From the Savannah College of Art & Design to the University of Miami and a handful of international schools, Cheshire Academy’s College Fair gave its students a wide scope of options.

More than 170 colleges packed the Arthur Sheriff Field House for Wednesday’s event, which is in its 18th year.

“We continue to see growth in the breadth of options,” said Madeleine Bergstrom, Director of College Counseling. “We have global representation here – schools from all over the country and world – and that increases every year. It speaks to the reputation of our student body.”

The college fair gave students the opportunity to explore as they begin the search to find the right college fit. It also provided juniors a chance to go through a series of mock interviews, something that separates Cheshire Academy’s college fair from most.

Dustin Hunter, Assistant Director for Regional Recruitment at Ithaca, said he attends about 150 fairs each year and Cheshire Academy is one of three that has a mock interview portion.

“I really think the interview portion is great,” he said. “The students are focused and you can tell they are well prepared…We love CA students, largely because we know academically and socially they are prepared to come to our college campus. They understand what a rigorous academic environment is and they want to engage with the community outside of the classroom.”

The fair is designed to give sophomores and juniors very specific experiences. Juniors will get comfortable with the interview process, while sophomores get a chance to explore all the different types of colleges.

“You’re nervous coming in,” Lucas Alfaiate ’20 said. “But you gain confidence and it’s a great experience for the future. You also get a chance to learn about so many different schools that specialize in different programs and degrees and are all over the world.”