More than fifty colleges and universities are recruiting prospective students in an online 3D virtual fair this week, which features live video presentations by college shopping experts and one-to-one text and video chats between admissions officers and attendees. 

Joe Dysart

Dubbed ‘CollegeWeekLive,’ the two-day event, March 25-26, enables institutions to meet teenagers where they live – on the internet – and make quick, personal connections in a virtual world. 

“CollegeWeekLive represents a smart investment for us,” says Anna Jaquez-Herron, assistant director of admission and financial aid at Colorado College, adding that the event enables the admissions staff to reach out to a much broader spectrum of students from around the country – and around the world. 

Other institutions participating in the event include West Point, Temple, George Mason, Northeastern, Oregon State, Christian Brothers, Kansas State and Old Dominion.

A major draw of the event is the live, video-streamed presentations, which are presented in a virtual conference hall and include a post-talk, online Q&A chat with the experts. Top keynotes include “The State of College Admissions in 2008,” by recognized college shopping experts Howard and Matthew Greene and “The Financial Aid Office as Your Advocate,” by Ronald Johnson, UCLA director of financial aid.

Visitors also get a chance to check out specific colleges and universities in the fair’s virtual exhibition hall, where institutions have 3D virtual booths. Each college or university is able to brand its booth with school logos and recruiting slogans and stock it with recruitment videos, podcasts, brochures and applications. All booths also feature a link to the institution’s home website. 

“Schools interested in getting a booth can be up-and-running in about 30 minutes,” says Michael Lewis, CollegeWeekLive’s vice president of marketing.

The virtual booths also enable school financial aid officers and other experts to present their own video webinars and interact with prospective students and parents in real-time via text or video chat. Many of the booths feature current students, who can text or video chat with visitors one-to-one and give visitors a personal perspective on what day-to-day life at the institution is really like. 

The fair also has a virtual resource center, where visitors can download documents, videos and podcasts related to their college search and store that data in a personalized, virtual briefcase. A virtual financial aid library is available, stocked with resources that detail the variety of funding options available, including grants, scholarships, loans and work-study assistance credits.