Hundreds of HS students interview with colleges at Chicago Scholars event at McCormick Place

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A one-stop shop for Chicago kids hoping to get in and go to college

The annual Chicago Scholars event brings universities and schools, under one roof.

Students can get admitted on the spot, with some even getting money to attend.

There was a mix of nerves and excitement for a lot of the high schoolers as they interviewed with colleges and universities of their dreams.

Many of them will be the first in their family to go to college.

"I interviewed with Purdue and I am pretty excited how that went," student Michael Gomez-Hernandez said. "I think it a great school it integrates business and engineering, something that interests me a lot."

Michael is one of nearly 600 students taking part of this year's Chicago Scholars Onsite College and Leadership forum at McCormick Place.

The event brings over 100 schools face to face with hopeful high school seniors looking to take the next step in their education.

Tuesday, some students walked away with onsite college admission offers and financial aid.

Including lucky high schooler Houefa Agassounon, who was accepted to Columbia College on the spot, after a brief interview.

"I thought they were just going to get to know me, probably like I have your application but I did not think I was going to get here you are, you got accepted. I was like 'wow,'" Agassounon said.

The event brings students from public, charter, and private schools across Chicago together.

It is also meant to provide resources to get students college ready, while also helping take some of the load off parents.

"It's a daunting process like navigating all the things to get to school, the FAFSA, knowing how or where to go to school, and then being able as a parent to let your student go away. And what we do is provide is provide college counseling services," Jeffery Beckham, Jr., CEO of Chicago Scholars, said.

For any Chicago high school juniors who are interested in participating in next year's forum, the application process starts Tuesday.