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Why spend a lot of time and money visiting far-off colleges when those colleges will come to you? Many popular schools will visit your high school this fall. Ask your school’s college counselor if the school you want to go to is planning on coming.

Even if your college of choice doesn’t come to your school, they may still hit your area. Many colleges will set up events in hotels on weekends or nights in your area so you can ask questions and get information. This opportunity is definitely worth fighting the crowds (which can number in the hundreds).

Moreover, colleges will often set up meetings with high school college counselors for public relations and marketing work. I just had a meeting last week where five colleges hosted a breakfast, and learned a ton of interesting college entrance info:

Should you take advanced placement courses, or college classes? Some students thing taking classes at a college may look better on your application than AP classes, because that means the student has weathered the actual college environment and succeeded.

The reps at the breakfast-from Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Penn, and Stanford-felt otherwise. They said taking APs was actually the better thing to do; they felt staying at the high school showed a greater commitment to the school community, and they added that credits from other colleges most likely won’t transfer to their schools, where high AP scores might earn credit.

“What if my high school doesn’t offer the course I want to take?” The reps didn’t solve this one, unfortunately. I say you should call the office of admissions from the university you’d like to attend to see what they say.

New trends in applications. According to the reps, more and more students are applying for majors that they believe are sure to lead to jobs despite the slow economy: science, business, and math. This trend will probably continue into next year and as long as the economy slumps.

Counselor letters. Like most colleges, these five require a Secondary School Report, where counselors are asked to provide some basic information on each student. This is also an opportunity for the counselor to share their thoughts about the student, or talk about any unusual circumstances the student might have been through in high school.

The reps said they knew it was hard for counselors to write good recommendations on their students, since counselors have to see so many students-they said they thought counselors had about 200 students to see, when in fact it’s usually much higher. They encouraged the counselors to write as much as they could about each student, and then they talked about some counselor “recommendations” that are a form where the counselor basically says the student was never suspended or expelled, or has a criminal record.

My advice? Counselors can really cheer for you, but since they have so many students to see, you’re going to have to make the first move. Respect their time and space, but find a way to get your counselor to get to know you; if every other applicant sends in a checklist, your counselor’s letter will help that much more.

Patrick O’Connor is the author of the definitive college admissions guide, College is Yours, and one of the top college admissions counselors in America.