HBCU vs. White Schools

[DST Love]

As far as the AUC (Atlanta University Center - Clark Atlanta, Spelman, Morehouse, Morris Brown, ITC, Morehouse School of Medicine), we had the AUC Career Center. I mean it was off the charts. The center helped you get your resume together, set up mock interviews, helped you research your career field, etc. There would be tons of companies that would come there to inteview for internships and full time positions. All you had to do was be registered with your school rep at the Center. You could then come in the Center weekly or even daily and thumb through, for example, the accounting/finance binder which listed all the companies coming to interview for the week and what days and times were available. I'm not sure if a lot of non-HBCUs have this but the people I know that attended non-HBCUs didn't know of such a thing (or maybe they were just too shiftless to find out about it ).

[Finer Woman10-A-91]

From day one you are told you are responsible for the future of our community. You sit next to future doctors, lawyers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and it makes you feel good. The support system is incredible. No matter where you are from, there is a crowd where you will fit in perfectly. Your history never begins with ...black folks were slaves. WE WERE QUEENS, KINGS...ROYALTY.

I could go on and on about my classmates and my own wonderful experience being a product of Howard University...THE MECCA! But, you have already read about us in all of the current pop culture and trade magazines.

Those who are quick to dismiss black colleges for fear of receiving an inferior education suffer miserably from self hate. These are the same people who would prefer a white doctor to a black doctor...just because. A sad state of affairs!

Singing..."I'm so glad...I went to Howard U!!!!!"

P.S. My future children will go to Howard!

[sphinxpoet]

Originally posted by Finer Woman10-A-91
From day one you are told you are responsible for the future of our community. You sit next to future doctors, lawyers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and it makes you feel good. The support system is incredible. No matter where you are from, there is a crowd where you will fit in perfectly. Your history never begins with ...black folks were slaves. WE WERE QUEENS, KINGS...ROYALTY.

I could go on and on about my classmates and my own wonderful experience being a product of Howard University...THE MECCA! But, you have already read about us in all of the current pop culture and trade magazines.

Those who are quick to dismiss black colleges for fear of receiving an inferior education suffer miserably from self hate. These are the same people who would prefer a white doctor to a black doctor...just because. A sad state of affairs!

Singing..."I'm so glad...I went to Howard U!!!!!"

P.S. My future children will go to Howard!

Even though I went to a predominatly(sp) white School SU TO DA FULLEST I have mad love for HBCU's. I think there is no inferior education it is what you make of it. I think the choice comes down to where you are in your life. Some people need that experience some don't but like one person said a long time ago "It is more impossible for a black person to go through life in america without interacting with a white person than it is for a white person to grow up in america and never interact with a black"

Sphinxpoet

[Finer Woman10-A-91]

Originally posted by sphinxpoet


Even though I went to a predominatly(sp) white School SU TO DA FULLEST I have mad love for HBCU's. I think there is no inferior education it is what you make of it. I think the choice comes down to where you are in your life. Some people need that experience some don't but like one person said a long time ago "It is more impossible for a black person to go through life in america without interacting with a white person than it is for a white person to grow up in america and never interact with a black"

Sphinxpoet

Did you see the Real World Lousiana when the mormon girl was like..."there were no colored people where I grew up" I was like...dag, SHELTERED PITIFUL!

[Ideal08]

Originally posted by Finer Woman10-A-91


Did you see the Real World Lousiana when the mormon girl was like..."there were no colored people where I grew up" I was like...dag, SHELTERED PITIFUL!

Dang, that was the last RW that I watched, and I can't believe I missed her say "colored." That is some mess in and of itself.

[Finer Woman10-A-91]

Originally posted by Ideal08


Dang, that was the last RW that I watched, and I can't believe I missed her say "colored." That is some mess in and of itself.

It was CRAZY! She said it like the first or second episode. I can't remember the brother's name on the show, but he was like...the girl has been sheltered tooooo long. The quasi-sometimes I am a sistah sister got totally bent out of shape and straight checked her. I actually liked the Mormon girl. She went on the show and made a valiant effort to just learn and live.

[Professor]

I certainly agree - - - enough said!

Originally posted by Ideal08
I think that it depends on the person's background. I think that if you went to school with white people growing up, it would be good for you to attend an HBCU.

On the other hand, if you grew up going to school with all black people, I think it would benefit you to go to a white school. That's how I made my decision, and I'm happy with it. Now, while I was there, I was wishing for an HBCU. But now that it's all said and done, I'm happy with my choice. You learn INTIMATELY about white people and how they can be sometimes. It's HARD if it's not something that you're used to, but it's a heck of a preparation for the world. It also helps you to know that not ALL white people are bad. That's what my father had me thinking. Thanks to Wittenberg, he died knowing that what he learned growing up was wrong, they're not all bad. But I digress...

I said all that to say that your prior experiences should dictate where you go to school. If you think you can handle going to an all black high school, and an all black college and still hang with the culture shock, that's cool. I don't think I could've handled it, at least not the way I handled it in college. There's not as much bureaucracy, politics, and red tape on campus as there is in life, you know what I'm sayin'? However, if you went to school with white people all your life, i just think that you NEED to go to a Black school. People end up CONFUSED and NAIVE.

Just my .08 . . .

[soulsearchin]

Originally posted by Dexter
Now I know that some of you will be very uncomfortable with this topic but I want to know...Which do you think is better for black people Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCU for those who don't know) or White schools?

i think that you should go wherever you feel you will receive the best overall education...one cannot say that all black people are one way and would benefit more from an hbcu education vs. and education at an institution that isn't historically black...i chose an hbcu because i felt that that was where i would receive the best overall education based on my goals, pre-existing perspectives on college life, and multi-cultural upbringing, that was at times absent of intellectual exchange with people that looked like me...people that were about doing something more than being content with their present existence...so...it is always an individual choice...and in my opinion it would be regressive to stereotype us in that way...but i feel where you are coming from...

[SweetestDiva]

I go to a predominantly white university and I always feel like I'm missing something. I'm not sure what... just something. However, I do feel like the black students on campus are closer since there are few of us. Seeing familiar faces all the time makes it easier for us to look out for each other.

Has anyone transferred from a PWU to an HBCU or vice versa? I'm interested to hear what you think.

[NinjaPoodle]

I don’t want to get too lengthy so I’ll try to keep this short.My situation is an interesting one.
I was born in the south side of Chicago (predom. black), grew up in San Francisco (very diverse) and attended Jr College, transferred to Grambling (GSU rocks the HOUSE!): D then transferred back home to Jr college then to San Francisco State (yuck!), back to Jr. College, (change major & got AA degree) then applied to another HBCU (Howard) but never heard ANYTHING from them (don't ask how many times I called) so I transferred to an art school (where I am now & very diverse) but will apply to Howard for grad school. Whew! What a mouthful!

Anyway, my experience at Grambling was mind-blowing. At the time I wasn't mature enough to handle myself (bad grades) but what I took from the experience changed my life and views. GSU's motto is "Everybody is Somebody". I am SOMEBODY. Deep in my heart I knew that but at GSU , I FELT IT. One of my teachers made me stand up in front of a mirror and SAY IT and MEAN IT. I really cannot put into words the feelings that I have right now as I type this. I can say that the experience is like no other.

If I ever have children, I will STRONGLY ENCOURAGE them/he/she to attend a HBCU. I've already picked them out: Howard, Spelman or Morehouse, Meharry Medical or Howard Medical, Grambling, and Tuskegee. The only non-HBCU on the list is Oberlin.

[ClassyLady]

I attend an HBCU and I absolutely love it. I am having the time of my life and receiving a great education. I could not see myself in school anywhere else.

I went to an all-white elementary school. My middle school and high school were about 50% white and 50% everything else. I liked that experience. But, when it came time to pick a college, I knew I wanted to attend an HBCU.

The environment that I grew up in was not full of positive and upwardly mobile young black people. Sure, I knew professional blacks, but they were all my mother's age. Everyone that I knew and went to school with was doing absolutely nothing with themselves and had even less planned for their futures. The few black students like myself were so stuck-up and "corny" that I couldn't stand to be arond them. There was nobody like me, smart and ambitious, but still cool. I wanted to surround myself with positive black people and I knew that attending a black college would be my last opportunity to do so.

I wasn't sold on my school until I had actually visited the campus. I had narrowed my choices down to UNC, Spelman, and FAMU. Compared to the other two, FAM had the friendliest campus. It was just a family atmosphere. When my mother and I got lost looking for a building, someone walked us to exactly where we need to be. At UNC and Spelman, people barely wanted to point us in the right direction. I still feel the family atmosphere here after some years. I am still friends with everyone who lived on my hallway my freshman year. My friends will tell me that I know I need to go to class. It's like everyone here wants you to succeed.

The most successful people in my family attended HBCUs. My grandparents went to Tuskegee, my parents went to Lincoln (PA), and my sister went to Hampton. These are not the only college educated people in my family, but the ones who attended majority institutions have yet to reach a moderate level of success. I have a cousin who went to Princeton who can barely hold a job, and she has an MBA. It's my mother's opinion that she should have attended and HBCU because she needs that nurturing that a black college can provide.

The one thing that I don't like is the negative connotation that goes along with attending a black college. People think that I go to FAM because it's the only school I could get into. I got accepted to every school that I applied to and those are some of the best colleges in this country. I could have gone to NYU or Georgetown, but I wanted to go to FAMU!!!!

[AKAtude]

Originally posted by ClassyLady
The one thing that I don't like is the negative connotation that goes along with attending a black college. People think that I go to FAM because it's the only school I could get into. I got accepted to every school that I applied to and those are some of the best colleges in this country. I could have gone to NYU or Georgetown, but I wanted to go to FAMU!!!!

I'm just curious. Anyone is free to answer, not just ClassyLady. She just brought up something I've been wondering about.

I also know of a lot of really, really smart students from my high school that were accepted to predom. white schools (some with scholarships), but chose an HBCU (FAMU, Howard, Spelman, and Hampton). So, it's definitely a myth that you attend a HBCU because you can't get in anywhere else.

However, how do you feel about those students that attend an HBCU because they didn't get into any other college? The ones that I've known usually withdrew, including a cousin of mine. I know how hard she had it in high school, but she really wanted a college degree. I'm glad a school gave her the opportunity to at least try. Our entire family was really supportive and encouraged her to stick with it, but she couldn't.

My question is do stories like that help or hurt?

[tickledpink]

Originally posted by AKAtude



However, how do you feel about those students that attend an HBCU because they didn't get into any other college?

I went to an HBCU. Many of the people that I knew like that withdrew, but some graduated. Still, I was shocked when I was in school to find that some people hadn't taken the SAT, or they scored whatever it is they give you simply for bubbling in your name correctly. I can understand giving people a chance, but I feel like it may also set people up for failure. Real life, post-graduation, does not have very low standards. And positions that do are often positions people can get without going to college. JMHO.

I answering Dexter's question, I agree with Soror Ideal08. I think it depends on what your background is.

[Finer Woman10-A-91]

Originally posted by AKAtude
...However, how do you feel about those students that attend an HBCU because they didn't get into any other college?...
My question is do stories like that help or hurt?

Just as many students withdraw from predominately white colleges as historically black colleges/universities. I would venture to say a college's graduation rate black or white does not influence one's decision to attend, stay or leave a college at any point. It certainly did not play a role in my decision to apply and graduate from Howard.

I would venture to say reasons for not finishing are typically very personal. Many reasons are financial. While some students do not return simply because "college life"...academia...simply was not the right choice for them.

[ClassyLady]

Originally posted by Finer Woman10-A-91

I would venture to say reasons for not finishing are typically very personal. Many reasons are financial. While some students do not return simply because "college life"...academia...simply was not the right choice for them.

I agree!!! College life is not for everyone, but society has taught us that we need to go to college if we want to be successful. But, in all honesty, that's not true. If I like doing hair, then I really don't need a degree to do that. Sure, a few accounting and business courses would help, but they are not a neccessity.

If someone drops out of school, then maybe they just don't need to be there. I think that many students come to school expecting the school to tell them what they should be. If you don't already has some kind of grasp around who you are or what you want to be in life, it doesn't matter what school you go to. A university cannot tell you what to study or what to pursue.