<p>Plainsman,</p>
<p>You’ve helped me see how I’ve handicapped the conversation in this thread by leaving out some details. I was hoping to leave these details, some of them quite personal, out of this conversation, but it seems to me that they are necessary at this point.</p>
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<li><p>I actually did want to go to an HBCU when I applied to colleges my senior year. Like you, I did not think I could gain admission to the schools I really wanted to attend (Yale, Princeton, UVA, and UT), so I opted to apply to an HBCU for two primary reasons: (a) I never knew my father who passed away when I was 15, so I wanted to come to Howard to discover or at least feel more comfortable and in touch with the part of me that is African-American and (b) I saw that Howard was one of the top HBCUs and had a reputation as the premier institution for Black intellectuals.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding the question of Do I feel comfortable in the environment here, the answer is yes and no. </p></li>
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<p>Yes because I feel very comfortable being around Black people as a result of my time here. I didn’t get much exposure to Black people attending a mostly white Catholic school and being raised by my Filipino mother. Coming to Howard has helped me to understand what it means to be Black, the implications of my biracial ethnicity, and it’s helped me feel grounded in the African-American intellectual and historical legacy. </p>
<p>No because I’m starting to realize that yes, I found what I came to Howard looking for: groundedness in my Black identity. But now that I’ve found that, I’m realizing that I want more out of my college experience. My best friend is an aerospace engineering major at the University of Texas. He loves physics and he takes every opportunity to share with me the things he learns in class and books about string theory that he reads for pleasure among other things. I’d like to go to a school where there are more people like that. Sure, no matter where I go to school, I can’t expect every one of my peers to have that mentality. It is very clear to me that there is no college that I will love 100%. But, I know that there are schools where there is an ethos of personal, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional discovery and illumination that drives people to do the things they do. Where students learn from each other as much as they learn in the classroom (no matter how pollyannaish that might sound). Howard is a wonderful school that has provided me so many opportunities, but I have grown since the time I applied to Howard back in the fall of 2008. The person I am now simply wants an experience that cannot be provided by Howard.</p>
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<li><p>I’m a minority in every sense of the word on this campus. I’m biracial, I’m gay, I’m Catholic, and intellectual. I’ve found Howard to be not particularly inviting of gays or Catholics or intellectuals, and I think there are other schools that would allow me the breathing room I need to be who I am.</p></li>
<li><p>Howard is currently undergoing an academic review of all of it’s programs. At least 20 programs are being considered for mergers or dissolution. The Classics department, my major, is one of those being considered for a merger. I’m not sure how I’m going to present a “Philosphy, Classical Civilization, and Religion” degree to grad schools and employers. The uncertainty caused by this situation concerns me and I think it’s wise to keep my options open and look for schools that are more committed to a liberal education than Howard seems to be at the moment.</p></li>
<li><p>I am very aware that I don’t really have to worry about my money when it comes to my choice. I am extraordinarily blessed that money is not even a major consideration in my decision because there are merit scholarships and grants for high-achieving students from low-income families like myself. For that reason, I feel like having a college experience that revolves around more than just getting a degree is not too much to ask for. I empathize with those who are limited in their choices because they’re not getting the aid that they need, but that’s not my situation so it’s not fair to compare mine to someone who does have to consider the financial aspect of an education first when they make their choices.</p></li>
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<p>I am certainly taking away the advice I’ve been given here to do a better job of seizing the initiative and making my experience what I want it to be. I find Spacemaned’s advice and link to the Pact organization particularly helpful and I appreciate it. Although I’m still somewhat unsure about the wisdom of transferring, I think I owe it to myself after all that I’ve been through to at the very least provide myself with the choice of staying at Howard or going elsewhere to find my happiness and fulfillment.</p>