The annual Career Services Graduate School Fair showed Weber State University students the gates that lead to paths beyond bachelor’s degrees on Tuesday.

Ninety-six recruiters greeted the Weber State community in the Union Ballroom, sharing information about their schools and programs.

Education, Recruiting, Finance and Events Specialist for Career Services Ashley Petitta led her team in organizing the event.

“We organized this event for the students. It provides the opportunity for students to better themselves for their future career,” said Petitta.

According to Career Services, 201 students attended the event.

“I would urge professors to promote the event, and invite all students to attend,” said Petitta.

Fernando Lenos, WSU junior, had his hands full of information from the event.

“I came here to check out other colleges. I plan on studying aerospace engineering and I’m just weighing my options,” said Lenos.

Recruiters handed out information from a wide range of programs, from aerospace engineering, to mental health counseling, to education.

Program options weren’t the only wide-ranging aspect of the fair. Recruiters represented local, state, national and international schools.

“I enjoyed going around seeing all the different options,” said Lenos. “I’m not interested in all of them right now, but who knows? I might be in the future.”

Petitta also pointed out that the grad fair help students plan for the future.

But graduate school is not a part of every student’s plan.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities this fall. Only about 3 million of those students are graduate students.

“I feel like a lot of students overlook the grad fair because they feel like they’re not ready for furthering their education,” said Petitta. “This is an opportunity that can help them prepare.”

Andrea Done, a recent WSU alumna, said the grad fair was a great tool. She has been looking for graduate and medical school information since she graduated.

Done has experienced negative encounters with trying to learn information from recruiters online.

“I think meeting representatives face to face is better than online. It’s easier, and you get your answers quickly,” Done said. “You don’t have to worry about them not emailing you back.”

That one-on-one attention is another benefit of the grad fair, according to Petitta.

“The recruiters are here to provide information so the students are able to prepare and meet whatever qualifications are necessary,” said Petitta.

“This fair has been useful and very helpful,” said Done.

Career Services invited students that attended to participate in a survey about the grad fair. These participants were entered into a raffle.

The surveys were given to the students so that they could learn how to improve the grad fair for upcoming years, according to Petitta.

“The most important thing for our office is the success of the students,” said Petitta. “That’s why we have the grad fair.”