Virtual College Fairs: Fighting Zoom Fatigue with a Fresh Approach (Part 1)

We’re all familiar with the image of a teenager glued to a phone or laptop, but even the most app-addicted reach a limit with screen time eventually. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to interact with screens more than ever before, and for students, that means hours spent in physical classrooms have shifted to hours spent in online learning environments. Some students enjoy the chance to stay home and study from the sofa, but online learning brings a host of challenges—including becoming just plain sick of screens.

High school senior and editor-in-chief of Naperville Central High School’s student newspaper, Amisha Sethi, documented some of the exhaustion she and her fellow students are experiencing:

“Staring at a screen all day for so long gives me headaches.”

“I really want things to change and I want more asynchronous time.”

“I feel like I don’t learn enough during Zoom time for classes to be so long.”

In addition to online classes, juniors and seniors have another online academic experience to navigate—the virtual college fair. We spoke with administrations of several colleges and universities to hear their ideas on compassionate, compelling approaches to virtual college fairs that heed student screen exhaustion.

These professionals recognize the fatigue students are facing—in addition to sadness and anxiety over abrupt changes to their high school experiences—and invite them into a warm environment that stokes the fire of their excitement for the future.

Impactful Imagery

While many campuses are able to offer small, safe, in-person campus tours at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, this isn’t a viable option for all students or families who may have health limitations or travel concerns. Giving those students and families a virtual opportunity to experience your campus’ beauty and sense of belonging is key.

“To highlight our college’s unique qualities and offerings in an online college fair setting, it is our goal to provide imagery of our campuses along with delivering a personal touch to prospective students,” said T.J. Smith, Director of Recruiting at Shelton State Community College. “We are marketing our accessibility to those who are overwhelmed with information overload.”

A picturesque small town like West Point, Ga. offers compelling imagery. Logan Gann, Assistant Director of Admissions at Point University, said that her team makes an effort to communicate to about the unique benefits of the university’s setting, especially in the current environment. “Point is in a small town, so we don’t have as many COVID cases as larger, more populated areas, which seems to be a big selling point to our prospective students.”

Imagery provides students and parents with the opportunity to picture themselves on the campus. They can imagine breathing fresh mountain air, feeling the hum of a busy city, or hearing the sound of waves crashing against rocks. They can see themselves throwing a frisbee in the quad or curled up with a book in a cozy library corner. Imagery fosters imagination, which helps students push past the fatigue of online interaction as they picture themselves belonging somewhere intellectually, physically, and socially.

Concise Conversations

For students and parents who have spent months attending several online gatherings each day, adding one more long, crowded digital meeting is unlikely to be appealing—especially if families feel like they could get the same information from your school’s website.

Finding ways to plan and deliver succinct, specific interactions for students and parents who stop by your virtual “booth” at a college fair is an imperative.

“We experienced very low signups for many of our online events this past fall,” says Gann. “Most of the students that did register to attend didn’t. Students seem to have a shorter attention span when it comes to doing everything online because all other information is at the tips of their fingers while we are trying to talk with them about Point.”

A simple starting point to solve this problem? Make sure students know you’re going to respect their time.

“We tried to keep all of our Zoom meetings, and even events, small and intimate with our students,” says Gann. “So that they were able to all ask whatever questions they had, and we were able to address everyone and make it more interactive. We also wanted to make our event shorter than many colleges were, so that we had their attention throughout the entire event and they still were able to receive all of the information they needed.”

“Online college fairs have been one of the most difficult adaptations to make this cycle,” says Spenser Smith, Assistant Director of Freshman Admissions at Carson-Newman University. “In this setting, students don’t care how many beds your residence hall has, or how many acres your campus is; while this information is important, it can better serve students in a one-on-one call after the virtual fair.

“I have found that it is important to prioritize what information you want the students to have. Working at a small, Christian liberal arts institution, my first priority is to speak about the close-knit community found here at C-N, and the variety of academic offerings students can pursue.”

Gann also emphasizes making as personal a connection during these concise conversations as possible.

“I think we [highlight our university's unique qualities and offerings in an online college fair setting] by making it more personal to each student—having them be able to tell us what they are interested in and letting them know what they may be interested in at Point. We show how everyone at Point cares about each student and how they aren’t just a number.”

Digital overwhelm often causes both hyperstimulation and boredom, making virtual college fair attendees feel like they’re in a huge crowd while simultaneously extremely lonely. Personal connection cuts through the noise and frustration many families feel during an unprecedented college search.

Remaining relevant during unusual, less-than-ideal circumstances is a must for higher ed, now more than ever. Stay tuned for Part 2 with more on how to break through digital fatigue with virtual college fairs.