Spelman College in Atlanta

<p>Does anyone have any info on this college? I know that it is an HBCU and all-girls. But, can anyone tell me about the academics, facility, and student body?</p>

<p>Have you read the comments on StudentsReview.com ?
<a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/GA/SC0_comments.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/GA/SC0_comments.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The newish President - Bev Tatum - is a rather spectacular individual and teacher (former acting President of Mt. Holyoke), and fundraising has taken a big upswing. It has always had a wonderful reputation, and has probably just gotten better.</p>

<p>Do not rely too heavily on stuentsreview. I haven't visited Spelman, so I can't give you an accurate description of it, but here is an excerpt on the student body and academics at Spelman from princetonreview.</p>

<p>STUDENT BODY</p>

<p>"All kinds of activities take place on the Spelman campus, from student government to Greek sororities, academic and professional associations to the Spelman-Morehouse Players, the Glee Club, the jazz and string ensembles, dance workshops, plus many opportunities to work on college publications like the newspaper, the yearbook, and the literary magazine."</p>

<p>"Then there are the annual campus traditions: Inductions in the fall, Homecoming, Family Weekend, the spectacular Spelman-Morehouse Christmas concert, Founders Day in the spring and Commencement and Reunion Week to close the year. Community service is a vital part of the Spelman experience. Are you interested in working with health agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, the criminal justice system, organizations for the homeless, or community development corporations? These are some of the opportunities offered through Spelman's Office of Community Service. Intercollegiate competition on NCAA teams and leisure sports are a growing draw among Spelman women, with the college offering cross country, volleyball, basketball, tennis, soccer, golf, and track and field. The swimming pool and exercise gym are popular spots for students who join the fitness and wellness programs. At Spelman, you are right in the middle of the coed campus of Atlanta University. With cross registration at AU schools, there is always a flow of students going back and forth for classes, joint activities, and events like Market Friday on campus. You will take excursions to favorite Atlanta clubs, the High Museum, and theaters, shop at Lenox Mall, and picnic in the city parks. As a freshwoman, you will visit Friendship Baptist Church. It was in the basement of this church that Spelman had its humble beginning on April 11, 1881. Campus chimes will beckon you to class, convocation, and other activities, and you'll see the college colors--blue and white--on sweatshirts and banners everywhere."</p>

<p>ACADEMICS</p>

<p>"The Spelman academic year is divided into two semesters. The College requires a core curriculum in order to introduce undergraduates to the primary branches of academia: natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics, fine arts, language and literature, and the humanities. Courses designed to foster reading skills, writing skills, logical thinking, and imaginative thinking are also required. Exceptional students are eligible for enrollment in the honors program. "</p>

<p>"Spelman offers a dual-degree engineering program in cooperation with the following institutions: Auburn University, Boston University, California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, University of Florida, Georgia Institute of Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, North Carolina A&T, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Students in the program undertake liberal arts course work at Spelman for three years, then spend two years studying engineering at the partner school. The program confers a pair of bachelor’s degrees, one from each institution."</p>

<p>"Different majors carry different credit-hour requirements. Core curriculum courses include a sequenced, two-semester interdisciplinary survey, foreign language, English composition, the African Diaspora in the World, history, mathematics, literature, health education, and physical education. All students must also complete at least 4 credits in each of the following disciplines: fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.before you decide on a major."</p>

<p>Notable Alumni:
Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children's Defense Fund
Keshia Knight Pulliam, Actress on The Cosby Show
Esther Rolle, Actress
Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist</p>

<p>If you can get your hands on a copy of the fiske guide they have an excellent write up about Spelman which is grwing in both popularity and selectivity. Spelman is part of the largest consortium of historically Black institutions of higher learning in the world. Its four partner institutions include Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College and Morehouse School of Medicine. The college ranks amongst the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the country (according to U.S. news).</p>

<p>Spelman is considered to be amongst the "black ivy league" of HBCUs and women that attend Spelman have access to some of the same type of opportunities as white counter parts; investment banking, employment opportunities as almost every top company looking to recruit minority women comes to Spelman.</p>

<p>One of D's best friends just finished up her freshman year at Spelman and had a wonderful time. D's former Undergrad advisor (at Dartmouth) is doing an exchange at Spelman this fall as Spelman participates in a number of exchange programs both nationally and internationally.</p>

<p>U.S. schools which have exchange programs with Spelman are : </p>

<p>Babson College
Barnard College
Bates College
Bryn Mawr College
Claremont McKenna College
Connecticut College
Dartmouth College
Douglass College
Duke University
Grinnell College
Haverford College
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke College
Mills College New York University
Occidental College
Ohio Wesleyan University
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Scripps College
Simmons College
Smith College
Stanford University
Tufts University
University of California
San Diego
Washington & Lee University
Wellesley College </p>

<p><a href="http://www.spelman.edu/academics/offcampus/international/index.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.spelman.edu/academics/offcampus/international/index.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>For women interested in engineering, the school offers a dual degree engineering program where the student spends a minimum of three academic years at Spelman College and two academic years at one of the following participating engineering schools:</p>

<p>Auburn University
Boston University
California Institute of Technology
Clarkson University
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Georgia Institute of Technology
North Carolina A&T State University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rochester Institute of Technology
University of Alabama at Huntsville
University of Florida</p>

<p>Spelman stduents have the opportunity to participate in a number of research programs which include: </p>

<p>Amgen Center for Microbiology
Funded by the Amgen Corporation, this program provides both academic year and summer research opportunities for Biology majors. </p>

<p>Howard Hughes Program
A comprehensive program funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that enhances the classroom experience and supports student research, both during the summer and the academic year.</p>

<p>Support for Continuous Research Excellence (SCORE)
A program that supports individual faculty research in the biomedical sciences; funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p>

<p>Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE)
A program that supports student development and research in the biomedical services. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p>

<p>Sponsored programs include:
Center for Biomedical Research
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Center is designed to strengthen Spelman's capacity to undertake biomedical and behavioral research. The Center supports ongoing and new collaborative research partnerships between Spelman faculty and faculty at other universities, including Emory University, the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Georgia Institute of Technology. </p>

<p>Center for Environmental Sciences Education and Research
Funded for each of the past three years by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Center pairs faculty with scientists at DOE National Laboratories and provides research-training opportunities for students.</p>

<p>If you find Spelman of interest, you might want to look at Agnes Scott as well, it is not an HBCU, but has a substantial percentage of Af-Am women, and is an excellent small college in Atlanta.</p>

<p>Spelman is very well respected school.</p>

<p>"The college ranks amongst the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the country (according to U.S. news)."</p>

<p>Well, the exact ranking is #66. But even that could be misleading.<br>
Surely, Spelman is a fine school, but let's not go overboard here. Here's something written a few years ago by Thomas Sowell, the black Stanford economist, that I think is still true, especially on CC."
"Most college guides, even those that can be critical or even sarcastic about other institutions, tend to be either bland or gushing about black colleges."
For more, try this:
<a href="http://www.leaderu.com/choosingcollege/sowell-choosing/chpter07.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.leaderu.com/choosingcollege/sowell-choosing/chpter07.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>