College fairs may be held at your school, a conference center or a local community center, and the colleges may be local or from around the country.

The representatives usually sit at booths or tables and hand out brochures and cards. They can tell you about everything from academics to campus life at their college, and they can also answer more-general questions about college.

Ask your counselor or a teacher how to find college fairs in your area. If you can, try to go to more than one to get a good sampling of what’s out there. This checklist will help you get the most out of each fair.