Sept. 26-On Sept. 29, 2014, West High will be hosting the annual Tracy Unified School District College Fair; representatives from multiple colleges and universities will be coming to share the many opportunities that their respective institutions have to offer.

Many institutions are expected to be present, from our local universities to out-of-state schools and from private colleges to military academies. Representing the CSU System will be Chico, East Bay Sacramento, San Jose and Stanislaus. Multiple UC’s will also be present, including UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis and UC Merced. Private colleges like Saint Mary’s, UOP, USC, Holy Names, Concordia, Azusa Pacific and William Jessup will also be coming, as well as out-of-state private colleges like Seton Hall from New Jersey and others. University of Nevada, University of Colorado, and University of Idaho will also be coming from outside of California. For those interested in the military, representatives from West Point and the Air Force ROTC will also be present. These are just a few.

Not only are the representatives from these institutions expected to answer any questions about their respective colleges or universities, but also be offer application fee waivers, information request cards and explain their school’s financial assistance programs.

Although many think that college fairs are only for college-bound seniors, the truth is that a college fair provides all students with the opportunity to begin searching for the perfect college or university. Even for freshmen and sophomores, the college fair is a great way to gain information and start preparing for the college odyssey.

“Lowerclassmen should start thinking about what major they are interested…and also start looking for the special fee waivers and programs that are offered,” Laurie Tomlin, head counselor at West High, said.

Besides college information, breakout sessions will be held for CSU Admissions in Spanish from 6:30-7:20pm and from 7:20-8:00pm in English at the theatre; UC Admissions from 5:45-6:20pm at the theatre, West Point from 6:00-6:30pm at the library, personal statements from 6:40-7:20pm at the library and the NCAA from 7:30-8:15pm also at the library.

Do not miss this giant step for a brighter future.