One thing that makes the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science unique is a student body interested in the next level of education. Nearly every student from the MSMS class of 2016 went on to a collegiate school, from Yale to Ole Miss.

Colleges descended upon Pohl Gym on the MSMS Campus on Monday, Sept. 12, ready to battle for students’ attention. There 48 colleges and the entire student body from MSMS attending. Seniors interviewed the college representatives for the first hour, and the juniors grilled them for the second. Some schools like Mississippi State drove a short distance, while others – New York University for example – traveled more than 1,000 miles to talk to students in Columbus.

Senior Class Secretary Ariel Williams said, “Being someone who is advanced academically my entire life, obviously I shot for the Ivy League Schools; but, College Fair showed me that I didn’t have to go to one of those – that some state schools are as good as the Ivies.

“I wish that more established schools went to the fair,” she added.

Calissa Henry, a junior, came prepared for the fair, “The school sent out a list of colleges and question to ask, things like that. I’m really excited to learn more about the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Vanderbilt – but I’m ready to talk to everybody and see what they are all about”

The College fair closed 6:30 Monday evening with dreams of college hovering in Columbus.