So, what are some great VERY diverse quality institutions?

Student Lounge African-American Students
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<p>The thread on HBCUs got me thinking about, for those that do not want an HBCU because they want more diversity, what are some quality universities that have a real global, diverse and welcoming feel to them AND where black students get to know and support one another?</p>

<p>For instance, a friend went to Oberlin and said that though there were not a ton of blacks, they were very welcomed on campus and the feel fo the place was open and accepting. They also had a black heritage house and the black students on campus were very supportive and close. But another friend commented that at Notre Dame they had no 'racial issues', but black students were not close. They tried to almost avoid each other in an effort to fit in the bigger pond. Mind you, both graduated years ago and things may have changed at one or both places.</p>

<p>So, where are the diverse universities where blacks support one another while still feeling comfortable in the school as a whole?
T</p>

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<p>I cosign! I’m really annoyed with the diversity excuse, and I really wish that those who use it would be honest and get to what they really mean. I don’t get how going to a school that is 80% white is more diverse than schools that are 80% black. </p>

<p>So, where are the diverse universities where blacks support one another while still feeling comfortable in the school as a whole?</p>

<p>^^lol that’s what I’m trying to find out…especially as a black female. A lot of times I hear or see that blacks at PWIs are more close knit…but I only see that with black females…</p>

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<p>emmele we have found, in our early searches, that what you say is true…at many pred. white institutions there SOMETIMES is a close knit group of blacks who matriculate well and enjoy the campus as a whole, while still staying close to one another. However, we have found that this happens more with the girls than boys. In dating situations at these schools, the black girls have a tougher time. This of course is not always the case, but sometimes very much is. </p>

<p>That is one reason we are trying to be careful and REALLY investigate the dynamics at the universities we are looking into…well beyond just the numbers. Hearing from direct sources is great. Let’s hope some students at schools will reply here and help us out!
T</p>

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<p>[Welcome[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Tier 1 research university. 11K undergrads (17K total students)</p>

<p>Ranked 5th for diversity and race relations</p>

<p>Ranked 11th for happiest students</p>

<p>urban campus</p>

<p>very strong in sciences and anything health related</p>

<p>scholarships based on test scores and gpa</p>

<p>oos costs: Fall 2011 First-Year Freshmen Estimated
First-Year Freshman Out-of-State
Tuition and Fees* $14,256
Books and Supplies** $1000
Meal Plan $450 - $3,894
Total $15,706 - $19,150
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Grand Total $20,906 - $24,350</p>

<p>OOS merit:automatic merit for oos as well as full rides for merit scholars, national hispanic and national acheivement</p>

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<p>We recognize National Merit Finalists, National Achievement Finalists, and National Hispanic Scholars with the following scholarship, which is renewable for four years. The details:</p>

<p>Full tuition, required fees, and housing (up to 15 credit hours per semester) for a total of eight semesters (fall and spring)
A one-time $2,500 stipend to be used for experiential learning (Study Away, internships, co-ops, etc.)
Students receiving UAB merit-based scholarships are required to live on campus for their first year of enrollment. (Which is a very good place to live. Check out our swank, conveniently located residence halls.) For more information, review the Freshman Scholarship Residency Policy. </p>

<p>Once you’ve been admitted to UAB, simply do the following to claim your scholarship:
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<p>National Achievement Finalists and National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars: Fax or mail us a copy of your Finalist letter and/or your Finalist certificate, and we’ll award your scholarship:
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<p>oos merit:
Blazer Elite Scholarship
$10,000
Based on academic achievement (28-36 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)
Blazer Gold Scholarship
$7,500
Based on academic achievement (26-27 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)
Blazer Pride Scholarship
$5,000
Based on academic achievement (24-25 ACT and at least 3.0 GPA)</p>

<p>receives more research funding than all other alabama schools combined. </p>

<p>wonderful honors programs, many 5th year programs (math bio, etc) has biomedical engineering with a 5th year also. </p>

<p>feel free to pm for more info re specific majors, or programs</p>

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<p>The CUNY and Rutgers schools are all very diverse and integrated.</p>

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<p>FINALLY ! A thread I can relate to,</p>

<p>Now to be honest, I have been looking up most of my schools by which I would be most comfortable with. Like, ones that have a strong black presence but still are balanced out by other races. Usually I look for if they have black greek chapters and if they dont, i can almost assume they don’t have a black presence on campus.</p>

<p>The schools I like are the ones with black heritage houses. Because it gives black people a first friend group. Not like a dorm doesn’t, but white people are not ALWAYS accepting to blacks on campus, so it is very difficult for black women to find friends with white women. I think this has to do mainly with cultural differences.</p>

<p>I have no problem with any other race, but I just feel more comfortable when I go to a new environment, being surrounded with some…black faces.</p>

<p>lol. That sounds so horrible, but I cant help that its true.</p>

<p>My top 3 schools are based around diversity.
What I suggest is to not look at the numbers. Statistics do not tell you anything! Look all through the schools website, athletic sites, and student organizations. They tell a lot about the schools character and how everything is.</p>

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<p>I just attended American University’s Preview Day with my daughter and loved the diversity there. They were also having an alumni program and we were well represented there too. I can’t say enough about the school, and it’s my daughter’s first pick (even though she’s only a sophomore right now).</p>

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<p>Coming from a very diverse background, I’m going to have to break something to you:</p>

<p>There are really no “diverse” educational institutions. Sure, there are schools where you will find more than just a handful of blacks, but until these schools are reflections of the actual population statistics in America and not just the midwest, you’ll have to keep looking for that diversity. Minorities (so-called, because quite frankly, everyone is about to be a minority) are underrepresented in institutions of higher education, so there is bound to be a dearth of absolute diversity, even if there is a relatively large amount.</p>

<p>As a side note, I really recommend American and Columbia on the diversity front. If you want to be in NY, Columbia is excellent and has several very strong and very *visible *cultural organizations.</p>

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<p>Also, the histories of Oberlin and Notre Dame with black students are very different. Oberlin was one of the first schools to accept black students. Notre Dame, not so welcoming. That still has ramifications today, as does the location of the two schools.</p>

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<p>It’s almost more than likely that a school is going to be pred. white if it’s not a HBCU…I had a college book that listed all the percentages and across the board there was always more white people attending them than blacks except at the HBCU’s. I haven’t looked at the breakdown of every college out there but that was my impression.</p>

<p>Don’t use this is as a reason to not try for a school. Even better visit the place first. If every minority kid that comes along says they don’t want to attend a school just because it doesn’t have enough people of their race they do a injustice to the idea of pioneering and trailblazing. Maybe you’ll be one of a few but you can use that to raise awareness maybe start a peer counseling group for minorities if there isn’t one …or set up a club…something like that to give the school a more welcoming reputation so kids who come through after you will go “maybe this place doesn’t have as diversity as I hoped but they’re trying. Look at such-and-such club and that organization.”</p>

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<p>@ Graphene: Of course. A school that’s not historically POC is usually going to be majority white… because we live in a country that’s majority white. </p>

<p>Anyway, I remember being excited by schools which had no racial majority when I was picking places to apply to. With California’s demographics, schools there are likely to not have a majority population. I didn’t consider schools in California, so I can’t really say which ones, but it’s very easy to look up. I mostly considered east coast schools, and noticed that the top universities (as in, not liberal arts colleges) were likely to have no racial majority. Columbia and MIT have no majority, Yale, Princeton, and Harvard have minority populations above 40%. Flagships usually seemed to approximately represent the state’s overall demographics. Top liberal arts schools seemed a bit more diverse than the flagships but not as diverse as the top unis.</p>

<p>I don’t think that having black Greek groups is necessary to have a strong black presence on campus. Some schools just don’t have frats and sororities. Some black students want to be able to participate in the black community without being Greek. When a school has the divine nine, it almost definitely has a black community, but if it doesn’t, that usually means that a prospective student will have to look for him/herself to figure out what the community is like there. </p>

<p>I must admit that my college search was not very extensive and only involved me closely looking at schools that would not be considered by the average college applicant - the lowest ranked US school I applied to was Georgetown, the only US public schools I considered were my own state’s flagship and UMich. And of course, it’s all taken through my flipping through the Princeton Review’s top colleges; the generalizations are hardly scientific.</p>