How does being a minority at a PWI/liberal arts college feel like?
Is it hard to settle into a PWI liberal arts college as a low income minority student? Is there generally a divide between students?
@lalaland789 , I can’t answer your question exactly, but I’ve thought about it a lot because my son is going to college in fall '20.
Personally, after being raised in a neighborhood that was 100 minority and going to schools that were approximately 98% minority my entire life, I went to a PWI public. My dorm hall had 100 guys, with only two other blacks besides me. My entire building (4 floors, 400 guys, had about 8 blacks. I grew up in a city environment, and at least half the guys on my hall grew up in very small towns. There is no way around it – it was very different than anything I had experienced before.
I think the feeling you get at your PWI will have a lot to do with your childhood experiences. If you lived in a primarily minority neighborhood and attended primarily minority schools, you may feel somewhat out of place initially. If you currently live in an integrated neighborhood and attend very integrated schools, you’ll feel more at ease in the beginning at a PWI.
My son’s experience has been different than mine. He’s lived in an integrated neighborhood and attended schools that were more or less balanced racially (with 1/3 white, black, hispanic) and economically. A couple of the publics on his list are also very balanced. The LACs on his list are less balanced, skewing much whiter and much higher SES-wise.
He’s not worried about not fitting in racially. The only thing he wonders about is how will he fit in SES wise. Most of the schools we’ve looked at have relatively low ratios of Pell students. Even with that, he’s not worried, but more … curious about how it might work out.
Lalaland, I think you’ll find friends who fit your personality very well. It will feel different initially, and maybe for a long while. But you will find friendly people rather quickly. And finding friends will help you feel more comfortable.
Good luck to you.
EdIT: deleted because not relevant to OP
Your other thread mentions Trinity, Wesleyan, and Connecticut, and that you are an international student, so perhaps those more familiar with those specific colleges and how international students do there may be able to give you more specific information.
I have a different perspective. My daughter attended primarily minority schools because that is the makeup of our immediate area. Our church which is less than a mile away is very diverse almost leaning toward 30% minority. My daughter had difficulty fitting in even amongst minorities because she was not the stereotypical black girl. She attends a boarding school which is PW and really found her people and felt accepted almost immediately. So it also depends on your exposure or lack of exposure to diversity. I must say that I do consider the ethnicity data as it is important to me that DD20 see other people like herself on campus so 1% would not b sufficient on a small campus for me.
I attended a PWI LAC back in the day. It was extremely racially non-diverse. (There were all of 9 black students in my entering class and we didn’t like each other lol). The fact that it was in the middle of nowhere exacerbated my feelings of isolation having come from a racially balanced high school in a big city. And I was not alone in those feelings. The SES differences were far less noticeable. There was really nothing to spend money on.
The LACs are trying to diversify and have made small strides but it’s a real struggle, especially for those in the middle of nowhere. You really need to visit, and visit multiple times, imo, before committing to any that don’t have a critical mass of students that look like you. Really feel out the vibe and have candid conversations with the minority students.
You mentioned that you are an international student. Unless you grew up in the USA, I think that the fact that you are international will have a much stronger effect on how well you feel that you fit in than your ethnic or racial background.
Of the colleges to which you applied, Wesleyan has the highest number of international students, while Connecticut has the fewest, but it’s between 16% and 13%.
I would say that you will feel out of place at the beginning, since that is the nature of attending a college in a foreign country - you are unlikely to find very many people who come from the same background, and if we talk about a LAC, with 2,000 undergraduates, and only 250 or so are international, it is more likely that you will fond almost nobody who comes from the same background as you do.
However, that is exactly why you applied to colleges which are outside of your home country - you wanted to go somewhere else. It is scary to leave all that you know behind. I know, both my wife and I have each changed the countries in which we lived twice. But the flip side is that you truly get to start anew. You get to discover new sites and experiences on a very frequent basis.
You also soon find that the fact that you are all attending the same college creates an fairly strong shared identity, and this is especially true for LACs. So while you will always feel a bit different than most of your peers, you will also feel that you are part of the group. There will also be a few hundred other internationals, and though they are mostly from different background than you are, they all share the experience of studying in a foreign country, so you will have others who share that feeling of being uprooted which you will sometimes get.
Good luck!
Uhmm… what’s PWI ? SES? My son will be a senior in college before I figure out all these acronyms used on CC ? Gleaning from the thread, PWI is the antonym (loosely speaking) of a HBCU? Maybe? Can’t figure out SES. Something to do with Economic Status? Anyhoo…
To answer the OP, if my conclusion of the acronyms is right, then there is a truth you need to understand, and something my son has realized and is “totally cool” with. Assuming it’s a racial minority, unless you go to an HBCU, for the majority of the universities in this country, you WILL be a minority. That’s just the way it is. It’s a fact of life. International students in the US WILL be a minority no matter WHERE you attend school, PWI or not. SO, if I were you, I’d stop harping on the fact that you ARE a minority, PWI (whatever that may be) not withstanding, and looking for ways it should be different. Focus on the fact that you ARE there and make the best of it. Live your life there color-blind. You are part of the majority… the students there to get an education. I think when you go In looking to feel different, you most certainly will. If on the other hand you go in with the mindset that we’re ALL here for the same reason, the rest will fall in place.
Just so you know, I was right there where you are now. Had THE best college experience at a LAC, in the middle of nowhere, and have life long friends from there. It never crossed my mind before going that this was going to be “different” somehow than attending any other university. Of course that was many moon ago, but I now have a kid who is entering college and it hasn’t crossed his mind either, I’m sure.
It can be a difficult transition, especially for someone who is coming from an environment that is very much more homogeneous to them. My kids went to racially diverse high schools, where being black, though definitely a minority, was not not strikingly so. Some of their black classmates went on to colleges where they were very much the minority and did feel out of place. That and SES definitely were factors in their lives.
There is an article floating around here written by a current AO who discussed his experience as such. It can be a tough go. Though it is likely going to be the case at the vast majority of residential colleges, that POC are a minority , in small remote communities, it can be a bigger issue. The sheer numbers at larger schools can make up for the small percentages.
My best guess is that “PWI” = “predominately white institution”.
My best guess is that “SES” = “socio-economic-status”.
OP: Of course, it will be hard to settle in at a PWI LAC as low income minority student, unless, as noted in above posts, you have significant exposure to middle class whites.
Large universities & HBCUs would be more comfortable, but also probably less generous with financial aid.
How resilient are you ? Just as when one studies abroad, one needs to adapt to that country’s customs & culture. You will need to adapt & to grow.
P.S. I attended an overwhelmingly white upper middle class, very athletic LAC decades ago. I am white & athletic. I did not enjoy my experience due to a severe lack of diversity. I believe that there was one black student, no asians, no muslims, maybe one hispanic in a class of almost 600 freshmen.
In order to gain a better worldview & in order to grow, I studied abroad in various countries each of my 3 years. I experienced dramatically different cultures, peoples & perspectives. During one summer, I, a fairly liberal Northerner, ventured into the South and experienced some hostility directed at me. These were the best & most memorable experiences of my undergraduate years. Today, it is easier to adapt due to awareness.
@BenniesMom1 Are you a low income minority? Telling low income minorities or minorities period to be color blind is not helpful and ignores the realities they face.
It may be difficult for a minority low income student to fit in among high income white majority but sports usually bridge these gaps. It’s tougher if you don’t belong to a group.
If your student is a carefree, friendly outgoing extrovert who is active in sports or other extracurriculars and appreciates diversity himself, it shouldn’t be a big deal to adjust.
Kids these days are more open minded then their parents and grandparents, majority doesn’t care about race, class, sexual orientation, religion, culture type issues. There is more acceptance among youth than among adults and youth who discriminates is usually heavily influenced by narrow minded adults in their family or community.
Bigger divide in colleges is based upon liberal and conservative lines. Politics nowadays is very polarizing.
@itsgettingreal21 - I concur.
PWI = predominantly white institution
SES = socioeconomic status
Note that while PWI is often used as an antonym for HBCU, that is not actually correct. There are colleges which are neither PWI nor HBCU (e.g. University of Hawaii), and at least one HBCU is also PWI.
Which HBCU is also PWI ? Thanks !
IF you read my post properly, you will know that I am. I stated… that I was “right there where you are right now”. Also, if you properly read my post, I did NOT say that the OP should be color blind. I said live your life ON campus Color blind cause you (All the students) are there for the same reason. Meaning, don’t look for reasons why you’re different. Focus on the reasons you’re the same!
We face the same realities. My points stand. Thanks for your concern though.
THANKS for the info.
Have no idea. BUT, I was reading an article last night about Temple University (my son has applied to Boyer School of Music there) and found it interesting that they pointed out the fact that it’s NOT technically an HBCU, though apparently most people think it IS or maybe used to be considered one point, despite it being Predominantly White. They also noted that it “has a big HBCU vibe” (i think was the word they used in this article) to it.
Many lacs have programs and orientations to help minority and international students with the transition to their school. They also provide support throughout the year through resources within their offices of inclusion and diversity. Resources will vary by school but would be something worthwhile for you to check out.
West Virginia State University. It is an HBCU, but is over 74% White