I am wondering whether all of you really take diversity into account when you are picking colleges.
Will all the index (international percentage, for example) exert influence on your decision? Thanks for any reply.
<p>Some of us do, some of us don't. My friend who has raised her kids overseas looked for schools with a number of international students. African American kids and families are often concerned about the diversity on campus. There is a tendency for people to look for like clusters. I have one friend who is not of any particular ethnic group, but has lived in a city for years, and she was appalled when she looked at some of the larger Midwestern schools where her son wanted to go. "I' never thought there were so many blondes." she said. So, for some people diversity can make a big difference.</p>
<p>I would venture to say that most people like being around people who are somewhat like them, hence not really wanting that diverse of a school. For example, you hear absolutely noone inquiring about Howard or Grambling on these message boards.</p>
<p>Then there are some who avoid the overkill...like at UCI. ;) Because of the student makeup there, D's high school classmate hates it.</p>
<p>"I would venture to say that most people like being around people who are somewhat like them, hence not really wanting that diverse of a school. For example, you hear absolutely noone inquiring about Howard or Grambling on these message boards."</p>
<p>yea...there aren't many minorities on this board...I'm like the only black person on here and I want to go to Howard, Columbia, or Morehouse</p>
<p>I grew up in a town that was so small they thought having a Methodist and Baptist church meant they had all the major religions. For me and my children (apparently) we enjoy hearing the input of people from other cultures. I brought them up outside the continental US so they could see there are other places, ideas and perspectives.</p>
<p>S wants to go to a school that is very racially and ethnically diverse, and he has a very diverse group of friends including immigrants. That is one of the things that he has enjoyed in his IB program. I am hoping that he is able to get merit aid from a LAC or undergraduate-centered university that also offers him diversity. Unfortunately, depending on how he does in admissions, he may have to trade off diversity for merit aid. He doesn't want to go to an HBCU, but wants to go to a mainstream university with lots of diversity.</p>
<p>Bluthunder, you are not the only black person here. I am black, too. </p>
<p>We don't hear much about Howard or Grambling here because not too many black people are surfing Internet boards looking for college info. Unfortunately, from what I have read African Americans are the least likely to be connected to the Internet than are any other racial groups in the US.</p>
<p>Diversity.... Heh.... Honestly, tell me where you can find it....
bluethunder I am also considering some of the colleges u put up...</p>
<p>I'm another one of the black parents on this board, Bluthunder. There are also quite a few AfAm students on these boards. Stick around and continue reading. You'll begin to notice them sooner or later.</p>
<p>I'm a black student who went to an Ivy League for two years and then transfered to a state school. The Ivy was very diverse but most people stuck with their own groups. The state school is smaller and less diverse (mostly black and white), and I am the only black person in my engineering classes. I don't pay attention to it all of the time since I am accustomed to being one of few blacks in my classes but diversity is a big thing I look forward to. People are usually most comfortable being around people of their own race. </p>
<p>As a black student I have always strived to be successful in academics and leadership. In high school many blacks were not good students and I didn't want to be part of that group. (Ever since I started school being a good student was a natural instinct. My parents never had to tell me to do my homework. I just did it.) I held a few leadership positions that made me visible. However, I haven't really had any leadership positions in college because I feel it is more worth my time to concentrate on my engineering work. The leadership positions would definitely look good on my resume but it is time and work I am willing to sacrifice to maintain a strong GPA. I struggled academically for two years while doing non-academic activities and after transfering I chose drop the activities to focus on my work.</p>
<p>Yup...I'm black, too, bluthunder. The CC community is made up of members from all backgrounds:). </p>
<p>When I begin the college search, I will DEFINITELY look for colleges which are diverse.
Since the majority of learning occurs outside the classroom with your peers, I find it important to be surrounded by a diverse group of people who are my age and offer such different perspectives. Although it will be nice to be surrounded by teens who have the same ethnicity as me, I don't think I will attend an HBCU only because I'm trying to AVOID being around the same group of people all the time. I want to have friends from parts of the world I have never visited, from different socio-economic backgrounds, from different eductational backgrounds, from different states, from different political parties, etc. In addition to strong academics, bright, non-competitive, small student body, good profs, and an abundance of opportunities for undergrads, DIVERSITY is such an important factor to me.</p>
<p>YAY, I'm BLACK TOO!!!....and yes I really want diversity in my college choice (I'm a junior). I believe diversity is imperative for an enriching college experience, especially for someone like me who wants to major in international relations.</p>
<p>My question remains... I am honestly asking, what colleges can give you diversity? I would like some statistics.</p>
<p>I want diversity too! Power to us blacks :) When a school has a 2% total minority populaton, .5% international students, etc. you get the idea, I'm really turned off.</p>
<p>Dre,</p>
<p>I went to Cornell, which has students from all over the world. Many cultures are represented there. However, a diverse campus doesn't guarantee much social interaction between all of the different groups. Like it has been said many times, people will hang out with people that are like them.</p>
<p>More power to Celebrian, look at my screenname obviously I'm black!!!!!</p>
<p>But, anyway diversity was really important to me when I was doing my college research. I would feel more comfortable with people being there of the same racial background, I'm not talking HBCU numbers, but a least they should have voice in the campus community. Plus how are people supposed to learn about others if other races and ethnicities are not present on campus. In the end diversity's main aim is to destroy the color and racial lines that are present in our country, so when you go to college to achieve this mission you have to include people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds</p>
<p>BTW Blue Thunder youre not the only black person to apply to Columbia, Howard, and Morehouse on the board.</p>
<p>I totally agree. I'm looking for just not a nice number of racial diversity, but also interaction between the races. I've decided against HBCU's (except possibly Spelman) because I think they're not diverse enough either. Even though I am Christian, I won't go to a Christian college because 1. I'm probably too liberal to fit in and 2. I think they're way too homogeneous. I think some women's colleges are alright, but only when there's room for male interaction (so basically nowhere rural is going to cut it)</p>
<p>Racial diversity was very important for my dd in her college list. She's white (of mostly unknown origin) from San Francisco where diversity is a given and goes to a boarding school with 15% (I think) Internationals, lots of Chinese-American and Indian, some black and a bit of the most urm, Hispanic (her doubles partner in tennis). She does say that at her school most people mix, with a minority of the Chinese students being more insular. That said, a girl who was a great influence on her only came her jr year and was from Hong Kong. </p>
<p>I think a lot of college kids go to state schools, so if you are in an area settled by Norweigans, for instance, of course you are going to see a lot of blond heads. This shouldn't be shocking or distasteful. For shame. I'd really love to see my dd at a women's college for the experience, but she doesn't get it yet. Likewise, if she were black, I think an HBCU should be a must on the list and would provide such a unique perspective and dialogue, no matter your major. But then, I'm a gal who took a women's studies class taught by Angela Davis (and others) in the late 70's.</p>
<p>According to one of my cousins, black students should only attend HBCUs (more specifically, Howard). No other college in the world is good enough for him. He was quite upset when I didn't go there. His daughter is in college and isn't going there either and he is really angry about it. The daughter is not his biological daughter. She has dark brown skin but doesn't look totally African American. Her biological father is black but her mother (my cousin's wife) is a white European. The family lives in predominantly white suburbs and the daughter went to predominantly white schools. She attends a college within commuting distance of her house. It is no surprise that she would be more comfortable there than she would be at Howard in Washington D.C.</p>
<p>I really didn't take diversity into account when applying to colleges, but now that I look back, most of them have at around 20% minority population. It is going to be awkward though when I go to college and see so many "white classrooms"... last year in AP Us, there were 2 hispanics (including me), 2 asian Indians, 2 Eastern Asians, and then four "whites" and one was mostly russian heritage. I guess I've been taking it for granted. Our school is pretty diverse, and even still.. people separate into groups. You can go check out the cafeteria and the urban blacks hang out together, the asians hang out, jocks etc.. But, what is interesting is that in the classes i'm in... i hardly notice the difference when talking to someone of a different race. When in the hall, it's great - haha, we've got kids speaking portugese, then a kid speaking thai, and then, lots of spanish speaking kids. And get this, if you leave my city/town, and go to any surrounding town, you enter areas where there are only 2 black kids in the whole school. Lol, our school represents 40 different countries. Oh well, I really hope to find diversity at whatever school I go to. Oh, and I am hispanic although I appear "white". Chilean descent, both parents.</p>