“My concern is that she’ll encounter provincial thinking (muslims must be like this, blacks like that)…”
This is my concern for my D as well. We live in a very diverse area where the kids do not really focus on racial/religious differences and hang out together. It is a non-issue. I don’t think she appreciates that that is not the case everywhere.
Neither of my kids took race or ethnicity into consideration when applying to colleges. I don’t think they even looked at the stats at the colleges they applied to. We’re white Hispanics and they attended a high school that was over 60% Asian, 15% Hispanic, and 19% white.
“I wonder how many white people are unwilling to go to a school that is +40% white.”
Over 50,000 students applied to USC, which is now about 40% white. I would be surprised if whites were not in the majority of applicants .
I should add that HBCU’s themselves can be very diverse in ways beyond ethnicity, in case that isn’t obvious. The diversity comes from religion, SES, program interests, and where the students are from. Some schools felt like she’d “come home” to D, others were off-putting for various reasons. Her HS is very diverse in a number of ways, despite having a majority of students of color. That is what she’s looking for in college.
The Atlantic, where did your sister decide to go, if you feel comfortable sharing?
@sseamom she’s at Alabama State on substantial merit. I think her situation was atypical for most of CC cause she had average ACT(~23) with a major where program strength wasn’t that important. Her list was mainly directionals/SUs/HBCUs.
Thanks Atlantic. D hasn’t looked in Alabama, mostly those more eastern. She too is looking at directional schools and HBCU despite being a “high stats” kid.
I have to admit that I was honestly very surprised when I learned that Howard accepted non-black students. (I think this came about during a discussion of The Sing-Off. 
) I had always thought that Howard, a highly respected university, would no more accept a white or Asian applicant than a women’s college would accept a man. I thought the same thing was true of Spellman and Morehouse. I knew that some of the public HBCUs had been integrating for a while.
Was this something that changed in the last few decades?
I know it is somewhat OT for the thread, but I’d appreciate being enlightened.
I don’t think HBCUs get a pass on nondiscrimination laws when it comes to race or ethnicity.
@Consolation I have a child who had decent stats, accepted at NYU, but goes to Howard. I can tell you first hand that theres a substantial number of international students, and Asian students. My child has had great opportunities at Howard, and I can tell you her internships have been top notch. She is again going to NYC for a great opportunity this summer. While Howard is predominately Black, it is definitley not a homogeous population. There are first generation college students, kids who came from not so good inner city schools, kids who came from very good schools, and a LOT of fairly well off kids. People fail to realize that some kids that go to Howard are 3rd and 4th generation Howard students. Their families have done quite well. The Howard alumni network, really is top notch. My friends daughter had a white roommate her freshman year. This girl came from a state that had a heavy hispanic population. She said as far as she was concerned she was used to being a minority. When she wanted to do pre med she looked up good premed schools, and Howard popped up. It was never an issue that it was an HBCU.
@Consolation I don’t know of any of the HBCU’s that excluded non-blacks. They were founded to give opps to blacks but not with the intention to exclude others. I’m pretty sure they were early destinations for Native Americans who also faced discrimination in traditionally white colleges. There was the 1981 movie called “White Tiger” (starring Bruce Jenner BTW) about a white QB who enrolled to play FB at Grambling. Now some of their generous FinAid policies are reaching out of traditional AA circles and ppl are taking notice – esp among international students.
Only family I knew where diversity was an overriding factor was an African-American family. One daughter, despite her mother’s objections, was committed to HBCUs. She went to Spellman and loved it. Her sister, wasn’t interested in HBCUs at all. This sibling went to Wash U.
D1 chose a very diverse school–less than 40%white. While diversity was not an overriding factor, a diverse campus was appealing to her. She is white. Now that she’s there, she definitely considers the diversity in ethnic backgrounds and nationalities to be a huge positive for the school. We live in a majority white community in AZ but our kids’ friends happen to be a diverse bunch.
For many or most white American high school kids, considering an HBCU means considering, maybe for the first time, if you can be comfortable being very much the minority, and if not, why? It’s a step beyond just looking for a generally diverse campus, but a healthy thing to at least consider. I don’t think HBCU status necessarily needs to be mentioned when suggesting colleges on CC. It doesn’t bother me either way. It’s going to come up with research anyway.
“I am not sure how Hanna comes up with her conclusions.”
By looking around the world we live in. The vast majority of white applicants do not seriously consider schools where they will be in the minority, just as the vast majority of white home-buyers and renters do not seriously consider neighborhoods where they will be in the minority.
We can practically count on one hand the schools that attract lots of white applicants where whites are not in the majority: USC and some California public schools. Whites are still the largest group at USC. Maybe FIU would be on the list?
If you have contrary observations, let’s hear about them.
Re #32
Stanford undergrads are 40% white. Do you notice hesitation by white students with respect to applying there?
If anyone is unsure of Hanna’s conclusions, and you’re not African American, ask yourself – have you ever in your life known anyone personally who attended an HBCU? Had you ever even heard of one outside your school’s February Black History month and associated with a famous black American?
Have you EVER known a non-black person to apply to one? Had you ever even heard of the term “HBCU” before coming to CC? Would you be ecstatic if your kiddo said she made Spelman or Howard her first choice if you’re not black?
Well?
I can appreciate how racial composition is an important consideration for dating pool & social acceptance.
But isn’t it racial stereotyping to assume that a certain race brings a certain viewpoint? If UC Berkeley is ~40% Asian, do all the Asian students have a monolithic viewpoint when debating Hamlet? Does Newton’s First Law have a white view? A hispanic view?
And what exactly is the definition of “lack of diversity”? Is that your code speak for not too many white or asian kids? Is Howard University (>90% black) diverse? By your reasoning, wouldn’t >90% of the kids there have the same viewpoint by virtue of their racial homogeneity?
I’ve worked in a number of countries that are racially homogenous. It wasn’t a different race that brought diversity of viewpoints, but different geographic experiences. Ditto for my kids who went to int’l schools. The Korean expat kids who attended American int’l schools all their life had more in common with the black American expat kids than they had with the Japanese expat kids.
I don’t notice any hesitation by white students to apply to UCLA. Lack of Diversity is a huge deal breaker for many people. That is different than going to a HBCU.
My oldest D went to a predominantly Hispanic elementary school and it was great. Then we relocated into a white neighborhood and predominantly white middle school. Also great. Next, - Asian magnet school and never ever a shadow of an issue.
However, I am very cautious about racial makeup of a college. If administration is fixed on sensitivity training, diversity, etc … run, Forrest, run! I don’t know how to explain it, but I am afraid of the manufactured diversity. It assumes, that students don’t like each other (to begin with) and have to be trained to treat other humans with dignity. I don’t want my Ds to be with kids who don’t like their race/ethnicity, kids that have to be trained in diversity/sensitivity. Any school that boasts about diversity (especially on the front home page) - big red flag for my family.
I still remember when Stanford (few years ago) listed (on the front page) a proud message “For the first time we have less than 50% white students!”. As if Stanford had nothing else to be proud about! I am Latina myself, but I don’t want a school that is so fixed on racial stuff.
Many great points. As one of the few folks here (I’m assuming–apologies if I’m incorrect) that have been to most HBCUs and have had more than a few friends and relatives attend these institutions–I can attest to their relevance in the 21st century. Like CalTech is not for everyone, these schools are not for everyone as well. That said, there is much diversity between schools-Praire View is not Spelman–as my daughter says in urban parlance is “boughie as hell”.
Perhaps, one of the bigger features, but not really discussed, is a place where black women can meet educated black men…it is phenomenon that it is actually surging to epic proportions–see:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/opinion/sunday/forcing-black-men-out-of-society.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=0
That’s why i mentioned dating pool (in bold font, #35) as an important consideration.
I think the comments from post #5 reflect a kid who has drunk the diversity koolaid but hasn’t really thought out how this will affect his/her dating prospects.