Students study college choices

Dozens of college and university recruiters met with Columbia County students on April 20-21 at the school system's annual college fair.

The fair gives many students their first contact with potential choices for a college education, said David Banborowski, the assistant director of undergraduate admissions at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"Obviously, we have plenty of brochures to hand out, but a fair gives students a chance to speak with a representative of the school and ask questions they might not find in a brochure," Banborowski said.

A college fair is a first step in exciting students about their prospects after high school, he said.

"Hopefully, they'll be interested enough to check out our Web site and even make a visit to the campus," he said.

Jimmy Washam, a 17-year-old junior at Lakeside High School, already has decided where he wants to go to college - Georgia Southern University.

"I came here because it got me out of class," he said of Lakeside's fair.

With plans to study mechanical engineering, Jimmy said that his best options were Georgia Southern or Georgia Tech and that Tech wasn't for him.

Already a senior at Lakeside with plans to go to Augusta State University in the fall, Stacie Sconyers, 18, attended the fair to examine their options.

"I wanted to get some ideas of where I might want to go if I decide to transfer later," she said, adding that she's thinking about attending the University of Georgia."

Chris Kemp, a Lakeside junior, milled about the fair holding brochures from UGA and Georgia Tech.

"I'm not sure where I want to go yet," he said. "That's why I'm here."