<p>I was reading on another thread about a guy trying to transfer out of Howard because he said it is too much of a party school and there are not enough kids serious about learning. He said he went there because he had a free ride but now regrets it a lot. Another guy I know if having the same experience at a different HBCU but said he won't transfer because he also has a free ride.</p>
<p>So, for those also applying to top NON HBCUs, how do you feel about this? I mean Howard vs. Notre Dame or UVA, for instance. If you have the stats to get into there, or even an Ivy, then do you think you will be happy at Howard?
Does anyone know anything about the honors program? Based on this kid's post, he said it is too much about clothes, greek life and having fun and he does not feel like he is learning of finding kids like himself. I'd think the honors kids would hang together some and have harder classes????</p>
<p>I have not even been to the campus, but stat wise they do not touch a Bowdoin or Emory. So will you have academic 'peers' at Howard? I have family pushing HBCUs and others saying don't go...you won't be ready for for grad school because you won't get pushed enough in college. </p>
<p>HELP! What do you guys think? Is Howard your safety or a top choice???</p>
<p>Not sure why you would equate “guy trying to transfer out of Howard because he said it is too much of a party school and there are not enough kids serious about learning” with whether or not Howard is challenging. The two are mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>Sounds like the guy is losing his scholarship because he is partying too hard and not studying to make good grades. As is the case in any educational setting, you only get out what you put in. So if you want a challenging and awesome education you can get it just about anywhere including Howard. </p>
<p>The guy who wants to transfer better have a 4.0 GPA if he is making the claim that Howard is not challenging but I doubt he is making the grade.</p>
<p>Don’t you have an ACT of 30? That only puts you in the top 15-20% of the applicants at Howard. So there are quite a bit of students who may be much brighter than you attending Howard based upon ACT/SAT scores. You don’t hear all of those students claim that they are not getting a quality education at Howard.</p>
<p>You only get out of it what you put in. If anyone tells you different, they are not being honest.</p>
<p>I actually have talked to 3 people (1 from my church, 1 from a community group and now 1 a friend of my parents’ son) who are at howard. It was interesting to hear them. I am getting the sense that yes, it is what you put into it as you say. But that is also what you are PREPARED for. Some said the partying, greek thing (which they confirmed) was WAY more prevalent than they had expected and they had to really look for kids that off the bat wanted to put academics first (which we discussed could happened at any school). Some said it was the culture shock of an HBCU that made them have to adjust.
Not sure why you are so defensive about the question unless I worded it in a way that led you to believe I am hatin’ on Howard. I am not. This is a discussion board and I wanted to DISCUSS one aspect. For those of you on the higher (and some of you the HIGHEST) end of Howard’s pool, do you think you will be pushed and engaged? I am sitting about where you said at this point and I will have academic peers there. But others on this board will be in the TOP and I am curious if they think they will be as challenged as some of the other great schools they will likely be admitted to.</p>
<p>That question I am still asking. On the African American thread, I see so FEW top kids going for HBCUs even though they’d get full rides and I am wondering why that is.
I never said I would not be challenged, but I am wondering for those of you with stellar scores who are truly in the running for top non HBCUs, what drives you to Howard and if you are in the top of the pool, do you see getting an academic peer group?</p>
<p>Same question is being asked at my school about kids taking full rides to lower ranked state schools where they are in the top percentile vs. another school where they are in the middle.
It is just a QUESTION…for anyone interested in answering.
HSG</p>
<p>p.s. This was also prompted by a returning students day at my school where 2 kids said in general that they felt that they shot too low with colleges by taking free rides where they were at the higher end because they did not feel challenged. But to your point, what were they putting into it?</p>
<p>Your question of why “I see FEW top kids going for HBCUs even though they get full rides” is different from your title of this thread. My response was to your thread title not because I was defensive. There are few top blacks going to HBCU even with full ride because top blacks are getting into Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc. If you are accepted to any of those top schools and parents do not make much, financial aid packages are similar to Howard’s full ride merit award. Which would you choose? Its a no brainer. </p>
<p>If your parents make a lot and can afford to pay, the answer is the same because those families prestige is very important. </p>
<p>Having said that, this scenario is the same for Whites, Asians, Hispanics and anyone else. Tough to fore go going to a prestigious top school for Howard even though you can receive a good education there.</p>
<ul>
<li>The thing I find somewhat funny about prospective students is that they think college curriculum vary. They don’t. I live in New Jersey and I know a professor who teaches economics part time at Princeton as well as at a state school. He told me that he teaches the EXACT same thing at both schools. Only difference is that Princeton goes at a quicker pace (I guess because the students “get it” faster) and he assigns more homework there to fill the course (go figure)…If you google “Harvard grade inflation”, you’ll see tons of stories on how all the students there do very little to receive an A…so don’t get too caught up in how challenging a school may be. </li>
</ul>
<p>You’ve mentioned schools like Notre Dame, UVA, and Emory and those are fine institutions. But during my internship over the summer, I (as well as about 30-35 others) worked with people from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Cornell, Wake Forest, UC-Berkley, etc and I myself am a Howard student (so don’t get too caught up in prestige either).</p>
<p>I have so much to say but I don’t really want to type it all lol (I’m on break and I barely even feel like correcting all of the grammatical errors in this passage) so if you have more questions I’ll be sure to answer them.</p>
<p>Thank you both a lot. This is really helping me think through things. Part of this, I guess, is how you define ‘challenging’ and what you hope to get out of your college experience.</p>
<p>908kiddo: Do you have any opinion on whether the honor’s dorm and honor’s program at Howard are good or poor choices for Freshman? I don’t know if I would qualify for either (though if I make NA Finalist I was told by admissions it is automatic) but someone said the honor’s dorm is way apart from the other freshman and might not be a good idea in terms of meeting people…but that the honor’s program was really good IF you wanted that (he turned it down, finding it too restrictive).</p>
<p>rlpk…Would a full ride to Howard move it to your #1 choice? </p>
<p>HBCUs have such great senses of history that it is hard for me to quantify that on my crazy list of school choices!</p>
<p>Thank you both for answering and being nice while I try and analyze something I probably can’t really analyze!</p>
<p>No. I am trying to get into BA/MD programs. Any school willing to take me is my first choice.
Second, I have already been awarded full rides at several schools already so if I don’t get in to med school program I still have to decide on which school to go to.</p>
<p>Howard is still in the running because of location and it has the BA/MD program. DC is a great place. I visited the school about 3 weeks ago and I was pleasantly surprised. The students I met were helpful and nice. The main courtyard was quite active. The school felt like a campus in a suburb rather than one inside DC. Howard has a lot going for it.</p>
<p>If I get accepted into its BA/MD program I would put it near the top of my list.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend staying in the honors dorms as a freshman at all. You’re essentially losing your foundation for the Howard experience before you even start. Last year in Drew Hall I had one person in who lived in front of me who had a 2210 SAT score and one on my left side who had a 2130 (or something like that lol) and they partied more (together) than everyone on the floor and still had 3.8s for the year.</p>
<p>The people you meet during your freshman year are really the people you will build your circle with. There’s still people who I met in Drew Hall who I still say what’s up to till this day just because of the understood ambiance we all had in that dorm. There’s two things you can’t beat at Howard – Freshman week and graduating with your class. (hence my point with the foundation for the HU experience lol)</p>
<p>Now as for the Honors program? Definitely do it. That’s a no-brainer lol. I have a friend in the SOB Honors College and we do the exact same work, only difference is that they get a few more questions on exams and have case studies. But the benefits are endless (for SOB anyway).</p>
<p>Another thing I want to mention is to remember that opinions are opinions. </p>
<p>If you ask one person about Howard they may tell you its the greatest place in the world and that opinion can be derived from tons of places…heck, at the time the person told you that he/she may have just gotten a full scholarship from the school. Then you may ask another any they may tell you its horrible and that may be derived from that person breaking up with his/her girlfriend/boyfriend lol (I’ve heard both before)</p>
<p>One thing I found beneficial when I was deciding between schools to attend was to 1. Make sure finances are in order (scholarships, grants, etc), 2. Visit the schools, 3. Go with my gut feeling.</p>
<p>Though opinions are great to have (especially from current students), the gray area is toooooo wide to base a decision from them.</p>