17th Annual Houston Black College Expo

The 17th Annual Houston Black College Expo takes over the Reliant Center on Saturday, October 24, from 11 AM to 3:30 PM. It's a one-day college fair with more than 100 schools under one roof, including HBCUs and trade schools. If you bring copies of your transcripts, some of them do on-the-spot college acceptance, so you could walk in with a question and walk out with an answer.

Beyond the booths, there's a full schedule of seminars. 'How to Find Money For College' and 'The 411 for the Student Athlete' cover the practical side of getting in and staying there, while 'REAL TALK: College vs. High School' looks at the jump between the two. There's also 'How to Start a Business!' for anyone thinking about the entrepreneurial route. You'll find sessions with NCRF Celebrity Ambassadors Yo-Yo and London Brown throughout the day, too.

The expo is run by the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit started in 1999 by Dr. Theresa Price to lower high school dropout rates and get more underserved, at-risk, and low-resource students into degree and certificate programs. NCRF held its first Black College Expo in 2000 in California, which drew more than 35,000 people; since then, they say they've helped more than 800,000 students access higher education and facilitated more than $5 billion in scholarships and grants.

Fifth Third Bank is presenting this year, and their sponsorship keeps the day free to the public. While the expo celebrates the history and culture of HBCUs, it's open to students of all backgrounds—high schoolers, college transfer students, underclassmen, adult learners, and families. You'll find it at the Reliant Center, 1 NRG Park, 8100 North Stadium Drive, Houston, TX 77054, on Saturday, October 24, from 11 AM to 3:30 PM, and admission is free.