James McKissic

Staff photo by Allison Kwesell Ian Norwood, 17, from Brainerd High School, fills out an application for South Carolina State University during a college fair at the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga. More than 20 college recruiters attended the fair.

Robert Maddox didn’t expect an immediate scholarship from the Infinite Scholars Scholarship Fair Wednesday, but Stillman College offered him $3,500.

“I’m excited because I need the money,” he said.

Mr. Maddox said his father and mother are unemployed, and he is trying to find as many ways as he can to fund his education. The Tyner Academy senior was one of more than 500 students attending the Infinite Scholars Scholarship Fair at the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga on M.L. King Boulevard.

Representatives of more than 20 institutions participated in the fair. Many distributed scholarship information, waived admission fees, and some offered scholarships on the spot to students armed with their transcripts and ACT scores.

“Students learn about colleges that they might have had no clue about, especially the smaller, historically black colleges and universities,” said James McKissic, the Urban League’s chief operating officer, “and then they can start putting together the pieces of paying for college.”

Bi-Lo Inc. and Tennessee Lottery for Education Afterschool Programs also helped fund the event.

Participating colleges included Voorhees College in Denmark, S.C., which awarded at least four scholarships, Clark Atlanta University, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

“We want to let students know that their hometown college has great educational opportunities for them, and we want to keep students in the area to educate them and create a great working population and quality community members,” said UTC admissions counselor Marin Rieman.

Since 2007, more than 1,500 Hamilton County students have attended the fair. College representatives have awarded more than $5 million in scholarships.

Scholarship organizers said more than $1.4 million in scholarships was offered Wednesday.

But Garrison Baker, a senior at Brainerd High School with a 3.27 grade-point average, said he wished the fair provided scholarships that students could carry with them to whichever college they chose to attend, rather than have specific scholarships offered by the schools themselves.

“I wish there were more scholarships that I could use for other schools,” he said. “It’s more of a college fair than a scholarship fair.”

Stillman College, located in Tuscaloosa, Ala., offered dozens of local students its Fannie Ousley scholarship, named for the mother of the founder of Infinite Scholars Scholarship Fair. Qualifications included having at least a 2.2 GPA or an ACT score of 19.

There are many deserving students in Chattanooga, and the fair gives them a shot at a small financial boost, said Monica Finch, director of admissions at Stillman.

Thomas Ousley founded Infinite Scholars in 2003, four years after raising money for his own son to attend college.

“It’s just a teacher trying to help students,” said Mr. Ousley, a retired St. Louis, Mo., educator.

Courtney Bend, who holds a 3.35 grade-point average at Ooltewah High School, said she wants to be a pediatrician and is looking for money to help her achieve that goal.

“The scholarship fair opens my eyes to what’s available to me,” she said.

PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS

Austin Peay University

East Tennessee State

Middle Tennessee State

University of Memphis

United States Air Force ROTC

United States Naval ROTC

Purdue University

United States Naval Academy

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

University of Tennessee in Knoxville

Alabama A&M

Alabama State University

Alcorn State University

Claflin University

Clark Atlanta University

Hampton University

Saint Augustine

Stillman College

Savannah State

Tuskegee University

Voorhees College

Wilberforce University