Lauderdale County schools conducted a district-wide college fair Friday.

It decided to combine the college fair for all schools at MSU Meridian, rather than conducting one at each campus.

Organizers said it made more colleges available for students to consider.

"We want students to have the opportunity to have a lot of options and variety," said Richard McDonald, assistance principal at Southeast Middle School. "We don't want them to just take the first college that comes along or go to the college their parents went to or go to college because they like their sports team. We want them to get all the information they can so they make informed decisions about what's best for their education."

Dozens of colleges sent recruiters to try to attract local students to their campuses when the time comes.