<p>i like my school, but it would be nice to sometimes not be the only one. i go to a large public high school with about 1000 kids and the school is 98% white and like 1% black and it is wierd. i get the occasional stare by people. it's even more awkward in ap. we were talking about the difference between ethnicity and race and my teacher asked 3 people what the difference was but when he called on me he said "since your the only black person in here i am going to pick on you" then 90% of the class laughed. then he asked if i was an american, but he didn't ask my other classmates. all my white friends thought that was offensive, but i dont know. even though i want to go to dartmouth college, part of me wants to go to spelman college to have the hbcu experience and then mit or harvard for grad school. </p>
<p>I guess it would depends on the tone in which the teacher said it in, but it was still offensive nonetheless. I go to a very diverse HS ( I live in the NC and the public school system is set up that way so it won’t be segregated. It was a controversy a few years ago. I approve of the system.) , so I don’t know what it feels like to be the only one. In my classes there are about 35 people while about 5 are minority, including me, and the rest are white. It is awkward in my math class because I’m really good at math and people don’t really expect black women to be good at math. It also weird in APUSH to talk about race and sexism when you have the majority of your classmates thinking its over and the teacher wants me to contribute since I’m both AA and female. My teacher never say anything like yours did, but I can tell he really wants to say something along those lines. </p>
<p>As for college, I say do Dartmouth because you would meet people of different backgrounds from all over the world. It’s might be a dramatic change for you if you go to Spelman because not only you’re going from predominately white to predominately black. But it’s also all women.</p>
<p>I can see why It would be good to go to Spelman too though because you would be with other black women. And our society really need to start appreciating black women <em>cough</em> <em>cough</em>. </p>
<p>If you think you’ll be ok with that change, then I say go to Spelman. For me, personally, I would do Dartmouth 'cause I’m sorta boy crazy and I like to be around people of all races. But if you are not like me then do Spelman. Like you said, you can go somewhere else for grad or transfer. </p>
<p>nope. </p>
<p>When you enter the “real world”, especially if it is in a professional capacity (i.e. doctor, lawyer, technologist, etc), you will routinely look around and find “I’m it!”</p>
<p>I’ve worked in technology for more than twenty years. I can count on one hand the number of african american directors and above that I have met. In my opinion, the earlier you learn how to be comfortable and to excel when you’re the only one, the better you will be prepared to deal with this sad reality after you graduate.</p>
<p>As far as the professional world goes, I think a lot of groups, sadly, will at this point still always find they are the only one. black women unfortunately, get a double whammy of it, but white women experience this a lot too depending on their profession. One of my friends is studying construction management and she is one of three girls in a course of 200.</p>
<p>I have never not been the only one - at school, at sports, at parties, in my neighbourhood, and almost in my country. (My father is African American and my mum is Australian and I have grown up in Aus but moving to the US to go to college). Blacks make up under 1% of the national population here. One time a girl in my gymnastics squad asked me if it felt weird being the only black person and I told her, quite truthfully, that it would feel much stranger, not bad just strange, being in a class with many black people, as I had grown up around white Australians and in white culture- I am of course, also biracial which makes it a little different. One good thing, I had this conversation with my American cousin the other week when we were talking about cultural differences I should prepare for in the US, is that I have never fallen into a habit of hanging out only with people with a similar racial background to me, that I have never been pressured by others to do so since it was never really an option, and there isn’t really much racism towards black people here because they are not a big enough group to be stereotyped. i had mixed feelings about other things like my Dad being asked to come in and speak when we were studying to kill mockingbird, or that when we did our only unit on American history the teacher gave me all the main parts when we had to recite I have a dream. I mostly found this stuff amusing though. For me I have quite liked it for various reasons, just a couple of them outlined here, but I am also excited to get to have the opportunity to spend time with other African Americans and get to know African American culture. For me, even a college with 5% AA students will provide this at an unprecedented level. </p>
<p>I am not literally the ‘only one’ at my school, but there are only two other black students, also biracial- a brother and sister, and they are in the primary school ( I think you call it elementary in the US?)</p>
<p>@SuumerAus
Thank you for sharing. I wish you luck in your transition to the US, unfortunately, I don’t think it will be easy.</p>
<p>@planner03 could you give me some insight into why you think so? Thanks! Want to be as prepared as possible</p>
<p>SummerAus, please don’t worry. My daughter is also biracial, and one of only a handful of minority students in a small public high school. She is pretty vocal when someone says something stupid, and seems very well adjusted. Be yourself!</p>
<p>@planner3 why do you believe the transition won’t be easy? It sounds like she is dealing with the same issues in Australia. I’m very happy to see in my lifetime how the United States has progressed on race relations. We have so many interracial families now that it is hardly noticed anymore. I’m speaking about cities on the east and west coast. I can’t speak for the deep south. That may be a different experience.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is an amazing school - possibly providing the #1 undergraduate education available in the USA. I wouldn’t turn it down. College isn’t about comfort. It’s about stretching. </p>
<p>I go to a large magnet school but I have classes with 93% Asian and 5% white with only 5 black total in all my classes. It’s horrible because I’m new to the school and have only talked to 3 black people. All of my friends are Asian, but I’d like to have more black friends (outside my best friend from another state).</p>
<p>I am so used to being the only African American person. Being the only one feels normal. </p>
<p>@akiddoc In the perspective of a person who has been at schools with few black students their whole life, desiring an atmosphere with more black students would actually be stretching because it is outside the comfort zone and would allow for a new, unfamiliar life experience that builds confidence.</p>
<p>My daughter has been at schools with few black students her entire life, but she really doesn’t look at the world that way. She was taught to value character above all else - actually as the only thing that counts when dealing with individuals - and she has embraced that as her life outlook. She is just as comfortable at Asian American Club activities as she is at African American Club functions, both of which she attends. I guess that is just how our family deals with the world. We taught her from the beginning that there were no restrictions based upon race or gender, and she has pushed that theme to its limit. She felt insulted when Wash U sent her an invitation to the ethnic minority freshman day but not to the general student day. She understands why they have the function, but she feels that minority students are being sent a message of subtle exclusion when there is no mention of the other activity in the invitation. Her white friends were invited to the general freshman day. Wash U probably looks at it as a positive recruiting ploy. I wonder if they thought it through. She just got the same type of invitation from Oberlin. Maybe everyone does the same thing.</p>
<p>So, back to Dartmouth, I am looking at it as a decision that will send a message to those who will judge this student after graduation. Can she successfully deal with the larger world around her? Has she proven she can compete with the Ivy leaguers of the world? Those are questions that employers think about. It may not be fair but that is what needs to be dealt with in life.</p>
<p>I understand the argument from jkdreamers, but there are many ways to build confidence without turning down Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize how tired I was of being the only one until I visited an HBCU. There were issues with that too, but kind of a feeling of being with family. I like the mix in big state universities, but the learning style in LACs best. I’m a mess. But yeah being the only gets tired.</p>
<p>I live in Texas and I’m almost always the only black kid in my class. The only other black girl I have classes with is technically Indian and I’m already friends with her. Being around everyone else frustrates me to no end because when you’re the only one they start to influence you and mess with your mind. They used to have me convinced that i have it easier in life because I’m black and that all my accomplishments were because someone felt pity for me being black. I’ve had to deal with a lot of nonsense that I’m certain I wouldn’t have if I had AP classes with more black kids and most importantly black teachers. During the pre civil war era in history was literally a walk on shattered glass because my teacher kept saying the hard r n word in class and I couldn’t do a thing about it because I’m the only black kid. English is also insufferable because the movies I watch have the hard r n word in it as well and southern white kids are annoying.</p>
<p>That’s why I’m trying my hardest to do well so I can go to school some place in the east coast that has a significant black population and/or several african/african american clubs I can join. I’ve had enough. If it weren’t for the Internet I’d probably still be suffering from the mental burden kids at school placed on me to get me to hate myself.</p>
<p>Being the only does suck :(</p>
<p>@Jellybae, check out California schools. We’ve been living on the east coast for a while now. We are originally from Southern California. We miss the casual vibe and acceptance of Californians. USC, Cal, UCLA, Pomona and Stanford to name a few, will have a much more accepting environment with great academics.</p>
<p>As for being the only one and having to deal with it, learn to deal with it now. If your chosen career requires a bachelors or masters degree, you will be surrounded by people that don’t look like you. It’s a sad but true fact. </p>
<p>And yes, being the only does suck but the rewards for academic and career success more than make up for the frustration of not seeing more people that look like you. We’re out there, you just have to find us after you graduate.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>@wherezwallace my problem isn’t being the only one. My problem is that when I’m the only I’m subject to passive aggressive racism and I have to keep quiet about it or else I could have my rep ruined. 
I and no other person of color should ever have to “deal with it” I’m definitely going to make sure I join BSUs and ASAs when I get to college to keep my sanity</p>
<p>@jellybae I totally agree. We should not have to deal with it. I just ignore the haters. Like when people say the n word, I ignore them because their ignorant. </p>
<p>@dartmouthgirl15 for me it doesn’t even end at the n word. My teachers are racist, my peers are racist, hell, even my parents perpetuate racist misconceptions towards our own ethnic group!!! It’s driving me insane</p>