I was scrolling through twitter last week under the ‘Howard University’ hashtag and saw that many students were infuriated. Apparently, Howard has taken a significant amount of full tuition scholarships WITHOUT warning (smh) leaving students angry and confused…Several students have allegedly tried contacting the administration building only to be ignored.
I’m not a student at Howard and I can’t even imagine having a scholarship revoked. I know that their scholarship requirements changed 2 years ago, but why do it again unexpectedly when students have signed 4 year contracts (illegal much) ???
Do they have under-qualified people working in the financial aid/administration building? It’s just weird that an official statement hasn’t been released addressing all of this…So what’s really going on with Howard?
@xvibesx
They are going through severe budget issues. Their accreditation is at threat every other year. I wish I knew more, but they need to make some changes and not give scholarships at all. Just be a rolling admissions/ commuter school until they get finances in order.
@xvibesx someone at my church just mentioned this. Her son has a Legacy scholarship. Those are no longer in existence and she was told the system removed them, even for returning students. For her son, at least, it was quickly resolved and it has been reinstated. This is not the time of year to have people panicking about $!
@VANDEMORY1342 in terms of accreditation and enrollment… they are actually having the problem of having too MANY students. The entering freshman class is the biggest in something like 30+ years. They are having to turn double dorm rooms into triples to accommodate all of the students coming in. This, they believe, is based on the rise in ranking of the school per the big annual US NEWS report last fall that they made the greatest jump of all universities (“Howard University, the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to be ranked on U.S. News & World Reports’ Best Colleges Ranking of National Universities, is #124 in the 2017 Edition rankings, which were released today. This represents an 11-point improvement from last year’s overall ranking of #135.”)
Not sure, but “rumor has it” that the new president (a surgeon and MBA and HU grad) who was brought in by the search lead by HU alum such as now Senator Kamala Harris, M. Kasim Reed (mayor of Atlanta), and Vernon Jordon, is cleaning house. They expect it to be, of course, a long road. It will be interesting to see what comes over the years.
@VANDEMORY1342 If you know more about accreditation issues currently, please do share. I have one at HU (has had a great experience) and younger ones in our house who are interested. I certainly want to keep a tab on issues. They quality of our D’s education, the alumni connections, the sense of heritage and pride, and the great DC location have been great. Dealing with the admin? Not so much.
@ReturningFavor
Well Howard’s last issue was in 2013 so maybe they are in a more stable place today, which is good. However I must add that a change of 135 to 124 in ranking will have no barring on perception, as you know that ranking is exponential and changes near the bottom don’t mean as much. If Howard can somehow move into the top 100 that’s a different story. Again there increased enrollment can be attributed to different factors like the current or recent racial climate, or the fact the Howard admits more students for tuition income purposes, and I guess it’s closer to the latter. They have financial issues with their hospital system as well. I hope they figure it out.
@VANDEMORY1342 I too hope that they figure it out. They continue to have the record number of PhDs and continue to send kids off to great jobs and top universities for further studies. Google is opening a Howard West campus for Howard student interns. The just had a Rhodes scholar last year. Good things are happening.
Yet they constantly struggle with administrative issues and have a seemingly constant level of under performing kids too. Very frustrating. I am glad to read your comments to keep a pulse on things for my next to head off to college.
As for ranking, the climb is a good one. For an HBCU, which cannot even begin to yet compete with the legacies and endowments of PWIs, to be in the rankings even at 124 is a bigger deal than I think most realize (hence the press about it). I think the enrollment could be based on issues you suggest. The applicant pool was record number, which may be result of racial climate (or press from current ‘hot’ notable alums like Kamala Harris and Taraja(sp?) P. Henson, both who actively and opening support HU). The medical school just received their renewed full accreditation. Maybe at some point it will trickle to the hospital, pulling it together. They are intently focused on care for the under-served and needed.
My oldest went to an Ivy, the next is at Howard. The later just seems to have had more support, encouragement and alumni direct involvement. Not sure how much is the student and how much is the situation. HU student has a full ride so has had 0 financial stress and time to do a lot here and abroad. Ivy kid had to work and borrow a bit. HU feels that she without a doubt made the right choice (loves being with other motivated AA kids socially, for learning, dating, etc. and learning so much more constantly about AA history…and push to do well going forward). A surprise is she is rather reserved and the product of private PWI secondary schools. Ivy kid wanted highest ranking school he could get, so glad of his choice. The Ivy kid sported HU gear a good bit on his ivy campus and was met with comments and questions in a good way. I was glad to see that, as they’ve encouraged our younger kids to just find the right fit. The HU kid loves it (and trust me, not everyone has her experience), but says the admin can be a mess. Yes, let’s hope they figure it out!
@ReturningFavor
I agree with you for the most part. I don’t agree with the reasoning that schools have high(er) rankings because of legacy and endowment. They have worked mightily for there place. Frankly 124 is a high ranking in the grand scheme of things. There’s over 3000 Universities in this country. Howard shouldn’t be competing to be “prestigious” or “elite” or anything (it most likely won’t get there), as there aim is to increase and maintain the black/Afro-American middle class and they are doing a fairly good job at that. I would worry about underperformance, but I personally understand the more unique struggles black students go through trying to complete their education, from poor preparedness, poor finances, poor mental health etc.
Good luck to your two kids, they sound like their doing well.
@xvibesx There is a plethora of Howard students on CC. The fact that I haven’t read anything about it from the actual students leads me to believe it’s not common and an insignificant issue.
@ReturningFavor Howard’s appeal is deeper than rankings. I feel like the current racial climate in conjuction with the wonderful press (Google partnership, Rhodes Scholar, Homecoming, Obama commencement speech, etc) Howard has been getting lately is once again making Howard an overwhelming serious contender for what some call the “black bourgeoisie.” I was at Howard a couple months ago and I never seen so many black kids driving Range Rovers and BMWs in my life!
And what do you mean constant level of under performing students? Most Howard students are above average and come from the nation’s best private and public secondary schools. They come well prepared, but of course there will always be students not with high GPAs … not everybody can make straight As … the school’s integrity will be questioned.
@NuScholar
You’re being facetious. The “black bourgeoisie” is more than limited in the states, and we all know are many Afro-Americans can live above their means. A true measure should be how many are full pay. And frankly this is only a trend imho as Google recruits at many schools, true improvement comes from the increase rigor of acedemics and the proliferation of innovative research etc., all of that other stuff is hype and is quite transparent to the majority of people who have knowledge of higher education. At the end of the day Howard does not have the finances, which as we all know is most important.
Also, even if the reversal of scholarships is a rare occurrence, it’s still a serious issue that should be addressed as that seems to be entrapment of high performing students.
@VANDEMORY1342 I keep seeing underperformance in reference to Howard. Howard is above average on every national metric (graduation rate, ACT/SAT score, endowment, rankings, research expenditures, etc). Howard continues to produce more prestigious scholarship winners than most schools ranked in the top 100 of the US News ranking. Howard recieves more applications than most universities, even some five times the size of Howard. Howard’s alumni are highly visible in society … in fact, the lead character in the highly anticipated “Black Panther” movie is a Howard graduate. HU’s residency program with the most prestigious company in the world (Google) is the first of its kind. The top private and public schools in the nation continue to send students to Howard EVERY YEAR. So I just don’t understand how underperformance and Howard can be mentioned in the same sentence? Howard isn’t perfect but it’s far from being mediocre and definitely underperforming.
@NuScholar Again I didn’t say Howard is underperforming, because I personally don’t think that’s the case. However let’s not arbitrarily inflate Howard’s success and impact. Most of those accomplishments you cited are again hype, and that’s exactly how I feel about that Google platform. Howard does well for what it is there to do… which is increase the black/Afro-American middle class. I hope they don’t lose site of this in a quest to try to be elite, which is frankly what you are insinuating. Your giving examples of what you think increases Howard’s profile and I’m telling you that those things matter little. If Howard can make serious strides to it’s original mission (INCREASING THE MIDDLE CLASS OF ITS MAIN POPULATION) then it’s profile will increase, again that requires money which it doesn’t really have. Also I think that poster was speaking of graduation rates as underperforming and they are right, however I did give adequate explanations for why that may be.
@VANDEMORY1342 Living beyond your means is NOT exclusive to African Americans, it’s an applicable to most Americans (look at the nation’s credit card and student loan debt). And usually students from the “Black Bourgeoisie” are on full scholarship. They have the resources and savvy to position themselves for full scholarships. Prime example, my cousin is the son of affluent parents and he’s on full scholarship to Howard … he’s not paying anything. His parents sent him to private schools and provided him all the support he needed so that he can land the 30+ ACT score, high GPA, and impressive resume he has. He got full rides to several other schools and of course won thousands in private scholarships. He chose Howard b/c of its great reputation and this was finally an opportunity for him to not feel mistreated/isolated simply due to his blackness. My cousin is one of those kids with a Range Rover by the way, I was there to visit him … there’s legimitately a high percentage of affluent blacks kids at Howard. The money they would’ve spent to send him to Howard was repurposed for cars, trips, clothes, and other things.
@NuScholar
I’m not sure if you have read everything I’ve written, and I’m not sure how old you are. However it is clear some of this is going over your head, these things are again hype.
Frankly giving massive scholarships to the wealthy does more harm than good.
@VANDEMORY1342 I never said giving big scholarships to the wealthy was good. However, it’s the norm so Howard isn’t unique. And yeah I’m no longer interested in continuing the conversation … it’s clear your comments are disingenious and not well thought out.
In the end I think that Howard is, as @NuScholar advocates, a good university. Yet it has substantial room for improvement. The two are not mutually exclusive. Under the new Presidents’ reign a couple of things have been addressed. One of those things is scholarships.
The Scholarships…rather than automatic, all but the very top on seems to now have a need based component. I agree with this, but also think automatic $ for top students, wealthy or not, is a wise move. You must do something to get top kids in the door. Even those from wealthy families, if they have top grades and scores (understandably in part do to their exposure and backgrounds) need and deserve a carrot. Those same kids are coming from the 1st and sometimes 2nd generation of america’s very first wealthy African american families.
You want those students as your alumni, as they bring connections, build a strong legacy, and increase endowment. I think @VANDEMORY1342 and I disagree on the impact of this, as I believe it is huge (big endowments provide money for: research which leads to top professors; scholarships which bring in top students; facilities which pull in those who want to see where the 40k+ price tag is going; alumni support and connections with lead to jobs and increase reputation).
Another thing is the long known about and joked about messy administration. The person who helped get Shaw university back on its feet was just appointed as Chief Operating Officer. Many have been let go in other departments. This will be a challenge of monumental size, to change a history or real or perceived disorganization and at times ineptness, but at least it is starting. New big hires are not only internal, which is good.
Admissions? HBCUs want to give those with potential a chance, but the range of outstanding top students to highly struggling ones is a big gap at Howard. I have no idea how to address this or if there even needs to be a plan to do so. But if it does not, they will never, ever break the top 100 which, I agree with @VANDEMORY1342, becomes a more noticeable and important stride.
@ReturningFavor
To be honest, yes we do disagree. Improving acedemics is what Howard need to do. If anything taking a page out of Spelman’s book I’d what they need to do. Good and consistent results is what they need to accomplish. Merit based scholarships won’t do this. Yes top students do need something to get in the door, however most top students are smart enough to to be swayed by hype, culture, and a discount. Improved acedemics is what will bring them to the fold. Also your argument that merit based aid will indirectly increase the endowment is faulty in my opinion. Howard already has many wealthy/ upper middle class graduates they seem to not find their experience worth while enough to donate regularly, whose to say these new merit based students wont feel the same?
@ReturningFavor Moving up 30 more spots will not significantly impact Howard. Howard for a long time was in the top 100 and that didn’t stop the financial issues, bad press, and enrollment declined that eventually ensued. Howard’s hard rebound just started last year when they were ranked outside the top 100.
I read Howard’s president strategic vision for the university and long story short … Howard is in good hands. Things will definitely get better for Howard regardless if they make it to the top 100 or not.
@VANDEMORY1342 I am not familiar enough with Spellman to know what they did. In some ways though it is like comparing apples and oranges as one is a small all female college and the other is a midsized coed research university. It would be like telling to take note of of a plan from Scripps. Some things could be gleaned, but ultimately the demographics are hugely different on the vast majority of fronts. Yet being HBCU they both face similar challenges in come regards so it would be interesting to know how they could help one another.
The stars at HU shine bright and have unbelievable opportunities from what I have seen. But I wonder what comes of those not in the tier? HU does also seem to have a chip on its shoulder. My point is that the truth may be somewhere in the middle of what you and @nuscholar seem to think it is.
@NuScholar I agree that HU seems to be in excellent hands right now. Let’s hope he gets the support he needs. Cleaning house in Admissions seems to help in the record number of applicants. But the bump hit with the yield being greater than expected. This fall will be a real challenge…too many students.
My son’s friend from the Ivy is now in at HU medical school. He said he wished he had gone there for undergrad because of the insane sense of family (alumn stop by and encourage you—and bust you for slacking), the great city, the commitment to service, and the pride of HU history and African american history bestowed. The students are expected to help one another and the class before them has a 120 in/120 out belief ('we started together, let’s finish together). He turned down a great state school med and an Ivy med. My D said that once he deals with the HU struggle of the administration, it will be interesting to see how he feels!
Interesting discussion and very helpful to me for my next kids as they now are hitting and ending high school.
@NuScholar It’s a significant issue. It’s still being talked about on social media & a poster above mentioned that a church member was discussing it. From what I’ve seen just about 98% of the Howard students on CC have full rides or scholarships close to a full ride. So I can see how it may seem insignificant when it doesn’t affect them or you in the slightest way.
@NuScholar I heard of many black Ivy League graduates that skip their homecoming for Howard’s (or another HBCU) every year. Howard is special as are all HBCUs. They fulfill a social and cultural need that no PWI can … it’s as simple as that.