I was recently accepted into both Tulane and Howard University and am stuck between choosing.
Growing up, I have always attended predominantly white schools so, Tulane isn’t really a problem. I would be more worried about being around black people because I have social anxiety and have a fear that I wouldn’t fit in where I am not used to.
I love both of the cities and only worried about all the anxiety of living in the capital of the US. Another huge worry of mine is about the party scene at Tulane. I am afraid that partying is a huge part of life at Tulane and I am not much of a party person.
Academically, I have been accepted into Howard as a Health Science major and Tulane as a Public Health Major. I am planning to be on the pre-med track at wherever I end up.
Please let me know your opinion, and what would you choose as a Black student?
Consider the net price at each, and remember that medical school is very expensive, so you do not want to go into medical school with a lot of undergraduate debt to drag along.
Howard is an HBCU, while Tulane is a PWI. At Howard, you would see people who look like you and won’t be the only black person in the class. At Tulane, there’s not a lot of black people, especially in the surrounding area. They both have beautiful campuses. They both have medical schools that give preferences to students who went to their schools for undergrad. Medical school tends to have similar demographics as Tulane. So don’t be surprised if you’re one of the few black students in your class. At many PWIs, the black community is so united and has so many events. You should contact the BSU president and have a conversation with her and get her advice as well.
Hey @strugg1ingt33n, I can give you some insight as a parent who had 2 Black kids who were accepted to both Tulane and Howard University and loved both schools (Both ended up choosing Howard University and are currently a 3rd year and 1st year student). My kids grew up in a neighborhood that was predominantly white early on, but became very diverse by the time they reached high school. 1 of my kids has never really fit in anywhere, but saw both Tulane and Howard as viable options because of the friendliness encountered during visits to both schools. As far as partying is concerned, both schools have been rated in various publications as top 5 in the nation party schools, but my older student who is not the party type has been able to find like minded students and has enjoyed her time at Howard (I am sure she would have found the same at Tulane). My kids are both 4th generation HBCU students, but I truly would not have had an issue with either of them choosing Tulane, as the campus was warm and inviting with great resources while being in one of our family’s favorite cities.
My oldest always leaned towards Howard, but was on the fence with Tulane probably being slightly ahead once the original Financial Aid came out (Tulane would have been about 10K per year and Howard’s original offer would have cost us 15-16K per year). But once she was offered a full-ride from Howard in April of her senior year, she knew where she was going to college.
My 2020 HS graduate really loves New Orleans and had a final group of schools with Morehouse, Tulane, and Howard being at the top of the heap, but Howard offered him a full ride in late December of his senior year which affected his entire thought process. He felt that Howard really wanted him to attend and that swayed him as Howard was probably 3rd up to that point. Morehouse fell out after making a very good but not great FA offer (12K out of pocket) and Tulane made an unbelievable final offer (4.5K out of pocket after outside scholarships were applied). He went to the Tulane diversity fly-in for accepted students right before Covid-19 gripped the country and really enjoyed the campus, dorms, food, and students that he interacted with. His decision ended up being much harder, but I believe that his sibling already being at Howard and his scholarship program’s ultimate goal (support to guide STEM students to PhD or MD/PhD programs) led to him choosing Howard as well.
My own personal opinion is that you can not go wrong with either school if the finances work for both schools. Spend some time looking at the Health Science and Public health majors at both schools to see there success rates for your particular goals and think about what YOU are looking for in your undergraduate experience, and congratulations for having such amazing options. Here is one data point that I always share with African-American pre-med track students.
I am an adult but I also have SA and I choose not to attend Howard (I could have attended for free because I had a parent on the faculty) because I knew I could be more invisible at a PWI. I tend to let my SA drive everything, you shouldn’t. Get treatment early.
Either one of these would be a fine choice that can set you up for a bright future, but the HBCU experience is really unique and not easily replicated elsewhere. I went to Spelman College for undergrad, and given the choice to do it all over again I would in a heartbeat. There’s something intangible about a place explicitly made for you, both in the education itself and also in the social experience.
Howard is the number two producer of African American doctors in the U.S. (HBCUs and the Production of Doctors - PMC). I have a PhD in a health sciences field. Going to an HBCU had a strong influence on my choice of research area and concentration, but it also inflected something else: I know so many young black professionals with PhDs, MDs, DDS, and other doctoral and professional degrees.
It boosts your self-efficacy, your belief in your ability to succeed: the message that these careers are not for you is diminished because you have so many strong examples to the contrary. After I attended Spelman, I never had any doubt in my mind about whether I could finish my PhD if I wanted to, at least not because I was black. And I was connected with a network of others that I could lean on for support when I needed it, and vice versa. Of course it’s possible to form that kind of support network without going to an HBCU, but it certainly helps.
As for your social anxiety, going to an HBCU taught me that black people were far more diverse than I had ever imagined (even as a black person myself). I found several of my tribes there: the nerdy anime lovers who wanted to study abroad in Japan, the hard driving student-government types, the other nerd kids who wanted research careers…HBCUs are packed with kids who were in predominantly white schools most of their lives and wanted a different experience. (My freshman roommate was one of them.)
That said, Tulane is a fantastic school, and New Orleans is a pretty black city. Xavier and Dillard are not far away; hanging out on campus doesn’t replace the HBCU experience, but it may be enough for you depending on your preferences and choices. And black students can and do have wonderful experiences at PWIs all the time. It’s just a different environment, and it really depends on what you’re looking for in a college.
I wanted to let you know my options so far. Howard is now my top choice. I am currently applying to HBCU specific scholarships because my financial aid package wasn’t exactly where I wanted it. Right now I have to pay 25k a year out of pocket which is about half of the cost of attendance for Howard. I am also waiting to hear back from the Karsh Stem Scholar Program. It is very competitive and if anyone knows of any programs like it, it would be very appreciated. Ill keep you all updated with everything.
$25K per year is $100K over four years. Is your family able to cover that money out of personal resources? If not, you can’t borrow that much on your own; federal loans are capped out at lower amounts per year and total. Your parents or other guardians would have to be willing to co-sign a loan for you.
However, I wouldn’t recommend borrowing that much money for college. It’s difficult to pay off debt at that level.