re: graduation rates of HBCUs vs PWIs...

I know one of the biggest problems at my alma mater when I was a student and now is the cost. Spelman has one of the largest (if not the largest, I can't rmember) endowments of HBCUs, but when you compare it to a school like Emory Univeristy which is in the same city, it is peanuts. As a result, Spelman can't compete with the Emorys and Smiths of the world when it comes to scholarship dollars for deserving students. Those students either beg, borrow and..well, not steal ;) to pay for their freshman year, but then don't have the funds to pay for sophomore year, so they 'drop out' and impact graduation rates. My friends that did not graduate from Spelman, for the most part, did not do so because of the lack of education or their inability to master the classes, but many of them did not because they simply could not afford it. Many went on to graduate from state schools in their homestate.

I hope everyone on this list that is proudly proclaiming their love for their alma mater (especially those that went to HBCUs) are giving something to the school so currents students won't have to say "I would love to go to/stay at Spelman/Howard/Clark/Hampton, etc, but I can't afford to, so I will go to XX School that will give me money. Even $5 means that the % of alumni giving is increased and many major foundations look at that to determine if they will give. For those of us who have fond or not so fond memories of countless hours of standing in lines at registration, give a bit more so the school can upgrade the computers. LOL

Aren't I supposed to be on ignore or something?

When you start acting like a Kazodian, you go on ignore. Otherwise, I read you posts like everyone else's.

Interesting, seeing as though I went back and forth with you long before I knew what a KAZO was. :rolleyes:

And have gotten a lot worse as a result of Kazo; evidently birds of a feather flock together (:rolleyes:).

Yes GC, she's crazy about me. There must be something about that Crimson and Cream love :D

(now back to our regularly scheduled thread).

Yes, this is a central part of the issue, and your whole post is very wise. Talking about this disparity doesn't have to be read as an attack on anyone's alma mater; it's a call to help the schools you love to do even more for their students. Meeting the financial needs of current undergrads should be the number one fundraising priority for alumni of any school. (As far as I know, Princeton is the only university in the world that meets 100% of its undergrads' financial need solely through endowment funds; every other school relies on donations for some (or all) of its scholarship program.)
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Paxil attorneys

Very much on point, and one of the reasons why I left an HBCU; I was pulling top grades out the gate and I wasn't getting no money. I wasn't going to continue to pay my way through school and excel under those conditions.

btw, true story; I applied for a Central State University scholarship through the Columbus Urban League while attending a community college. I even asked before I applied if I could apply under those conditions (as opposed to being a high school student), and they said yes. Later on my application was denied because, you guessed it, I wasn't a soon-to-be high school grad. I wanted to slap somebody so bad for wasting my time. If the Urban League was paying my tuition I would've stuck it out at CSU for at least a full school year. O well, it's their loss.

Bless your dumb heart for your attempts at familiarity.

Next time, either agree and save the side comments or don't agree at all.

Is that an order?

*gives wink, throws the yo, and makes phone gesture, mouthing the words, "I'll call you" :p :D

Yes.

*eyes Chaos' full bird colonel insignia on her collar she got from an army surplus store for $4.99 along with with her fruit salad decorated Delta tunic that would put Idi Amin to shame*

Ohhhhhh....gotcha ;)


(ok, I'm done for real now...carry on everyone)

I went to both HBCU's and "PWI" as an undergrad and the major difference was the amount of people in HBCU's who had been there FOREVER and were holding about 15 positions. These people were also holding the university back and thus causing students to transfer to more aggressive universities. There is a difference in HBCU's as well. There are two major rivals here in Mississippi and one is on the cutting edge of being a major force to recon with. The other one is located in a sparse area where the resources aren't available to move the college ahead. Many people have argued that the alums have to do their part;however, I feel that HBCU's have been neglected prior to the Ayers Case, and have to fight extra hard to be where Ole Miss and MSU were 20 years ago. HBCU's turn out many graduates who have received QUALITY education. Just because one goes to an HBCU doesn't mean they couldn't get into Harvard or another "PWI". Believe me, they had several choices.

I believe the key element in all this is to find a QUALITY HBCU. All HBCUs are not created equal and we are doing ourselves a disservice to give someone credence just because they attended an HBCU regardless of the educational quality. I attended what was at that time a piss poor HBCU, but it didn't sour my perception of HBCUs as a whole. I do believe there is a certain unique educational experience you can get at an HBCU, but you must attend a good one to make it fully count.

Good.

I just got back from the 100 Black Women 2007 Presidents Luncheon (my office bought a table) where the guest speaker was Dillard University president Marvalene Hughes. She gave a great speech on how her tenure as president began one month before Hurricane Katrina and how she managed to perservere and bring back a damaged campus (and dampened school spirit) better than before.

The slide show presentation she presented was very very good. All in all, good speech, good meal, awesome time.