walked up to me, introduced himself and extended his clammy, jittery hand for a shake. I asked him how he was, and he responded, “I am so nervous.” I laughed, I smiled, and of course I began to find out why. He was a sophomore, who wanted to start looking at schools, but he didn’t know what to look for. Of course his teachers, peers, and guidance counselors had encouraged him to go to the fair and get exposed to the schools. But here he was embarrassed and nervous because he did not know what to say. So we talked about popular questions to ask a college representative and things to look out for in schools. So here is my advice:

If you don’t know anything about the school, that is OK. That is why you are talking to the school’s representative. Make us do the work by saying – “Tell me about your school.” Then if something interesting comes up, ask questions about it. Here are some other questions:

• How big is your school?

16,000 students…

Really wow, that big?

• Do you have [insert major here]?

Yes, in fact we have more than 95 programs of study for you to choose from.

• What are your most popular programs?

Psychology, Sociology, Criminal Justice, and our College of Management are our most popular programs. We are also very well known for our Nursing program.

• How big is your average class size?

Only 26 students.

• What do your students do for fun?

Besides enjoying city life using UMass Boston discounts, they participate in over 100 clubs on campus, attend concerts, play intramural and varsity sports, go sailing…

• What Grade Point Average (GPA) and SAT scores do I need to get in?

Our average freshman comes in with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale and a combined score of 1050 on the Math and Critical Reading portion of the SATs.

These are some good starter questions (and answers) that are the most popular ones that I hear on the road.  As you begin to learn more about schools, you will come up with more questions. But whatever you do, there is no need to be nervous. As a counselor, I am just excited to have the opportunity to talk to you about UMass Boston and tell you about all the wonderful things our school has to offer… so if anything, I should be the nervous one.