Automation allows students to create a secure online profile that is attached to a barcode. When they bring their barcode to the fair, college reps can scan it to gain access to their information and make following up easier. Automation essentially eliminates the need for prospect cards, which take a long time to fill out and often leave reps with incomplete information.

For Students

Students visit gotocollegefairs.com to register for a fair, at which point they’re given a barcode to print and bring with them.

For Colleges and Universities

Institutions who are attending the fair have the option to rent a scanner, allowing them to easily access prospective students’ information.

Making your fair automated doesn’t add much extra work for you. You’ll just want to:

• Include information about student registration when you reach out to high schools
• Send flyers along with your communications, see our resources page
• Send a contact list of invited high schools to your gotocollegefairs.com project manager
• Copy your gotocollegefairs.com project manager on outbound communications

The best way to ensure students arrive at your fair with barcodes in hand is to:

• Consider Express Registration, where counselors upload the entire junior and/or senior class to us and we send back unique barcodes for each one. Learn more here.
• Suggest schools display the provided promotional posters in school hallways and in the counselor’s office
• Remind students about the benefits of online registration in the school’s newsletter
• Ask the school to advertise the fair and the automation process on their website and in their upcoming events section

Bringing a barcode provides students and colleges with a lot of advantages, like:

Onsite registration acts as a safety net for students who forgot to register ahead of time. In order to offer onsite registration for your students you’ll need either:

• A table with computers and printers available at the fair
• A computer lab to which you can easily direct students to register and print their barcodes

You can also display the QR code poster provided in the gotocollegefairs.com Association Resources page, which will guide students to register on their mobile devices. Students may be able to use the barcode on their phone, however some colleges will not be equipped to scan barcodes on screen and students are highly encouraged to print their codes.