The International College Fair is over. It was a great success with over 1,500 people attending over the course of the two days. So why another article?

Because this is the critical time! Your child brought home bags and bags of booklets and brochures and you don’t want them to just end up in the back of the closet. If your son or daughter is hoping to be college-bound in 2006, now is the time to determine if they want to attend any of the colleges they saw at the fair.

Take an online tour of the schools by visiting their websites. Download applications, or help your child to apply online. Time is ticking, but there are still many colleges whose deadlines haven’t passed, so encourage your child to spend their Christmas vacation filling out applications.

Going to college is one of the main steps on the path to adulthood, so help them where you can, but they should take the lead! Perhaps your child didn’t see any colleges that were 100 percent what they were looking for.

Remind them that there are literally hundreds of universities out there, and they should not waste time waiting. Web sites like www.petersons.com <$>, www.schoolfinder.com or www.collegeboard.com<$> help students to search for colleges based on the qualities they want. One of the great things about a college fair is that it shows students that they have choice!

And now that they know what they are looking for, they will be able to find it. So parents, help them to stay focused throughout the college search and application process.

For the parent whose child has another year of senior school, or is planning to attend Bermuda College first, you have some extra time. But not much! You’d be surprised how the years fly by.

Get a head-start on the college search. Plan to sit down with your child and look through the information they received at the fair. Talk to them about the different colleges, including admission requirements, tuition, and locations.

Hopefully, your child picked up flyers from the Scholarship Corner, so definitely discuss these with them. There are millions of dollars available each year for students looking to further their education both on-island and overseas. Have your child make a list of the scholarships they would be eligible for, and the corresponding criteria.

Remember, getting ready for college is a big step - one that no student should have to do completely on their own. In addition to your advice, arrange for them to talk to people who’ve done it before - co-workers, family members and neighbours.

Convince your child to spend a lot of time researching the colleges they are interested in. Your son or daughter needs to be satisfied with the final decision. Far too often, students rush into making a choice and end up unhappy. The last thing you want is to have your child failing classes, or (eek!) saying they want to come back home.

Make it an honest, open, collaborative process, and your child will be one step closer to having four successful years of university (and you’ll be one step closer to that home gym in the ‘spare room’!).

The International College Fair was held on December 1 and 2 at Bermuda College. For college and scholarship information, contact Kristin White at 294-7230 or email kristin.white[AT]xlgroup.com.