Over 600 Families Attend College Fair Night Hosted by SBCC and SB Unified

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (November 1, 2024) — On Wednesday, October 30, Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) College Fair Night welcomed over 600 families that connected local high school students with admission representatives from more than 70 postsecondary institutions, including in-state and out-of-state colleges as well as public and private universities. The event is a collaborative effort between SBCC, Santa Barbara Unified School District (SB Unified), Carpinteria Unified, UCSB, CSUCI and many more.

“As a former Don, I love seeing SBCC collaborate with Santa Barbara High School and SB Unified to help promote opportunities and pathways for local students,” shared Assistant Superintendent/Vice President, Student Services Paloma Arnold. “We thank our community and partners and look forward to continuing this collaboration to provide this service to our community!”

SBCC and the collaboration also hosted two presentations: one for how to transfer from SBCC to a four-year institution, and how to apply directly into a four-year institution or University of California system. The presenters were Wendy Peters (SBCC counselor) and Cuca Acosta, Interim Director, Office of Admission at UCSB.

CAL-SOAP and the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation provided additional presentations on the financial aid process. Each of the presentations had more than 50 people in attendance.

This was a great opportunity for students to engage in discussions about majors, course offerings, admission requirements, and college life while also receiving valuable information to guide their future educational paths.

"College creates opportunities by preparing students with the skills needed to thrive in the real world,” said SB Unified Superintendent, Dr. Hilda Maldonado. “Events like the College Fair Night are crucial, making the goal of attending a 4-year university more accessible to all students, regardless of background or income. I thank our partners for their commitment to equipping our students with the resources they need to get ahead."

SBCC and the collaboration provides this annual event as an opportunity for local high school students to interact with admission representatives from a wide range of postsecondary institutions, including in-state, out-of-state, public and private institutions. The conversations discuss academic majors, course offerings, admission requirements, college life and other important college information.