Why should a student attend an HBCU, some may ask. Those considering attending college should attend an HBCU no matter what their race or ethnicity may be. Many people think HBCUs are only African American colleges due to what the acronym stands for, Historically Black Colleges and Universities. According to CollegeXpress, “HBCUs do primarily serve African American students, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have a limited cultural experience. On the contrary, people from all over the world come to the United States to attend HBCUs, which results in diverse student bodies.”(1) Anyone can attend and sometimes when an individual is not black and decides to attend an HBCU, scholarships are given because they want to show that they are willing to accept anyone, regardless of their race. Some HBCUs that are listed as being the best are: Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College, but they are just a few of many out there to attend. There are also several famous people who attended HBCUs: Jesse Jackson, Wanda Sykes, Samuel Jackson, Toni Morrison, and Oprah Winfrey. Many students that have attended an HBCU love the friendly environment, the diversity, and the knowledge gained. If a student is not financially stable, the HBCU is willing to work out payment arrangements and help out in an effort for the student to receive the education that they deserve. It appears that a large portion of those that attend Virginia Union University came because of the cultural experience or because someone in their family attended and they want to continue the legacy. There are over 100 HBCUs in the world, which include public, private, two year, and four year institutions. Most HBCUs have small class siz... ... middle of paper ... ...cannot be broken, knowledge that cannot be taken away, and opportunities that students never knew were available. It is an honor to receive top notch education and even more of an honor to receive it from an HBCU. Legacies are made at HBCUs and parents are made proud when their child becomes alumni of the same college that they once attended. Parents want to know that their child is receiving the one on one attention from the professors and they want their child to feel the same love away from home that they feel at home. A loving and caring support system is what one will find at an HBCU and parents can feel secure in knowing their child is getting exactly what they paid for. Attending an HBCU is an experience like no other and an experience that every African American should have the opportunity to experience. If given the opportunity, why not attend an HBCU?
When a person presently looks at university school systems, one never imagines the struggle to obtain such diverse campuses. With Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, and African Americans all willing and able to attend any institution, it is difficult now to envision a world where, because of one’s skin color, a person is denied university acceptance. In actuality, this world existed only fifty years ago. In a time of extreme racial discrimination, African Americans fought and struggled toward one of many goals: to integrate schools. As a pioneer in the South, a man named James Meredith took a courageous step by applying to the University of Mississippi, an all white university. After overcoming many legal and social obstacles, the University of Mississippi’s integration sent positive effects rippling among universities across the nation.
HBCU’s have a line of history behind them. Each Institution provides examples of dedication and determination and they offer an education for “African-American” students and students of different backgrounds. HBCU’s prepare students for leadership and successful futures. Institutions today are facing major issues that could cause them to be non-existence but they work hard and push until they get what they need. This is a source of motivation to alumni’s and prospective students. The Colleges provide history, motivation, provision, and most importantly knowledge to every student that attends.
A look back at the institution of education over the past 20 years will reveal that once upon a time a bachelor’s degree was long since considered the marker of ultimate success, the highest level of achievement that one could make in their lives. In those days, if for some reason you failed to march across the stage on graduation day after an epic, four-year stretch of high tuition, long nights studying, and unrelenting professors that found great joy in riding your back, then you had indeed failed at life.
In Rebecca Cox's "The College Fear Factor," the reader is exposed to the routines and fears of being a student attending a community college. The students interviewed for the book appeared to fear adapting to the life a college student and the fear of failing more than they were concerned about how microaggression affected them. This can be attributed to the fact that community colleges offer a more diverse student body where students share similar life experiences. Social class, gender, and races come in second when the students are attempting college for the first time than compared to minority students who attend elite schools and face a new and alien culture to them; That of the students who are rich and privileged and are able to more easily afford these elite universities. Students who by the fortune of being born into privilege may not have known or felt the struggles that a minority student on campus would face. For example, minorities "[...] are severely underrepresented on most campuses. At Oberlin, for instance, black students form only 5.2 percent of students, Hispanic students 7.2 percent, and Asian Americans 4.2 percent. Minorities, by virtue of their being in the minority, do not and cannot exert robust social control of any kind at elite universities like Oberlin." (Runyowa par. 18). In losing the diverse environment that community colleges face, the
Should I attend the University of Illinois in Urbana Campaign, Marquette University, or Northern Illinois University? These predominantly white institutions also received an application for admissions from me in my senior year of high school. Like many African American students I was faced with the issue of whether to attend a HBCU or a predominantly white institution. It is my personal belief that a student can be successful at either. It's up to the student to answer their own question of where they belong. Should they be stuck looking at an ocean of people with similar faces? Or stuck looking like a grain of pepper in a bowl of rice? Should they be in an atmosphere that promotes unity? Or at a place that represents the "real world" in its diversity? A HBCU is a university that was founded before 1964 with the objective of serving the African American community. There are more than 100 HBCUs in the United States and they vary in size and type. A historically black college or university can be public or private, two year or four year, and can be very small or extremely large. None of the HBCUs have only African American students. This detail poses the question that I faced while deciding on which college to attend. What are the advantages or disadvantages of attending a HBCU versus a predominantly Caucasian institution?
Research reveals that African American students from both institutions are graduating college but not at the same level. Why is that? There are a number of reasons that African American are more likely to struggle at PWIs than HBCUs. The following factors include: background information, faculty involvement, connection with faculty, discrimination, and adapting to a new environment. These factors have an effect on GPAs, campus involvement, and graduation rates.
Facing something that we want to judge, we can not only find its disadvantages, then ignore its advantages and values, and that’s the same for colleges. As a matter of fact, we need to face everything with fair judgements rather than prejudices. Community college or two-years college is good for us to choose; don’t let the prejudices influence our
In this brief report, I will be examining common practices, policies and resources that support Black women attending Princeton University. Included is a brief review of national averages in regards to higher education attainment and a rationale for continued rhetoric on this topic. My interest in this topic stem from my experience at State University’s Women Studies Program. While the conversation around gender is necessary and crucial, little attention was given to discussions of how race and gender affect an individual’s lived experience. I was constantly aware of my lack of representation among students who were in those classes and the faculty who taught.
Imagine a young man who has nearly graduated from high school. His life should be full of hope and promise of a bright future, but he has no idea in which direction he desires to head. Picture a single mom who recently went through a divorce, she didn’t imagine she ever needed to worry for her financial future again. What about the students who excel in their studies of choice, but struggle with the subjects foreign to them? Community college can assist in overcoming those obstacles. The benefits of attending a community college include easier transitions, helping recent high school graduates transition to a 4-year college, and smaller class sizes.
This indicates the fear and doubt affirmative action creates for minority groups. Acceptance into college is an earned privilege, a privilege that one has to work for his or her entire childhood to achieve. Schoolwork, homework, sacrifices; children do these things since they are little to assure their acceptance into a college. It is a rite of passage that society looks forward to. Yet, affirmative action can be taken as a condescension and insult to those people by implying that minorities cannot achieve their goals through hard work and ability. Moreover, instead of trying to strive for the best possibility, affirmative action allows African Americans to use the injustices, which is slavery, as an excuse as to why they cannot be successful today.
As cliché as it sounds, it is true that many African American students come from very harsh and poverty stricken environments. They tend to go to under resourced schools as well that do not provide the proper knowledge for them to further their education. And even worse, these schools tend to be segregated since they are usually in the harsher parts of a neighborhood. Sadly, it’s the segregated schools are one of the main reasons why black students decide not to go on to pursue a higher education. According to "The Way Out of the Black Poverty Cycle", a black student that attends an integrated suburban school is six times more likely to graduate compared to a segregated under resourced school. An African Americans family structure and the opinions of family members affects if their decision to further their education as well. Many African American children grow up un...
The last question asked of the participants if there was any further insight they wanted to share related to persistence at MSU, or if there were any reasons they would encourage or discourage an African American male considering MSU. The following is the input that was shared from the participants. One participant would encourage students to get involved in campus activities. He enjoyed his time in school, and he had positive experiences when doing projects with classmates. Another one shared even though he was an online student, he hoped that his experience was not different than other students. Having the opportunity to meet and be mentored was important and understanding that others trusted in him and held him accountable kept him on
Statistics show that black students are less likely to earn college degrees (Guiffrida & Douthit 2010). Black students are less likely to graduate than Whites at PWIs and may have a lower GPA. At first, many people wrote this off as them not being prepared academically. However, there are many other factors that influence their success at college that stems away from just the academics. Interaction with faculty, family, friends, and other peers in the Black community all contribute to their experience and success at college. The relationship with faculty is key component when looking at their success at school. Previous studies noted that Black students have a difficult time making connections with White faculty members, because they are concerned about the stereotypes the professors may have about them. However, through proper education, awareness, and truly listening to students’ experiences and concerns, this can change and White faculty members can serve as mentors to students of color. Faculty members need to keep an open mind and be aware of their own biases. Having a strong support system at home also contributes to Black students’ successes and retention rates. Family provides emotional, academic, and sometimes financial support. Participation in affinity groups also help Blacks integrate into the campus community. This provides them resources where they can share their experiences, connect
However, such an argument completely ignores the fact that community college teach students how to become successful in life. “’College is the key,’ a young African-American student writes for the umpteenth torturous revision of his college essay, ‘as well as hope’” said Addison (page2). Many students switch majors in their first two years of school which makes sense because it’s difficult for a student to plan his or her life and what he or she is going for. Community college will give u all the time in this world to choose a major by taking general classes like math, English and other general subjects for the main time. For example, when I started school at Truman College, I wasn’t sure of my major. Therefore, I started taking general class like math, English and music just to keep me in school till I decide my major. Community college gives students time to learn more about college before choosing what to major in; which makes it easy for more students to enroll in credit classes and be successful in life. Compare to university whereby a student has to know what he or she wants to major in; if not, it will be waste of
My purpose and goals in attending college is to make something of my life. It is a good thing. No one wants to be a nobody. But sometimes it takes time in order for one to realize this. & nbsp; Upon graduation from high school, I, like the majority of others high school graduates, had no clue what direction my life was heading or even what I wanted to become.