YES Prep Public Schools
Communications & Marketing
college pennants

COVID-19 has changed the way we operate and that includes the college search process. With college admissions counselors not being able to travel and with some students learning online at home, YES Prep has reinvented how students can continue to connect with colleges.

College Fair goes virtual

The first YES Prep College Fair was held in 2006 in a gymnasium at what is now YES Prep Southeast with only 100 juniors and seniors participating. This year, YES Prep hosted its 15th Annual YES Prep College Fair and, because of the pandemic, the fair was moved to an online setting with over 3,200 juniors and seniors in attendance.

This year, 180 colleges and several other post-secondary programs like YES Prep IMPACT Partners, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic- Serving Institutions, military academies, and comprehensive adult transition programs for students with Intellectual and developmental disabilities participated.

Karina de Leon

We asked Karina de Leon, an admissions counselor at St. Mary’s University to share what she thought about this year’s virtual experience. She shared the following - “Despite the virtual setting we are forced to meet in due to the pandemic, I’m glad that colleges and universities were still able to gather together online in order to present to students and start building those connections with them. St. Mary’s University is happy to have been a part of this reinvented college fair.”

Impact on YES Prep students

jay ramirez

Attending for the first time was Jay Ramirez, a junior at YES Prep Fifth Ward. The topic about attending college is something that is discussed in his family, having had older sisters that graduated from YES Prep East End. His oldest sister graduated from college in May 2018 and the other is currently a student at San Jacinto Community College- North Campus. Before attending the college fair, Jay had never given much thought about what his plans were after high school graduation. However, his plans have suddenly become a little clearer!

After attending this year’s virtual college fair, Jay shared about his experience, “The college fair was really cool because I got to learn a lot about different colleges and about their requirements. The virtual part of it was even better because it was fast and effective. For the first time, I felt like I finally had an idea of where I’d apply next fall. Some of the schools I liked include Texas Woman's University, University of Texas at Tyler and Lamar University.”

College visits move online

The college fair is not the only opportunity students have had to engage with college representatives. College visits have also moved to a virtual setting on Microsoft Teams. So far, we’ve hosted over 80 college visits, with more than 40 already scheduled for November and December. We are excited to continue to provide students with opportunities for them to engage and learn more about different colleges and universities around the nation.


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