By Nelson Hernandez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Klevin Pollard walked through the bustling multi-purpose room at Largo High School with wide eyes, looking a little lost.

Pollard, 17, is a standout senior: He has a 3.3 grade-point average, is the student government association president and plays on the basketball team. But last week at Largo's college fair, he blended in with the hundreds of students shopping for schools.

The room was teeming with students and parents visiting dozens of tables where eager college counselors stood ready to answer questions: How hard is it to get into the college? Does the school offer financial aid? Is the aid need- or merit-based? What majors do you offer? What sports can I play?

Pollard, having just finished basketball practice, worked his way toward the table for the University of Maryland at College Park. It was hard to find with more than 90 schools hawking the promise of a good education and good times.

Most of them were local: Bowie State, Towson University, Hood College, Howard University and Catholic University. But some came from farther away, such as Ohio State and Voorhees College in South Carolina.

"I want to stay in the area," said Pollard, who wants to major in psychology, one of the classes he takes at Largo High.

Like many of the students at the fair, his grades are good, but the SAT score is more complicated. He scored 1,480 points out of 2,400 in the test's three categories. The third category on essay writing was added recently, so most schools at the fair paid more attention to the reading and math portions.

The average incoming student at Old Dominion University scored 1,100 points in the two original SAT categories and earned a 3.3 GPA; at Bowie State, the average was 900 points and a 2.7 GPA; at Catholic, the average was 1,170 and a 3.5.

Even if Pollard can make it into a school such as Maryland, where the middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between 1,240 and 1,380 on the SAT, he has to contend with the money issue. "I heard their tuition is real high," he said.

Angelique Simpson-Marcus, Largo's principal, has been pushing her students to try despite the academic and financial obstacles.

"College prepares you not just for the world of work, it tells you how to develop relationships, live life," Simpson-Marcus said. "You can't do anything without a college degree."

Simpson-Marcus likes college so much she has earned several degrees: a bachelor's of science from Howard; a master's of education from Goucher College; and an educational specialist's degree from George Washington University, where she is also pursuing a doctorate.

For Pollard, such academic achievement is far off but getting closer every day. When he reached the University of Maryland table, students surrounded the two counselors there, peppering them with questions and filling out forms.

Pollard stood on the fringe, grabbed a "Make Maryland Yours" brochure and flipped through it. He filled out an address form, left it with the busy counselors and then slipped away.