By BROOKE MGBAFILIKE

Application season is rapidly approaching high school seniors and the time to start thinking about colleges and universities has come. A popular fair called Historical Black College and University Fair concluded in September but will be back in February. Students in California  prepare their personal statements, recommendations, and transcripts to hand out to different HBCUs. San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Victor Valley, Fontana, and Rialto Unified School Districts all opened their schools to host the HBCU Fair. Students from these districts and surrounding districts, like Redlands Unified School District, who attended the fair in September also had the chance to apply for colleges and to get on the spot acceptance. 

If students were not able to attend this year’s HBCU Fair, another will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 1, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The admission fee is eight dollars plus sales tax. Students have the ability to purchase tickets online or at the event. Top HBCU universities such as Howard University, Morehouse College, Hampton University and many more will be attending.  Seniors are advised to dress professionally and to bring transcripts that include their Scholastic Aptitude Test or American College Test scores and teacher recommendations to apply for colleges or universities. Students who are not seniors in high school are also welcome to attend. The Black Expo gives opportunities for students to find out more information about colleges and universities in order to explore their options of going to an HBCU.

Students that attend the fair who have the appropriate Scholastic Aptitude Test or American College Testing scores and have acceptable grade point averages for that particular college will have an opportunity for acceptance to the school of their choice. The students will have the ability to join the seminars and workshops happening in the areas. Students still have a chance to visit over 50 universities or colleges nationwide.  For more updates and the opportunity to buy tickets for Feb.visit https://www.thecollegeexpo.org/events/los-angeles.

The National College Research Foundation official logo of the expo. Found at https://www.thecollegeexpo.org/events/los-angeles. 

The Black Expo event also offers a scholarship for those who choose to apply. The due date for this scholarship that pays for three to four years of college is January 13, 2020. The topic is “Why is a College Education Important to Me.” All entries must be typed, double spaced embedded in the email to scholarship@collegeexpo.org (no attachments). The email subject must be “First Name/Last name/year/which expo/scholarship”. The winner will be contacted by email and phone three days prior. The winner will be presented at the Black Expo in Feb. All information and details about the scholarship and the expo can be found at https://www.thecollegeexpo.org/students/scholarships.