Students were lured into Campus Center Plaza with the thumping rhythms of music from a live DJ mixed with schools from the Deep South as over 25 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) set up shop by Fireside Hall for Contra Costa College’s annual HBCU transfer caravan.

Held Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., different HBCUs were lined up on campus ready to greet students and give them information on how to transfer to their school.

Schools from Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and more were welcomed to CCC with open arms.

Each school provided information such as eligibility requirements, admissions selection process, when, where and how to get an application and how transfer students could apply.

Though the majority of HBCU students are African American, all the colleges promoted diversity on campus and supported students of all kinds of ethnicities attending their schools.

Amanda McCombs from Central State University in Ohio said though 90 percent of the school is African American, everybody can go there and is accepted.

She also said it was her first time at CCC and thought the campus was beautiful and it was a fun day with people walking around in their Halloween costumes.

Sociology major Stephan Carter said he is interested in going to an HBCU and was glad to attend the HBCU transfer caravan on campus. The Sociology major also said this was his first semester at CCC and he liked the resources the HBCU transfer caravan had to offer.

Leslie Williams from Virginia State University in Petersburg provided students with information about internships and clubs at the college and what was important for students to put on their applications.

She said there are over 100 clubs and organizations at that campus and for the mass communication major, there are TV and radio stations on campus, which can offer job experience opportunities.

Williams said it was her first time at CCC, and she thought it was quite welcoming with a lot of involvement on campus.

Carol Brown from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida said the Bethune-Cookman University campus was quite nice and family-oriented. She also provided the ethnic breakdown of the campus and supplied transfer information to students.

She said they want to help people who are less fortunate and give back to the surrounding community.

Tamika Starks from Xavier University of Louisiana located in New Orleans said her school offers specific grants for transfer students and a transfer lounge during the summer. She said amenities like those offer students opportunities to get involved on campus.

To apply to this university, students must do so online and it is a very easy process — it is rather quick and there are no application fees.