Sorry but I know this will be long.
My boyfriend and I have already dicussed that our future children will be attending HBCUs, unless there is extreme circumstances for them to do otherwise. We definitely want to support our institutions. (And yes I know that a lot of the HBCUs were founded by white people but they were still opened for us at a time when we weren't accepted at "white" schools.) From speaking with people who attended non-HBCUs, I definitely can tell there is a vast difference in experience. Not saying one better than the other, just vastly different.
I definitely had a closeness with all of my professors (white, black, middle-eastern, etc.) that I'm sure I wouldn't have had at the same level at a non-HBCU. No matter my professors' nationality, I liked how they always talked about how "we" had to be a step above everyone else. They kept it real. I believe they made us work harder so that we would be in a position to better compete. My stupid friend (see thread 'Black Think Tank') said that it seemed like HBCUs baby people and that isn't good. Well I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm going to pay for my child's or my own education, then I would rather someone care about me or my child then just see me or them as a number in classroom and a part of their salary. And my professors at Clark Atlanta University definitely treated me better than that.
My senior year, I started slacking in one of my accounting classes. That professor (of Middle-eastern descent) called me out in front of the class. He said that it wasn't like me to be doing so bad. He told me to come to his office after class. I said, "dang, you didn't have to bust me out". But in his office, the first thing he asked was if there was anything wrong personally. He then asked if I was having problems with the class and if there was anything that he could do to help me better understand, if so. At the time I was taking a full load and he told me to slow down and try not to let anything stress me out too much. It made me realize how much our professors really want us to be on the ball but that they actually care as well. I had a lot of teachers trying to hook me up with interships or at least make sure I was trying to get some (which I did). And this is just one of many examples of our professors caring about the students. (Disclaimer: Not that every teacher cared about every student but if you appeared to care about your own future or showed potential, then the professors would go above and beyond to assist you.)
Now as far as classes, my English and history classes were off the hook. We did the same type of work as non-HBCUs (ie critical analysis papers, essays, research, etc.) but we did them about lesser known Black authors, poets and people in history (and not just MLK or other well discussed Black people).
The social side: amazing. I always think of our basketball games. Let's say we'd be playing Morris Brown or Morehouse and either CAU band or the other school's band would be playing the theme to "Good Times" and the whole crowd would be loudly singing along. Or the bands would play some new OutKast cut. Or if the bands weren't playing, then we would have a DJ playing at time outs. I mean, Good Times, DJs, etc. I felt right at home.
Now my Dad just loved the dorm situation my freshmen year. As freshmen, you had a curfew of midnight [although you could some time find your way around it, unless there was a surprise dorm meeting at midnight and you weren't there
]. I know most college people wouldn't like that. But it wasn't that bad and sometimes it felt good to know people (RM, RA, institution) cared about you.
I went to elementary and high school with a nice amount of Blacks (not a majority but a large amount) but nothing was better than the atmosphere at an HBCU. My stupid friend's Dad (who constantly put down HBCUs although he supported his daughter applying to one but she was not accepted) said that he wanted his daughter to go to a school with all races as if we lived in an all Black town or something
. I'm sorry but that is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Why? Because the rest of the world doesn't cease existing just because you're in college. Meaning, you may see mostly us on campus and in the classroom but that's only one part of your life. You still have to work be it in the summer or after class, go to shopping malls and grocery stores, and do any other day-to-day activities that doesn't just involve Black people. College is like home. You can choose to be surrounded by the type of people who make you feel most comfortable and those you would choose in your personal life but you still deal with others in the other daily parts of your life.
(Disclaimer: I know that one can have just as good a time or good education or anything else at a non-HBCU as an HBCU. This is just my experience.)