Over 3,000 juniors and seniors from 13 YES Prep campuses attended one of Houston’s largest college fairs, YES Prep’s annual College Fair on October 4, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Stafford Centre. 

The college fair hosted representatives from over 150 college and military institutions from across the nation, including programs for students with disabilities and ROTC programs and military academies. In-state colleges made up 40% of the institutions present with 60% being out-of-state colleges, representing 35 different states, coming from as far away as Hawaii and Maine, as well as Mexico.  

In commitment to YES Prep’s belief that All Means All, Students had the opportunity to engage with a diverse array of institutions, including community colleges, Ivy League universities, state schools, military academies, and other post-secondary options including programs for students with disabilities and those interested in the military.  

Featured among programs for students with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) was Aggie ACHIEVE who began offering this fall the first four-year college program for students with IDD in the state of Texas. Additional colleges present to inform students with disabilities about their post-secondary options were Houston Community College with their VAST Program and Texas A&M University recruiting for the PATHS Programs. Likewise, Schreiner University and Abilene Christian University offered information about their special Support Services Offices for students with learning differences (e.g., Dyslexia, ADD, AD/HD, etc.). 

For students interested in the military, the fair gave them the opportunity to look at a variety of options ranging from ROTC, to military recruitment, to officer candidacy programs, to military academies. ROTC Programs present included the University of Houston’s Airforce ROTC and Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets. The University States Coast Guard sent recruiters to talk about enlistment, as well as the Officer Candidate Program for students who attend Hispanic Service Institutions and HBCUs. Additionally, the United States Coast Guard Academy and United States Merchant Marine Academy were in attendance. 

Of the 150 colleges and universities that participated in the college fair, 30 joined our students the following day at a more intimate event called “IMPACT Saturday” at YES Prep Southside Campus. These 30 colleges and universities are YES Prep IMPACT Partners. Through this “IMPACT” partnership the college/university agrees to meet the financial need of the student through a combination of scholarships, grants, work-study, and possibly loans and YES Prep, in conjunction with the IMPACT Partner, identifies students who meet pre-determined admission criteria. Over 700 juniors and seniors had the chance to meet more personally in small group settings with representatives from these partner institutions and learn about opportunities to attend these schools as an IMPACT Scholar.