Students Given On-the-Spot Acceptance, Scholarships to HBCU's in Lynwood Event

In a once-in-a-lifetime experience, students from Lynwood had the chance to earn on-the-spot acceptance to historically-Black universities. 

"This is life-changing for our community. We are here to make sure college is accessible, affordable and is not a dream deferred," Dr. Patricia Brent-Sanco of Lynwood Unified School District said.

Lynwood Unified held its annual historically Black colleges and universities caravan for its high school seniors Monday.

"Historical Black colleges and universities provide students a different layer of support particularly for students of color," Brent-Sanco said.

More than 25 colleges sent recruiters to talk to Lynwood students, many of whom had little knowledge of HBCU’s until now.

"No it wasn’t the first thing on my mind but I’m definitely now interested in it. I definitely want to do it now," Firebaugh High School senior Jabrel Lowe said.

"I wanted to open up more opportunities for myself so I actually didn’t know HBCU's were a thing and now that I've heard of it, and that sounds pretty cool," Firebaugh High School senior Yssel Gomez said.

Some 94% of Lynwood students are Latino, but Dr. Brent-Sanco wants them to know HBCU's are for everyone.

"Their mission is to support students and ensure students have the best academic environment," Brent-Sanco said.

More than $2 million in scholarships and more than 200 acceptance letters were offered on the spot.

"There were students there who got full ride scholarships," Brent-Sanco said.