Howard University-DIVERSITY

College Search & Selection
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<p>When it comes to Howard University, how diverse is the university exactly? I'm asking because my mother is under the impression that Howard University is not diverse in any sense of the word being that it is an HBCU, and I keep trying to tell her that there are people not only from all over the U.S., but even from outside of the U.S. I personally favor diversity myself, but I don't identify diversity with only race. I, myself am interested in the types of people that I willl be able to socialize with and make lifetime friends with.</p>

<p>She's also under the impression that Howard University won't be as competitive as other colleges when I enter the work force because the school is comprised of mostly African-American students thus depleting my chances for advancement in the work force because of the diversity factors. (Mind you, I will also be attending a graduate institution. I'm not sure if it will be Howard just yet or not.)</p>

<p>BOTTOM LINE: How would you suggest I help my mother understand that Howard University is truely a phenomenal institution with limitless opportunities for me, and that diversity is present only in another form.</p>

<p>Because truth be told I'd rather attend an institution with students (who "look like me") who have their heads on straight and are striving to attain their goals and dreams, than to attend an institution with a bunch of students (who don't "look like me") who live to compete, step on each other, and party/get drunk every single night like wild animals.</p>

<p>Read more: http://**************.com/discuss/100003001-howard-university-diversity/?post=new#ixzz1y69Pgkc1</p>

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<p>Howard’s got lots of diversity, just not racial diversity. There are international students, students of different religions, different socio-economic classes etc . . . </p>

<p>Having said that, while Howard is a great school, and you’ll find plenty of students who have their heads on straight and are studying hard, you’ll find the opposite too, as well as kids in the middle who study hard and party hard too.</p>

<p>Kind of like most schools, come to think of it.</p>

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<p>How diverse? Not as diverse as other colleges. So you’re not going to win that argument.</p>

<p>Your mom is concerned that Howard, despite being at or near the top of HBCUs – may not be well-regarded in the working world. That being said, most hiring managers hire individuals and not diplomas. Ultimately, great kids come out of Howard.</p>

<p>But to be frank, you can screw up your resume at Howard as much as at HYP. It’s the individual who counts in many ways more than your alma mater. </p>

<p>However, I would also look seriously at other non-majority black colleges and see what they can show you. You never know, you may find their courting to be welcome. Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>According to [College</a> Navigator - Howard University](<a href=“College Navigator - Howard University”>College Navigator - Howard University) , 44% of Howard undergraduates received Pell Grants in 2010-2011.</p>

<p>According to [College</a> Navigator - Howard University](<a href=“College Navigator - Howard University”>College Navigator - Howard University) , Howard undergraduates of fall 2010 were 67% female, 33% male, 97% black or African American, 3% non-resident alien, 1% from DC, 98% from non-DC, and 1% from foreign countries.</p>

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<p>do you really think people at howard have their heads on “straight” more so then at other colleges, and do not “party” because they look like “you” as you said in your original post? and if ucbalumunus stats are correct, howard is as non “diverse” as a school could be! I think you need to listen to your mom and maybe open your eyes !</p>

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<p>People who say that HBCUs are not diverse are saying - by default - that they don’t believe there’s diversity within black people. But University of Georgia is 73% white; University of Minnesota is 75% white; University of Alabama is 79% white. I rarely hear people say these schools aren’t diverse.</p>

<p>I went to an HBCU myself (Spelman College), and I have friends who have gone to Howard, including my doctoral advisor (who is now a professor at Columbia). Aside from racially, I have found that HBCUs are very diverse. My father had the same concerns when I chose to attend Spelman, but I’ve found that my sisters at Spelman were all very different, we just happened to share a race. Personally, I am Columbia as a doctoral student, which is a top 10 program in my primary field and top 20 in my secondary field. People respect the name of my undergrad, and I think Howard has even more name recognition than Spelman does.</p>

<p>I have made lifetime friends at Spelman. My freshman year roommate just contacted me the other day - she found out we live in the same city, and she wants to meet up. Not only that, but whenever I meet another woman from Spelman, we are instant acquaintances. It truly is a sisterhood, and I feel like I could reach out to a Spelman alumna I didn’t know well for connections and networking. I loved my experience at an HBCU. (I am African American, btw.)</p>

<p>I would also add that recruiters came to Spelman and Morehouse because they knew they could get intelligent and accomplished African American students. I had friends who went to work on Wall Street before the collapse - sisters from the classes of 2006 and 2007 came back on Career Day and they had jobs at Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan/Chase and other big firms. The BIG consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Monitor, etc.) did a special seminar at Spelman and Morehouse aimed directly at recruiting more consultants of color into the field. They brought black consultants to teach us how to do a case interview and what consulting was like. Our law school fair had most of the T15 schools - Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Penn, Duke. I was involved in a research program at Spelman that is ONLY sponsored at minority-serving institutions; the NIMH paid me over $900 a month simply to do 15-20 hours a week of research with an advisor, and also paid for my research abroad AND for me to attend conferences in my field AND for me to visit graduate schools in my senior year. That program does not exist here at Columbia, one of the top 5 undergrad programs in the country. Spelman had about 3 or 4 such programs (MRBS-RISE, Mellon Mays, NIMH-COR which was the one I was in, and MARC U*STAR).</p>

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<p>Perhaps looked at narrowly in a racial sense, but the Pell grant percentage indicates greater economic diversity than at many other colleges (Pell grants go to those probably in the lower 40% of household income, so a 44% Pell grant percentage probably indicates a mix of household income backgrounds fairly reflective of the US overall). And, as others state, just because someone is of the same race as you does not mean that they are the same in other aspects.</p>

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<p>Whether students “look like” you likely has no correlation with whether they have their heads on straight versus get drunk every single night.</p>

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<p>I understand the OP’s interest in having students that look like them everywhere they turn in a school. While it doesn’t mean they won’t party, it DOES mean that they won’t have to explain themselves, justify why they’re in a program/school; won’t have to prove they’re not there because of “quotas” or hear that they “don’t belong”. They won’t have to explain that no, they don’t live in a ghetto, no, their brother isn’t in a gang member, no, their braids didn’t make their head bleed, and on and on with the ignorant and borderline racist comments. </p>

<p>My D is committed to an HBCU when it comes to college because of the comments above she’s heard in every gifted/advanced academic program she’s been a part of. Right now she’s in a highly diverse public middle/high school where ethnicity isn’t an issue. When she was the only black kid in her gifted class she was forever explaining herself and was told she couldn’t play with the white kids and that she was only there because standards had been lowered. When she reported some of the comments, the parents accused her of lying. She wants to focus on her education, not justifying herself, and figures an HBCU would be the way to do that.</p>

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<p>Er, I thought this thread was about Howard, specifically.</p>

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<p>Anything regarding “people who look like you” said about HBCU’s in general would apply to Howard.</p>

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<p>I did not attend Howard, but as a soon to be graduate of Tuskegee University with a degree in chemical engineering and 2 internship opportunities at Proctor & Gamble my freshman and sophomore year and heading into a third with another great company this coming fall… I’m sorry to say this but your mom is wrong about job opportunities and the future an HBCU offers not only to african american students but to people of all races and nationalities. Oh, did I mention I am also studying music in Italy right at this moment, I’ve performed at Avery Fisher hall, a group of my friends performed at the Apollo this past weekend and none of us have a degree or study music. Your college experience is what you decide it to be.</p>

<p>Howard is a great school. Every school of higher learning is simply what you make of it, but, and I may be biased saying this, what you can do and where you can go after attending an HBCU and doing YOUR part will reward you many more times over than attending a more traditional school. I know too many people obtaining their masters and doctorate degrees and they aren’t paying a dime at many hbcus as well.</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2</p>

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<p>I’ve never heard any of those schools lauded for their diversity.</p>

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<p>A black girl in my apartment building who’d recently graduated from UCLA said that people had asked her what sports scholarship she came in on (she didn’t come in on one but got in through her own natural talent.)</p>

<p>That being said, it’s not as if people have to constantly justify themselves in a university. People, at least from my experience, are judged on an individual basis by those who aren’t prejudiced.</p>

<p>I also don’t see the value of going to a school where people “look like you.” Chances are when people get out into the real world, you won’t be surrounded by people that “look like you.” Getting out of your comfort level is a big part of growing up, and college is a great time to do it. But if it isn’t done then, it’ll have to be done eventually.</p>

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<p>If the OP sees a value in going to a school where people look like the OP, that is her right and it is unnecessary to try argue her out of it, or to impose your own opposite set of racial/ethnic values. There are African Americans who still feel a comfort level in attending historically black institutions, even if their founding purpose has been made less relevant.</p>

<p>However, OP. I would urge you and your mother to come to some kind of compromise. Though there are some social, and perhaps even intellectual, advantages for you at Howard, there will be social and intellectual advantages for you at non-black institutions as well. Most reputable “majority population” schools have other talented and ambitious African Americans as students and faculty. Many also have wonderful programs in African American Studies, as well. Rather than dismissing non-black schools, you might look at specific ones and research the comfort level of current African American students at these schools, and the kinds of programs (academic and extra-curricular) that African American students at such schools are recommending.</p>

<p>Speaking as an African American myself, I received my own degrees at non-black schools, at both of which I found extraordinary African American students and faculty. At my graduate institution, where I later taught, there is a superlative African American Studies program that is not only an intellectual home to many of that university’s African American students and faculty, but serves as a support system adjunctive to those already in place within the university. These kids are motivated, intelligent, and not frittering away their opportunities. They also benefit socially and intellectually from the even greater diversity that a non-black school can afford.</p>

<p>You should certainly apply to Howard --because it is your choice – AND ALSO apply to other kinds of schools, as your mother has urged. Once you receive acceptances, visit and make an informed decision. There are strong arguments pro and con attendance at historically black institutions. Only you and your mother can make the ultimate decisions. But I would urge you to broaden your intended set of applications to include “majority population” schools, as well. Give yourself as many intelligent options as you can. And then make the best choice you can knowing that you have cast a wide, and wise, net.</p>

<p>Good luck!!!</p>

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<p>"Getting out of your comfort level is a big part of growing up, and college is a great time to do it. But if it isn’t done then, it’ll have to be done eventually. "</p>

<p>But what if you’ve been out of that comfort zone through most of your education and want college to be a time where you can focus on just school and be surrounded by many people with a cultural history similar to yours? For D that’s what’s driving her. She’s already BEEN surrounded by majority white populations. She’d like to be the majority for awhile. She’s also strongly considering all-women’s schools so that boys won’t be an issue. They “bother” her too much as it is and she wants academics to be her focus. Of course, THAT isn’t the real world either, but lots of women go to such colleges for the very same reason and do fine once let out.</p>

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<p>sseamom, you beat me to this point, which I was going to append. It is an important one and one I wrestled with when I was younger. FYI: poster who made this comment is a college student who has, in another thread, made some rather insensitive and uninformed comments, so…</p>

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<p>I don’t know your daughter’s situation, nor her reasoning, so i can’t comment on why exactly it is that she made the decision that she did. </p>

<p>What i can say though is that it seems to me that people that go to HBCUs want to go there to be with people they’re comfortable with. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle. But in my experience, there’s a decent amount of students in college (including at UCLA) that just spend time with people that are the same race as they are. Personally, i just feel like these people are isolating themselves in a bubble and closing themselves off from their colleges.</p>

<p>Furthermore, it seems a bit superficial to lump together the majority of white students as if they’d all be the same. Surely, not all black students are the same. And there’s various other races in the united states other than just white and black. Unless she plans on living in an area dominated by whites/blacks, she’ll have to deal with people of vastly different races eventually.</p>

<p>From what you say later in your post though, she’s at least considering many different types of colleges, so that’s a good thing.</p>

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<p>Right, because my claims, supported by evidence, don’t have the rich level of support that your anecdotes do :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>Again, if you’ve spent your formative years explaining why you’re in a gifted program (that you AREN’T meeting a quota but have the test scores that got you there), or have been told you can’t play with the white kids, or have kids calling you “colored”, or have kids call you “emotionally disturbed” for reporting racial remarks made to you, wanting to have college life be free of such comments isn’t out of bounds. It’s not lumping white people together at all, but rather eliminating one level of pressure one might run into in college, where the goal is to study and do well. </p>

<p>She already deals with people of many races and cultures-in her current school there are many first-generation Americans, and any number of languages. She’s GOT that. She wants to try a setting where she’s not one of a few, but one of many. Most of us (I am white, her father is black) are the majority all the time in every setting. African Americans and other minority kids often don’t have that option.</p>

<p>Swingtime, I’m new but I’ve seen your postings in a few threads. Thanks for chiming in. You were looking at UConn? Thats my alma mater from far too long ago.</p>

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<p>No beyphey, the issue is that you made a DESPICABLE comment about the term “African American.” Other than my reference to your prejudiced comment, you are beneath the dignity of any further response.</p>

<p>Sseamom, not UConn, somewhere else. Your daughter has many options, one of which is experiencing an historically black institution. Even if she were to attend another kind of school, however, hopefully she is aware that she could do an exchange for a semester or even a year at an historically black college. And probably should. My situation was also one of being more isolated than I should have been from other African Americans. My high school years were not fun, in part because I was one of very few students of color at a time when it was not necessarily a positive to be a student of color. Several family friends felt I should have the experience of an historically black college, to make up for the social deficit. I made another choice. I did meet some phenomenal African American students in college and grad school. My grad institution (where I later taught) also had, and still has, a great Afro-Am program and that has been and continues to be a real source of connection for students and faculty of color. In short, despite not having attended an historically black college I was able to make great connections with people of color. But, in retrospect, I may have missed something crucial. It is really a hard call, and I absolutely GET your daughter’s experience and see where another kind of experience may be needed for her at this time.</p>

<p>Glad to chime in, as this is a serious issue and just telling people that college is the time to be with people NOT like you, is not helpful advice, especially from those who are neither sensitive to complexities of race nor informed about the historical African American experience.</p>

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<p>It sounds, at least to me, like she’s just had bad experience with whites from your area (wherever you’re from) and doesn’t want more of the same (which i argue wouldn’t be present.) But hey, perhaps i’m just being naive.</p>

<p>I do think that it’s important not to let racial pressures interfere with one’s dreams though. Jeremy Lin, for example, had large amounts of racism expressed against him, being the first Asian-American in the NBA, and being a symbol similar to the way Jackie Robinson was for blacks in the 20th century. But it sounds to me like your daughter isn’t doing that.</p>

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<p>That’s interesting then, i suppose. Perhaps she’s just doing what other college kids her age do, choosing something different. Since the environment is so specialized, it’s something she probably won’t experience again, since the vast majority of American Blacks (+80%) don’t have a bachelors degree.</p>

<p>c.f. [Educational</a> attainment in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Educational attainment in the United States - Wikipedia”>Educational attainment in the United States - Wikipedia)</p>

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<p>It’s ironic that you called my post prejudiced, since you’re the one who tried to exclude my statements on the basis of MY race. That sounds pretty racist to me. Let’s see whether this statement is “beneath the dignity of any further response.”</p>

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<p>Oh wow. Having gone to Howard and UCLA, hard to discuss them in the same breath. </p>

<p>I dated a Jewish guy at Howard’s medical school, and a black guy at my residency at a Yeshiva in the Bronx! </p>

<p>But it’s ALL good.</p>