@LakeWashington My top choice! I was accepted but I’m still waiting on the scholarship confirmation. 
Considering that you’re on this site you probably qualify for their Full Ride plus Laptop scholarship.
@ADonkeyFly What do you mean? Is there some special scholarship for CC users?
If you mean the Soaring Eagle Scholarship they have, then yes I qualify, but I haven’t received any confirmation I was awarded it even though I was accepted. (not that I’m not tearing my hair out in anxiety.) But what does that have to do with CC?
You will hear about that scholarship soon, in the upcoming week, so you are right not to be tearing your hair out :D)
But I urge you to consider other colleges and look at value (best return on investment, not just which one is free.)
@MYOS1634 Oh, I am. But merit based aid is done in the fall, where as need based is in the spring. So, I’m prioritizing. But as it happens, NCCU is my top choice AND it’s free. I love the campus, I like the people and I like Durham. (and the cross-registration with Duke is hard to beat.)
I am not familiar with all the schools on your list, but I am with Howard.It is nationally ranked and big name companies recruit there. Historically it was always considered the best, but according to USnews it looks like Spelman is the best now.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/hbcu
With respect to the full ride scholarships, pay attention to the renewal criteria. If the renewal GPA is high (like 3.5), then you may be under more GPA stress (like a pre-med would face) than if it is not as high (like 3.0).
Interesting these schools are separately ranked. Has this always been the case?
@Girlwitharabbit It was a tongue-in-cheek comment about how almost every person on this site is a super genius with near perfect grades and SAT scores. Sans yours truly of course. That’s a really great scholarship opportunity! (Also there is a secret CC Scholarship but if I told you i’d have to kill you)
Good point by Ucbalumnus that should not be overlooked by the OP; scrutinize the scholarship criteria and read the fine print. Some colleges do conduct that kind of ‘bait & switch.’
As for college rankings, as others have often said; you should largely ignore them. I once met a bright young woman who transferred from Spelman after the first semester. A friend left Fisk after Freshman year and never looked back. A relative whom had the choice of several colleges never considered Howard and today is a happy alumnus of NCA&T. The point is, not every campus is for everyone. Find you own path and comfort level.
@LakeWashington @ucbalumnus I know and I’m not underestimating the difficulty involved. But, I’m a very determined type of girl. Plus, I need those grades anyway if I’m going to be accepted to grad school. I will lock myself in the library and study for 20 hours Straight if that’s what it takes.
@ADonkeyFly I knew I’d find the smart aleck on this site eventually. Greetings, brother.
And, I always ignore rankings, that’s why I asked it here: so I could hear from people who actually attended. For instance, my flagship Ohio State is very highly ranked. And I hated it when I visited. I spoke to Psych Alums, and the majority of them said that the Psych program is highly overrated. One even told me flat out to look elsewhere because I “would never be happy there.”
I predict you are going to enjoy NCCU. It has a very rigorous core curriculum. You’re going to work hard and you will be successful.
Did you say what you wanted to do? Because NCCU is very strong for the humanities from what I’ve heard. NCAT is the best HBCU in the state(I’m biased, but not necessarily wrong), and one of the best publics in the State period. But from what I’ve heard the humanities students aren’t as focused as the science students. This is all hearsay but it’s quite a bit of hearsay. (IT’s a joke in my area that every black person has at least a dozen family members at or graduated from A&T)
@LakeWashington Thank you very much.
@ADonkeyFly The best situation would be Psychology with a Minor in Social Work. I know not every school has those options though. I’m flexible on the major as long as I can get into graduate school and reach my goal of becoming a counselor to low income areas who otherwise couldn’t afford mental health care.
@TurnerT - No, HBCUs haven’t always been ranked separately. I think this is a new thing U.S. News started like 5 or so years ago. They’re also ranked in the main rankings, as well - for instance, Spelman is somewhere in the low 60s/high 70s (or was last time I checked).
@Girlwitharabbit, while I agree that rankings are not the end-all, be-all of choosing a college…be careful with student testimonials too. If you hear the same thing over and over again from multiple people that’s one thing. But depending on who you meet with and when, you may get a perspective that doesn’t necessarily match what your experience would be. You may get unlucky and have a tour guide who had a rough week or a student ambassador who’s actually considering transferring. Or maybe it’s midterms!
If you’re interested in counseling, Hampton has a counseling undergraduate major. Tuskegee actually has an undergraduate social work major, as does NCCU (which is excellent since it’s your first choice) and NCA&T. NCA&T also has a child development major, which can be useful given your interests.
Honestly, if you want to do mental health counseling in low-income areas (which is such a noble goal!) then I think you should reverse your subjects - a social work major with a psychology minor, unless you go to a school without a BSW program. The reason is because the kind of counseling you want to do you can do with an MSW; if you already have a BSW, you can attend an accelerated MSW program later. Also, I think a social work minor is less common even at schools that allow you to major in it.
THE BEST HBC IS THE SCHOOL WITH THE HIGHEST GRADUATION AND RETENTION RATES.
STAY AWAY FROM SCHOOLS WITH A GRADUATION RATE UNDER 50% AND A RETENTION RATE UNDER 75%,. THIS RULE IS NOT ONLY GOOD FOR AN HBC, BUT IT IS GOOD FOR ANY COLLEGE OF INTEREST.
@sciencekid28 Caps problems there, mate?
@Girlwitharabbit . Sorry for the caps.
Re: Post #34
Spelman is ranked with LACs. Howard is ranked nationally. Most of the others are ranked regionally.
@sciencekid28 Oh, you’re fine. It was good advice anyway.