'Ignore the Rankings' and Other Advice From the College Life Fair Last week, The New York Times held its first-ever College Life Fair. The one-day event, which was free to attendees, was held at Navy Pier in Chicago and served as a meeting ground for thousands of high school students and hundreds of colleges and universities, large and small, public and private, domestic and international. The fair also featured speakers who took the stage to offer some of their expert advice. I listened to many of those speakers, and wanted to share some of those tips with readers of The Choice: Find Ways to Discover Your College Fit 1 rule in the college admissions process: "Ignore the rankings." This is according to Dave Marcus, a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of "Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right College - and Find Themselves." Jed Hoyer would likely agree. He began his professional life as an admissions officer at Wesleyan University. He said he decided to attend Wesleyan on instinct, and advises students to trust their gut. He said he tries to do the same in his current position: as the executive vice president and general manager of the Chicago Cubs. Instead of relying on rankings, Mr. Marcus said, students should ask college graduates where they went to school, and where they would have gone to college if they had the chance. Another way to find a college fit, Mr. Marcus said, is to explore opposites. He suggested scheduling visits to rural and urban campuses on the same day. This will allow students to see what excites them, which could help them better define what they're looking for. A final note, once a list of potential colleges comes together: Don't apply to too many colleges. An expert from a panel of Chicago public school counselors says that students should apply to about six colleges: two safety schools, two target colleges, and a couple of reach schools. Other counselors nudged that figure up a bit to as many as nine or 10, but certainly no higher. Present Your Personal Best Of course, one of the most crucial components of an admissions decision is a student's academic record. Mr. Hoyer emphasized this point at the fair. "You have to get good grades," he said. Another facet students need to keep in mind: How do their lives unfurl online? Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, said students should be very careful about how they present themselves on social networks. "Clean up your Facebook" profile, Mr. Kantrowitz told students. Be very careful about giving out your personal information. Write a Good College Essay "The college essay," Mr. Hoyer said, "is your chance to tell a story." Just make sure your story doesn't have typos. Errors can give admissions officers a reason not to like you, Mr. Hoyer said. Review your college application and essay carefully, with a human eye, said Rafael S. Figuerora, the director of college guidance at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. "Spell-Check is not your friend and it will betray you," he said. We'd like to continue the conversation with our readers. If you recently attended a college fair, including The New York Times College Life Fair, and have advice to pass along, please share it in the comments box below.