Big Apple College Fair (1979-present)

The annual Big Apple College Fair began in 1979 as Big Apple College Information Week, and a fair was held in each of New York City’s five boroughs. In 2010, this was consolidated into one large Big Apple College Fair held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The annual fair is usually held the third weekend in October.
 
 
Big Apple College Information Program
Big Apple College Information Program, Inc.
The Big Apple College Information Program, Inc.’s mission is to conduct educational activities specifically to educate and inform students, parents, and the community to the availability and accessibility of a post secondary education.
 
The Big Apple started in the late 1970’s and was incorporated in 1985 as a 501.C3 not for profit organization.  The Big Apple held a week of college fairs, one in Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Queens, and Manhattan, the third week of October each year.  In 2010, the Big Apple started holding one large college fair in Manhattan at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. on the third weekend of October.
 
Newspapers.com
29 September 1980, Staten Island (NY) Advance, “College Night set at Mall,” pg. 16, col. 1:
Similar college nights will be held in the other four boroughs, as part of “Big Apple College Information Week,” proclaimed by Mayor Koch.
 
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2 October 1980, Canarsie Courier (Brooklyn, NY), “Local HS Students To Get First Hand College Information,” pg. 15, col. 3:
More than 3,000 Brooklyn high school students including those from Canarsie, Nazareth and South Shore high schools and their parents are expected to attend Long Isand University’s “Big Apple” College information Day Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 1 to 7 p.m., on the LIU campus in downtown Brooklyn.
 
Newspapers.com
23 August 1981, Staten Island (NY) Sunday Advance, “More students from Island college-bound,” pg. A5:
The annual “Big Apple College Fair,” sponsored by the Board of Education at the Staten Island Mall, has been “packed with kids and their parents” since the fair was brought to the borough two years ago.
 
Newspapers.com
24 September 1982, Daily News (New York, NY), “College info fair coming” by Lancelot Hewitt, pg. 110, col. 4:
A “Big Apple College Information” fair, to give prospective students and their families a chance to explore educational options, will be held Oct. 17 fro, 1 to 4 p.m. at St. John’s University’s Jamaica-Hillcrest campus.
(...)
The third annual Big Apple College Information Week has been coordinated by representatives of the city’s entire college and high school community, including the Queen’s Consortium High Schools, including the borough’s 13 public high schools.
 
Newspapers.com
26 September 1982, Newsday (New York, NY), “Off to Those College Fairs,” College Fairs sec., pg. 10, col. 1:
Sunday, Oct. 17, in Queens, the Big Apple College Fair, at St. John’s University, ...
 
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3 November 2011, Daily News (New York, NY), “Thousands Attend Big Apple College Fair!,” Hora Hispana, pg. 3, col. 1:
Thousands of area high school students and their parents attended the 32nd annual Big Apple College Fair on Saturday, October 22 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
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Dr. Ann Kaplan
Ann is one of the founders of the Big Apple College Information Program. In 1979, she was involved with a group of NYC college admissions counselors who all agreed that NYC high schools didn’t have access to sufficient information to assist students with statewide and nationwide admissions options. To facilitate the distribution of college access information to students and families, the group decided to hold one college fair in each of the five city boroughs. Since its inception, hundreds of thousands of students and families have been able to receive critical information on college access and financing options. Thanks to Dr. Kaplan’s vision, the annual Big Apple College Information Fair continues to be a big success.
 
Newspapers.com
1 October 2023, Daily News (New York, NY), Big Apple College Fair advertising supplement, pg. 2, col. 1:
The countdown to graduation has begun, and college-bound students, parents and educators are headed to the Big Apple College Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan on Sunday, October 8.
(...) (Col. 2—ed.)
A legacy of education advocacy
The Big Apple College Fair is more than just an event; it’s a legacy. It traces its roots back to the late 1970s and officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-proit organization in 1985. For years, the fair has been a beacon of hope and guidance for students and parents navigating the often complex journey to higher education.
 
In its earlier years, the Big Apple College Fair spanned an entire week, with individual fairs held in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and Manhattan, all during the third week in October. However, in 2010, the fair took a transformative step by consolidating its efforts into one massive, comprehensive event held in Manhattan at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.