<p>I'm collecting data on Blacks in study abroad programs so I'll report what I find and I'd love to hear from any of you whose kids have been in programs.</p>
<p>My friend studied abroad in Europe and didn't have any problems except one minor incident on a bus in Germany when someone made a rude comment. He said he made lots of friends, but some of them had a few stereotypes such as they thought he was on the basketball team back home, but that may have been more because he is quite tall.</p>
<p>Lmpw, I recognize that many posters were trying to disagree with Dbate's views, but I think the personal attacks went a little to far. One poster said,"You are not a wonderful catch for any female." Many comments against Dbate weren't pointing out the flaws in Dbate's arguments or sources, but were merely attacking him. In my opinion, this thread is better than that and should be better than that.</p>
<p>The kid also wants to travel abroad. We got her the passport before she left for school. As an aside, we expected it to take some time for delivery, but it actually arrived about a week prior to her leaving for school!</p>
<p>I think there are so many variables in what study abroad means. The daughter of my friend spent a school year in Africa, assisting with teaching. My daughter wants to go to a spanish speaking county to immerse herself in the language. She'd also like to time it with the next Olympics (little vixen).</p>
<p>All I can offer is she joined the Honors Program because of the travel abroad opportunities. Her father and I are committed to making sure she goes. (And here I hate her being 600 miles away..can I stand her being an ocean away???)</p>
<p>my daughter spent six weeks in the Faroe Islands when we lived in New York the summer after 9/11. It was an international youth program (which wasn't a study abroad program). The objective of the program was to get kids from various countries in the world to get to know one another and break down stereotypes. There were four students each from : the US, the Phillipines, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and a couple of other countries that I'm forgetting. My daughter was literally the only Black person in the Faroe Islands. She was such a novelty that they ran a front page article on her. It was an interesting and valuable experience but she was happy to get back home. She was just 12 when she went. But, she now has friends from all of these countries that she's still in touch with.</p>
<p>Just a wee bit off topic...and as I understand it...</p>
<p>Through the magic of the internet...a few key words splattered through-out your discussion page will trigger a bot which will determine the subject matter and voila you have an ad (or ads) that is right on target with your discussion.</p>
<p>Ain't technology a beautiful thing? lol</p>
<p>D is considering a travel/study program in Gremany (Munich, Berlin and Duessledorf) and another in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona). Neither one requires language proficiency - - so D and presumably the other participants will be speaking English. I just started my research and found a number of reports of race-related incidents in Germany, especially in the eastern areas; I haven't even begun my research on Spain. </p>
<p>I hope those of you with kids going abroad will keep the group posted.</p>
<p>wow, even on this site (but it does make sense in capitalist America) to collect data for consumer purposes any and everywhere. So, how can we throw these people off? I'm feeling subversive this morning.</p>
<p>^^We could talk about flying bunnies :)!</p>
<p>I think the magic words are referenced in my post. Lets try DATING BUNNIES.</p>
<p>Hi all, my D is applying to colleges this fall and I was looking for feedback as to positive/negative racial, diversity, etc. climate on any of them:</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna
Scripps
USC
Loyola Marymount
Santa Clara
University of Redlands
Occidental
ASU
U of Arizona
U Washington</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>My D visited Scripps, Santa Clara, and Occidental. All three had diversity events. My D absolutely loved Scripps and the girls she met there, but I wonder how many matriculate, Those were girls with impressive options. They end up with 3 percent African Americans, although nearby Pomona adds quite a bit. Santa Clara did not impress her at all (their event focused on alcohol use, according to her), but she liked Occidental a LOT more than she thought she would. Seems diverse in many ways.</p>
<p>I teach at the Claremont Colleges ( at the Claremont Graduate University) but all of the 5 Claremont Colleges are together and are part of a consortium and can exchange classes across campuses. I often have upper level students from Scripps and Pomona (and also Pitzer). I'm actually going to an Open House this afternoon at Scripps. You can PM if you want any specifics about these campuses or if I can help you if your kids come out for a visit. The Claremont Colleges are first rate but have different campus cultures.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Lets try DATING BUNNIES.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You're going for Playboy ads now? :)</p>
<p>The University of Washington in Seattle is a high-powered public university. Mostly known for its graduate programs and prodigious amount of federal research dollars obtained. Thus, it is 'graduate focused.' But an undergraduate can receive an excellent education in many fields, but the underclassman has to be a go-getter because of the sheer size of the undergraduate student body and classes.</p>
<p>Culturally, the UW is a laid back place, although town-gown relationships are a bit strained at times, especially on frat row, which is in a residential neighborhood. The school is certainly urban and the campus is quite large, but not unattractive. Like the U of Michigan, the UW has had some political difficulties with ethnic diversity. Several years ago a voter initiative made Affirmative Action in college admissions illegal (like in California). While the campus is diverse, visitors from the rest of the country are surprised to find that Asian Americans make a a sizeable proportion of the student body (25% or so) and are the most prominent minority group on campus. The % of African Americans is quite small, with the exception of the athletic teams, of course.</p>
<p>The strengths of the U of Washington include Biological Sciences, particularly Marine Biology and Fisheries, Natural Resources; also Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Nursing and English.</p>
<p>I agree with the above. D was invited and attended UW’s diversity pre-adm program; which included AA, Hispanic, and Native American students. There were very few AA students in the session D attended. The school is large and not known for coddling their undergrads. A number of D’s friends (none are AA) matriculated this year – it will be interesting to see them at Thanksgiving break and hear their opinions of UW. The campus is large and spread out. A number of students commute or live in apartments. The dorms are generally known to be awful. As LakeWashington said, the school has a large number of Asian students. This is particularly true in the math and science majors. A colleague of H, who is White, has a D who is a 3rd year Chem/pre-med or pre-pharm major. In her section of O Chem she was the only non-Asian female…there were 2 non-Asian males. Labs were especially difficult - she frequently had no one to partner with. The Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, etc would form their own groups. Many of the professors and TAs are not native English speakers and sometimes difficult to understand. (To be fair I’ve heard this complaint about UCLA and UCB.)</p>
<p>Although I have lived in the Northwest for over 25 years I, personally, don’t know one AA who has attended UW for longer than a year. I love Seattle but my feelings for UW are luke warm at best. :(</p>
<p>My D is seriously considering the following schools. Can anyone shed some light on the campus culture with respect to diversity and black students in particular?</p>
<p>Here are the schools:</p>
<p>Cornell U.
Haverford
Swarthmore
Amherst
Lehigh U.
Dickinson
Oberlin</p>
<p>Finally safe to get back in the water. I am actually all in favor of dating bunnies--as long as they're smart :)</p>
<p>Thoughts on two subthreads. As to study abroad I am a whole hearted supporter. Way way back in the day I went to South America. It opens up the world in ways you can only dream of. I encourage all students to go for a year or a semester-even the programs between semesters give a small taste. Remember that many schools apply your financial aid package to study abroad so that it is no more expensive than staying in the USA.</p>
<p>Plainsman, as a Bi-Co alum I am thrilled with Haverford. I would be happy to ask DS's friends at H'ford now if they have any ideas. I guess my only caveat to any school as small as H'ford is that it can get a bit claustrophobic by senior year. 3-5% of 1600 is a small number. I'll try to dig some details though.</p>
<p>Plainsman, great list. My daughter goes to Amherst and loves it. it is extremely diverse in every possible way. It's truly like the UN. If your daughter can get accepted to one of the Diversity Open houses (one is next weekend so it's too late for that one) and the second one is in October. The College pays all expenses. I know that Swarthmore has one as well. If you haven't gotten information on them, call the admissions office. The opportunity to visit these campuses while classes are in session where your daughter can sit in on classes, live in the dorm, eat in the dining hall and meet current students is invaluable. This experience resulted in my daughter applying (and being accepted) early decision.</p>
<p>I think it's very important to look at the graduation and transfer rates of Black students in these colleges. That will tell you a lot. The small elite LAC (and many of the Ivy Leagues) are providing significant financial aid if you can demonstrate need. (Harvard and Amherst have the highest graduation rates of black students 98/96 percent). So, even if your kids look at big state universities, don't overlook these small private schools that have serious commitments to diversity (through these diversity weekends, financial aid commitments). Of course, they vary significantly in terms of experiences (this is why this thread is so important).</p>
<p>"...feelings for the UW are luke warm at best."</p>
<p>This feeling is shared by many African-Americans in the Pacific Northwest, for YEARS, even prior to the Admissions controversies of the 1970s and 1990s.</p>