What is it like being black at a PWI (Predominantly White Institution)?

Student Lounge African-American Students
1

So I am a African-American female and I was accepted into a PWI and I dont know what to expect because I’ve heard from people where there were treated like they were invisible or disgusting. Can anybody tell me what to expect or is this true?

2

Every school is different. Everyone experience is different. What school did you get accepted to.

3

Hundreds of thousands of AAs attend PWIs. Their collective experience will span the gamut, don’t you think? It’s not 100% nice and certainly not 100% “feeling disgusting” wouldn’t you think?

4

Aren’t all non HBCU schools PWI? There are 1000s of them. You will really need to provide more specific information for anyone to be able to give you an informed opinion.

I am assuming that you come from a predominately AA community and school system? It sounds like you may be uncomfortable and fearful about leaving that environment? Are you applying to HBCUs?

Did you visit the “PWI” that you were accepted to? Did you do an overnight? If not, that is where you need to start. Form your own opinion and measure your own comfort level.

Or how about telling us what school it is?

5

You may need to be more specific about the school. The experiences at different schools, or at the same school at different times, can vary greatly. I graduated from Yale and my daughter is there now. I can only speak for there. What schools are you thinking about?

6

@Tperry1982 Please tell us about Yale

7

Telling you about Yale would take more time and space than available here. If you want, go back through my posts. You will see my thoughts on Yale in the 70s and my thoughts about Yale now since my D is a junior. If there is a specific question you want to ask, you can send me a PM but you need to narrow your question down some.

8

It really depends on the institution. Some campuses are very inclusive and tolerant, some are not.

I tell people all the time diversity doesn’t mean anything, it’s all about INCLUSION. I’ve seen so many very “diverse” schools that basically were divided into separate worlds based on race with little interaction.

Then I’ve seen some where there were very diverse and INCLUSIVE. Ways to tell if a institution is INCLUSIVE …

  1. I hate the greek system for obvious reasons but if every frat and sorority are noticeably diverse that’s a good sign.
  2. There are noticeable proud interracial and gay couples on campus
  3. Elected student leaders and campus queens are not predominately one race or greek.
  4. If the greek system is less than 10% of the undergraduate student body. The greek system is built on the principles of exclusion, shallowness, and separatism.
  5. The school acknowledges Black History Month, Asian History Month, Hispanic History Month, and LGBT History Month on their website and social media.
9

@NuScholar which particular schools do you feel are more inclusive?

1 Like
10

@janiemiranda Good examples in no particular order …

  1. UT Arlington
  2. Georgia State
  3. UNC - Charlotte
  4. University of Houston
  5. Virginia Commonwealth University
  6. University of New Orleans
  7. University of Illinois - Chicago
  8. UT San Antonio
  9. University of Central Florida
  10. University of Maryland - Baltimore County
11

@NuScholar Thank you very much! I will keep this list as I research schools for my daughter.

12

@janiemiranda Welcome.
I noticed I didn’t mention any private schools, the only few I can think of based on my extensive research (school project) is …

  1. Agnes Scott College
  2. All of the “elite” private HBCUs are inclusive believe it or not (Spelman, Hampton, Howard, XULA, Morehouse, Fisk, and Tuskegee)
  3. Rice
13

Thank you @NuScholar! I really appreciate it!

14

I echo Agnes Scott as inclusive.
Also look at Vassar.
Mt. Holyoke
Bryn Mawr
Amherst
NYU
Columbia
Barnard
Wesleyan

15

It’s so sad people have to worry about this… :frowning: and that I will have to worry about this.

16

@CottenCandyTrill hopefully one day…

17

In kind of a twist, I’m white at a predominately non-white school (most of the student body is Latino). From my experience, most people at school have been nice to me. I have had a few people mock me for my nationality, not necessarily my skin color, but they are few and far between. Most people are kind, but some aren’t, but luckily they are the exception.

I understand if you want to have a community of people with whom you share common attributes (including skin color). In that case, you might benefit from joining a black student union. Also, don’t be discouraged if you aren’t around other people like yourself all the time; it’s good practice for the real world when you work with people who are different than you.

18

No. Examples of non-HB schools which are not PW:

https://www.ucr.edu/about/facts.html
https://www.admission.ucla.edu/campusprofile.htm
http://www.oir.uci.edu/files/campus/uci-college-portrait.pdf?R=26562
https://manoa.hawaii.edu/about/
http://research.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=44271

Note also that there are two HB schools in West Virginia that are now also PW.