@CADREAMIN – I agree with all of that, and definitely something to consider
Yes, she can take merit money and athletic money, but not need based financial aid with athletic money.
I think it would be very difficult to be a minority at an HBU and be on a team that struggles. It is going to take many, many seasons for Del State to move up in the D1 ranks, if they ever do. Is the school a good choice for her without lax? Does she have the same social interests as others at this school (look at the clubs, events, speakers, concerts the school hosts)? Are the women’s teams supported financially and in other ways the same as the men’s teams? You can tell. Life was very difficult for Jackie Robinson, but at least his team was winning.
Are the other lax players black? If so, where are they coming from? There are still so few black lax players at the high school level that it would be impossible to fill a team with experienced black players of D1 quality. The players might be great athletes who are new to lacrosse, but that presents a frustration in itself. My daughter’s team is also new, so the coach recruited a few soccer players. Great athletes, have a long way to go with lacrosse fundamentals. My daughter can throw a perfect pass, but if no one can catch it, is it such a perfect pass?
Does your daughter currently have a lot of friends who are black? Is she living in a culturally mixed area? It would be very difficult to go from a white, suburban high school to a HBCU even if you are black, but as a white student it would be extremely difficult. There are plenty of changes that college freshmen have to experience, and to change all that she knows so drastically might be too much.
I disagree with Mezzoforte that we “never hear of minorities questioning going to school that is majority white.” Many teams have trouble recruiting and retaining minorities when the school is ‘white.’ The food, music, clubs, even the barbers are not what the recruits are used to. Black and other minority recruits DO question what it would be like to be the minority at a white school.
Thanks twoinanonedone-- all good things to ponder and we will try to find some of that out. Coach is trying to bring in 10 girls in Ds year for Lacrosse- and I expect they will not all be black since as you said there are not that many black lacrosse players yet. It is a new head coach with clearly a new approach. We can ask some of those things when we meet her.
Her high school is fairly diverse - we are in a Philly suburb, but not THAT diverse. This we know, so we will go in with our eyes wide open, thanks for the useful insight.
“Why do people who are non-black always seem to question going to a school that is majority black? On the opposite end, I (and this is MY experience) never hear of minorities questioning going to school that is majority white.”
Many black students consciously compare HBCU and PWI options. There are about 300,000 students currently at HBCUs, and almost all of them consciously chose the HBCUs knowing that PWIs are out there too.
All the HBCUs I have visited have a strong sense of mission and community. Feeling at home there depends not only on not being a bigot, but on being invested in what these schools are all about. Christian schools are a good comparison in the sense that if you’re not on the same page with the institution’s shared values, you might feel like a misfit.
So today the lacrosse coach offered her full scholarship-- she got significant academic and the coach is offering the rest (including room and board) as athletic scholarship. It’s nothing to sneeze at for sure!
Did she feel a connection to the school?
It is interesting that this type of thing (i.e. concerns about white students attending schools where white students are a minority group) tends to come up with discussions about HB schools when it almost never comes up in replies to the California dreaming students.
Are there California schools that are HBCUs that CCers ask about and we don’t bring up that a good fit should be considered? Are there public schools in California that have only 5% minority students? I think there are schools where we do question fit for a student who seems to be going to be a lone wolf, like if a student is headed toward an extremely religious school like BYU or Liberty just because of the cheap tuition, or to a military academy because it is free. ‘Free’ isn’t always the best fit.
I wouldn’t think Reed was the best fit for my kids even it it was free, and it would have nothing to do with race. I’d ask the same question, “how’s the fit?” to any athete considering a scholaship -the fit of the team, the coach, the academics, the culture. The OP is obviously considering it, as that’s why she started the thread.
Actually, it was more in reference to white students from other parts of the US dreaming about going to college in California. Most of the popular colleges in California that get mentioned are majority non-white (e.g. UCSD undergraduates are 21% white), but that rarely gets mentioned as a cause of concern for white students the way it gets mentioned for white students considering HB schools.
But a traditional college that is not majority white is still different from an HBCU, and that’s probably why it doesn’t come up. Some HBCU’s have required courses in black history, for example. I don’t think you’d see that at a CA college, no matter the population (though I’m guessing the non-white students are Hispanic, not AA).
And while I didn’t find the food all that different from what we eat here in Seattle at any of the HBCU’s we toured, it’s true that many non-academic things ARE geared towards African Americans. At D’s college, the table in the lobby had no fewer than 4 AA churches’ cards and flyers available, some offering rides on Sundays. At one of her friend’s HBCU’s, there is a barbershop in a men’s dorm that specializes in black hair. The ubiquitous student-created ads for services on the walls in D’s dorm offer hair braiding, extensions, etc.
But yet, there ARE white and Hispanic students at these schools. And our tour guide at one was Hispanic/Asian. The difference from the CA schools UCB mentions is that they were not created for, and primarily attended by, a specific population. That’s why you don’t see the concern when they come up, though I have seen some CA residents listing those very schools as ones they would not choose.
Some of them do have ethnic diversity type course requirements, but not specific to African American subjects. Examples:
http://americancultures.berkeley.edu/
http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Academics/Diversity-Requirement/College-of-Letters-and-Science-Diversity-Requirement
http://senate.ucsd.edu/committees/CEP/DEI/ApprovedCourses.pdf
It is true that non-white students in California schools tend to be heavily Latino and/or Asian. A rather significant number of schools in California are designated as “Hispanic serving institutions”.
http://www.hacu.net/assnfe/CompanyDirectory.asp?STYLE=2&COMPANY_TYPE=1%2C5#California
I looked up the stats at Delaware State. It is ~75% black, ~11% white, and the rest other URM. There might be a lot of things at the school that interest the OP’s child, and that’s what I asked. How is the overall fit?
If my daughter decided not to play anymore, she’d still want to stay at her school. She likes the activities, the classes, the weather, the beach. It’s a good fit financially, academically, athletically, and socially. Not perfect, but the best combination of all for her. You really need all, not just the financial and athletic, but the academics and social too.
FWIW, I have a (white) professor friend who teaches at an HBU, and really likes his experience there.
Several of the professors at D’s college are white, and were grad students doing research or some other kind of exchange there, and later returned to teach. Many, both black and white, have been there for decades. There is some fierce dedication to these schools, by both alumni and professors.
@twoinanddone – she seemed to yes-- she liked the D1 discipline of the academics being watched closely to keep the students on track and she liked the coach and her philosophy as well as the curriculum for her major.
Like @twoinanddone I looked up the stats on Delaware State, and I didn’t even make it to the racial breakdown. What struck me was the test scores, with a 25-75 ACT score of 16 and 19. If the OP’s daughter has an ACT score of say below 20, then maybe this might be a good chance to get merit aid; otherwise, run for the hills.
I have four nieces and nephews. Two have married or are engaged to guys they met in school. A nephew is seriously dating a girl from his school. My experience is that college is the best time one will ever have to meet a prospective marriage partner. This is something to keep in mind. Parents should certainly impress upon their children the importance of marrying someone who is smarter or at least equal to themselves, preferably someone with a lot of money. If attending a particularly school is likely to advance that goal, it’s a good fit.
@EarlVanDorn - preferably someone with a lot of money?? Did you really just say that? My daughter has a boyfried now-- not that I want her to marry HIM either. Honestly I will encourage her to establish herself before marrying.
@toomanyteens I meant what I said. All other things being equal, I would prefer for my children to marry someone with a lot of money and/or social status versus someone who is poor, because I think it is better to be rich than poor. I think IQ is more important, and would rather they marry someone poor but smart than rich and dumb. But ideally they will marry someone who is rich, smart, and who has lots of social connections.
HBCU’s, even the “Black Ivies”, traditionally allow for lower, sometimes MUCH lower test scores for admissions, merit, and even honors programs. This is for several reasons: 1)Minority student generally do not do as well as white counterparts on standardized tests 2)Lower-income students cannot always find or afford test prep to help them improve scores and 3)These schools look beyond the numbers as a general rule.
Students at HBCU’s are not all drooling idiots - they produce a large number of the black engineers, doctors, and other advanced degree seekers. The first African American female to receive at Ph. D. in astrophysics from Yale attended Fisk University. Students at Xavier University of Louisiana are partnering with NASA and Georgia Tech-a school often mentioned here. This is just a small sample, however.
@sseamom Is that to say that we should not judge the education one can obtain at a place like DSU as inferior because of the average scores?