I AM O’Kah! Hosting Free College App Hackathon/College Fair, Oct. 21 at The Startup Nest

BALTIMORE -- I AM O’Kah! Inc. will partner with Paula Dofat, The College Info Guru, LLC to present the College App Hackathon and College Fair, Saturday, Oct. 21, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at The Startup Nest (1401 Severn St., Baltimore, MD 21230).

With over 500 families anticipated, this innovative, free event is intended to help students maximize the funding they receive to attend college.

The college fair will provide access to the colleges and scholarship providers that have been curated. Attendees will have intimate access to selected scholarship and college admission counselors. Several colleges will offer on-site admission and merit scholarship decisions.

The Hackathon will offer up to 100 students professional guidance on choosing the right college, selecting employable majors, understanding college admissions, understanding the financial aid process, editing college and scholarship essays and submitting of FAFSA and college applications. Plus, Hackathon attendees will have the opportunity to win up to $2,000 in college scholarships, in addition to institutional financial aid.

"According to a National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) data, less than 7 percent of undergraduate students received private scholarships, and of those that did, the average award was less than $3,000,” said Aisha DaCosta, I AM O’Kah! Inc.’s founder and executive director. “With the average cost of college topping $16,188 at public institutions, students cannot rely on scholarships alone to pay for college - they need a plan.”

To register online, visit https://collegeapphack.com. For more information about the event or resources of I AM O’Kah! Inc., visit www.iamokah.org or call 443.468.6402.

The Organizers

Paula Dofat, College Counseling Consultant and CEO, College Info Guru has over 17 years of experience in college counseling and touts an impressive 100 percent college acceptance rate with 10 percent of her 2017 graduating seniors receiving full-ride scholarships. She also is a featured subject of the Fox Searchlight film STEP, which documents her college guidance of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women’s first graduating class.

I AM O’Kah! is a Baltimore-based 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that provides youth mentorship, scholarships and programs to help navigate through socio-economic barriers to success. To date, it has awarded over $15,000 in scholarships to students attending University of Maryland, University of Baltimore, Towson University, Hampton University, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and University of Miami. Now serving students from four Baltimore City high schools, I AM O’Kah’s High School Cohort Program teaches how to think critically by discovering entrepreneurial opportunities and analyzing investments in business ownership, stocks, real estate and business franchises. The program provides academic support through the University of Baltimore’s College Readiness Academy and ACT test preparation; summer internship placement; entrepreneurship summer study at Babson College, and college and scholarship planning. For more information, visit www.iamokah.org.