As the dreaded November 30 deadline for submitting UC and Cal State applications approaches, Downey Unified School District held its annual college fair on Thursday, Nov. 2 at Warren High School. The fair was geared towards students wanting to gain more insight into individual colleges and universities and see what they each have to offer in regards to education and campus life.

The event, which lasted from 6:30-8 p.m., took place at the Justice Stadium and was open to everyone interested in discovering more about a variety of colleges and universities. Mrs. Campos, who works in the college and career center in A201, greatly emphasized the importance of students attending the fair.

“It’s a great experience because you get the chance to meet with so many different universities from the all over the country in one spot,” Campos said, “and you’re able to meet and talk one-on-one with representatives from colleges so it’s a good opportunity.”

Senior Janice Yi, an athlete whose schedule is filled with AP courses, gives her input on why all students planning to go to college should make attending events like this a priority.

“People should attend the college fairs because it helps them get background knowledge on the prerequisites to get into colleges,” Yi said. “They can also learn about what campus life is like and meet different alumni that have attended a certain college and get advice from them.”

With over 60 colleges and universities arriving from throughout the country, free admission, a raffle, and tote bags reserved for the first 1,000 attendees, it is obvious why students would not want to miss this annual event.

Prior to the fair, dedicated honors student and ASB member Hailey Casillas, 12, discussed what schools she was expecting to see and gain more knowledge about in the process.

“I’m really hoping to see colleges including UC Riverside, UCLA, and University of Hawaii,” Casillas said, “I am also expecting to learn about the different admission rates and tuition fees for those schools.”

The event turned out to be a success with UCLA, UCI, and Cal State Long Beach being popular sites that attracted the most students and their families of which included dozens of kids from Downey High.

Jeremias Aguinada, 12, who is planning to major in Economics a`nd aspires to have a career in property management, reflects on what he learned about different colleges and what he will do with the resources he has obtained by going to the fair.

“This year, I arrived at the college fair knowing exactly what colleges I wanted to see and asked them about admissions and how I can make myself a better candidate for their school,” Aguinada said. “The information I got has allowed me to narrow down my choices of where I want to go and it opened my eyes to apply everywhere I’m interested in and hope that I get accepted.”

In the past two weeks, there have been college visits from top universities in California including UCLA and USC. On Friday Nov. 3, UCSB will be coming to Downey High. These visits along with free application workshops and other local college fairs are altogether meant to answer any questions seniors may have about admissions and guide them towards the path of success.