It specifically refers to first-year enrollments, probably for the Class of 2025 since that matches the over-sized class that year at Wesleyan. Normally, it would be ~750.
1 Like
The first year numbers at Harvey Mudd are 225 with 18 Blacks which is 8%. My point is that the HMU number of 17.7% Black students for freshman or total undergrads is misleading.
Sadly, the (understandable) desire to attend college in states where abortion remains legal, and is likely to remain legal, restricts a lot of possible options. I know nothing about your family’s interests apart from the above restriction and an interest in a relatively sizeable proportion of black students attending and that it be a liberal arts college. These are schools with undergrad populations below 3k that have a higher than most percentage of black students, or that have been mentioned in this thread (or seemed likely to be mentioned). The list is in decreasing percentage of black students.
Please note that there may be some Catholic colleges that would fall on this list, and Jesuit institutions are usually pretty liberal-minded on many social issues. As abortion-access was an important issue for you, however, I avoided Catholic colleges, as the position on abortion often varies based upon the order.
- Goucher (MD): 26%
- McDaniel (MD): 25%
- Hood (MD): 18%
- St. Mary’s College of Maryland (MD’s public liberal arts college): 11%
- Amherst (MA): 10%
- Washington (MD): 9%
- Pomona (CA): 9%
- Wellesley (MA): 8% (all-women)
- Simmons (MA): 8% (all-women)
- Seattle Pacific (WA): 8%
- Hobart & William Smith (NY): 7%
- Illinois Wesleyan: 7%
- Knox (IL): 7%
- Wagner (NY): 7%
- Bowdoin (ME): 6%
- Carleton (MN): 6%
- Bates (ME): 6%
- Smith (MA): 6% (all-women)
- Wheaton (MA): 6%
- Williams (MA): 5%
- Claremont McKenna (CA): 5%
- Middlebury (VT): 5%
- Macalester (MN): 5%
- Colby (ME): 5%
- Vassar (NY): 4%
- Grinnell (IA): 4%
- Hamilton (NY): 3%
Howard, among HBCUs, seems to be the best option for continued abortion access. If you are willing to consider Pennsylvania or Virginia, both of which have a less clear-cut future regarding abortion access, then Hampton (VA) or Lincoln (PA ) could be options for other HBCUs.
7 Likes
What about Wesleyan? Skidmore? Union? Connecticut College? U of Vermont (state school that feels like an lac?), Colgate? Middlebury?
1 Like
- Swarthmore (PA ): 8%
- Wesleyan (CT): 6%
- Union (NY): 4%
- Connecticut College: 5%
- U. of Vermont (11k undergrads): 1%
- Colgate (NY): 4%
- Middlebury (included above) was 5%
All this data is coming from the College Board’s website, which is probably using the IPEDS data to collect it, should anyone else be curious about the percentages at other colleges. Swarthmore was not originally included as abortion rights are not clearly protected in Pennsylvania, an issue that appears very important to OP’s family.
2 Likes
An Overview of Abortion Laws has summary tables of abortion laws by state. Abortion laws by state: Legal status of abortion changing day-by-day after Roe v. Wade overturned - POLITICO lists overal legal / illegal status by state.
Most HBCUs are in more restrictive states, since those tend to overlap with states where there was more reason for HBCUs to exist (historically had more Black people and more limitations against Black people attending the same colleges as White people).
5 Likes
Washington and Lee, which is aggressively pursuing diversity in its many forms, actually has 7% of its students identifying as Black. The various tables and rankings may not have up to date information.
2 Likes
Sounds like they transposed the numbers for black students in the freshman class with the number for the whole school.
1 Like
And, not to put too fine a point on it, but my understanding is that the IPEDS figures for Black enrollment do not include internationals which are lumped together separately (e.g., non-permanent residents from the Caribbean as well as the continent of Africa.)
1 Like
Which orders are pro-choice or include it in their insurance plans?
I’m not aware of any that are pro-choice, though I think that some orders, like the Jesuits are more understanding/accepting (@2plustrio, do you know)? But I think there are some that are more stridently anti-abortion while others do not address it as much and think of it more as an issue of personal conscience. A quick search on the internet didn’t help me much, but this publication/handout does show how there is much support among Catholics for pro-choice policies. I know that some Catholic orders have made news for making sure that their health insurance policies exclude birth control and abortions. Since not all are making news, I assume(quite possibly erroneously) that some are more accepting of birth control practices.
1 Like
Georgetown does not cover in its insurance plan etc, but the student body is heavily pro choice (Hoyas for Choice is a popular organization) and given that it is located in DC appropriate health care is not hard to find outside the university. Not defending them, just saying it may not be a significant issue as it would be in other Catholic schools like ND where I believe the attitudes are very different. I would take Georgetown any day over any nonreligious school in Texas for example. Of course it is also not an LAC.
3 Likes
Super helpful. Thank you!!
1 Like