By Sonya A. Donaldson
Times may have changed, but one thing has remained constant: Each year, thousands of African American teens and parents will sit down to make the big decision about which college to attend. Typically, families base their choices on several factors: overall cost, financial aid package, location, and the school’s academic reputation. For some students, the decision is clear-cut. Yet, families often overlook another essential factor–whether a school is the right fit for the student.
So how do you know which college is best? What qualities should you look for? This article will answer those questions. We’ve provided help from experts and notable alums of some of the schools that made this year’s list of BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Top 50 Colleges for African Americans. We polled graduates of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as well as those who attended predominantly white institutions to get their take on what makes a school the right one. These alumni, who hail from a wide variety of schools and careers (such as publishing, entertainment, education, and technology), also provide practical advice for students. The idea behind this story is that with the benefit of hindsight and foresight, students will have a broad range of issues to consider beyond cost.
As in the past, this year’s list of Top 50 Colleges for African Americans offers a wealth of choices, and we provide tools and information to help families weigh their options. (Be sure to log on to www.blackenterprise .com for additional information, and visit our virtual college campus for tips on saving for college, scholarship information, and more.) This year, the list is more essential than ever. According to Minorities in Higher Education 2001–02: Nineteenth Annual Status Report by the American Council on Education, enrollment of students of color at the nation’s colleges and universities rose 48% between 1990 and 1999, with African Americans making up nearly 11% of all college students. Despite this, black students still lag behind their white counterparts in degree attainment. The issue, then, is not simply a matter of being accepted and going to college but also about making sure the school meets the particular needs of a student.
FINDING A FIT
For high school students, the prospect of leaving the nest to fend for themselves is, well, scary. New cities, new people, and new experiences can be overwhelming. Before deciding on a school, it’s a good idea to make sure a student knows which kind of environment is best for him or her. While the allure of a large university may be strong because of its name, it might not be the best for a student who flourishes in a small environment. Likewise, a small, suburban college might not be the best fit for a student who is more comfortable in the city. “Different colleges are like different communities,” says Carol T. Christ, president of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. “It’s important for the student to know himself and for parents to know their kid and understand the kind of environment in which he will thrive.”
In addition to matching the environment to the student, Christ says it’s a good idea for African American students concerned about diversity to look at the ethnic composition of the student body. “Look for extracurricular activities that focus on the students and that provide a way [for students] to meet other African American [peers],” she adds.
Filmmaker Spike Lee (Morehouse, ’79) adds that overall diversity is especially important on predominantly white campuses. “Look at the diversity of the faculty, students, and administration. Look at the alumni. Who are the people that the school produces? This is a diverse world, and it’s a better learning environment when you have people from every walk of life. It’s just a better learning experience.”
Bruce Spiva (Yale University, ’88) agrees, noting that the diversity shouldn’t be just racial. A partner at the law firm Jenner & Block, Spiva says, “Look for a place where there is not just racial diversity but also socioeconomic diversity. That’s important because who you interact with can be an educational experience in itself.”
But, Pamela K. Johnson (Stanford University, ’82), co-editor of Tenderheaded (Pocket Books; $25.95), says that often, socioeconomic diversity can be intimidating. “Stanford was a beautiful campus, and there are lots of opportunities. But at the same time, I was aware not only of race but also of class in a way that I was not before. There were a lot of students whose fathers were ambassadors, neurosurgeons, and Texas oil men–people who were running the country, and for a girl coming from a lower middle class neighborhood [Carson, California], it was off-putting at times.” However, Johnson,42, adds, there are great benefits to attending a top-name university such as Stanford. “It was highly challenging; it’s a great place to sharpen your edge intellectually, and there is a strong sense of competition. But I was in a funk at times there. As much as I thought Stanford presented me with a lot of opportunity, I felt that the pie had already been carved up.” Still, she adds, “Stanford seems to be a nice name to wave around.”
While some alumni opted for mainstream institutions, others, like Keshia Knight Pulliam (Spelman College, ’01) and Creative Artists Agency Foundation Program Director Michelynn “Miki” Woodard (Hampton University, ’93) tout the wealth of their experiences at HBCUs. “I came out a much stronger person, and educationally, I got a solid foundation,” says The Cosby Show alum. “If you ask me, you can’t help but being pro-black and pro-feminist after going to Spelman.” Pulliam, 23, says she took advantage of the “whole college experience,” including pledging.
Besides Hampton University’s strong academic reputation, Woodard, 31, says it was important for her to be immersed in African American culture after living in environments as varied as London and Puerto Rico. “I had not had the opportunity to have more than one or two [African Americans] in my classes; I wanted to find out what it was like to be with people who looked like me. Plus, Hampton fit my personality,” she adds.
For Woodard, the pull was even stronger because her parents are Hampton University alumni. No pressure there. Adds her mother, Suzanne Woodard (Hampton University, ’70), a homemaker, “We encouraged the kids to go to Hampton.” Her husband, Thurmond Woodard (Hampton University, ’70), Dell Computer Corp.’s vice president of global diversity in Austin, Texas, says laughing, “We told Miki, ‘You can choose whatever school you want, but the check is going to Hampton.'” For Suzanne, 52, it was also important to make that connection with other African Americans in a supportive environment. Thurmond, 53, continues, “There’s a value in going to an HBCU. You’re going to experience culture that you’ve not experienced before and you’re going to learn history that you did not learn previously.”
Like Woodard, William Moss III (Hampton University, ’95) has a long history of family attending and graduating from HBCUs. But Moss, 29, says the deciding factor in choosing Hampton was that it provided the best program for his major, computer science. “It’s more important than before that students know what they want to pursue. If you have that focus in the beginning, you can figure out where you’re going to land.”
Mark Whittaker (Harvard College, ’79), editor of Newsweek magazine, says he understands the appeal of HBCUs for African American students. “That’s the environment in which they will flourish,” he says. But he adds that it’s just as important to interact with people from a variety of backgrounds because it’s preparation for the larger world. Part of finding a “fit” at mainstream schools, he says, involves making
connections with not only other students but also with African American faculty. “Look at the number of African American faculty on staff. Seek them out and try to build relationships,” he says. “One of the great things about going to a school like Harvard is the contacts you make; take advantage of that.”
PAY THEM A VISIT
One often-overlooked method of judging whether a college is the right fit is the campus visit. Our experts cite this as essential in making the decision about where to go to school. “When I was 7, my father took me and my brother to visit family in the D.C. area, and he took us to Howard. I remember getting out of the VW Beetle and just being amazed. I was being taken aback by college students who looked like my family and me,” says Lisa Edmiston (Howard University, ’87). That visit sealed her decision.
“If a family can afford it, they should take a trip to visit campuses,” says Christ. “This is really useful because they can feel immediately whether or not they want to be on a campus.” Syndicated radio host and HBCU supporter Tom Joyner (Tuskegee University, ’70) adds: “When kids go on the tour and get a taste of what an HBCU is like, I think most of them decide then and there.”
Pulliam agrees. “Visit the colleges if you can. A lot of times things look good on paper, but you’ll need to visit the campus and get that feeling.” She got “that feeling” when The Cosby Show filmed on the Spelman campus. “I was old enough to realize the magnitude of the school. Later, I decided that this was where I needed to be–in a school that is dedicated to developing a holistic African American woman.”
Interior designer Sheila Bridges (Brown University, ’86) agrees that a visit to the college or university is essential in the decision-making process. “I arrived on Brown’s campus and immediately said, ‘This is where I want to go.’ It was a very intuitive decision. It was a place that I felt wholly and completely comfortable. It’s one of those things that proves the power of trusting your own intuition and trusting your own guts,” says the host of the TV show Sheila Bridges: Designer Living and author of Furnishing Forward (Little Brown & Co., $40). “I couldn’t have made a better decision.”
MAKING CONNECTIONS
One key thing to look for, adds Pulliam, is class size. “At Spelman, there weren’t big stadium-size classes where you’re just a number. A small, intimate learning environment is really beneficial.” Pulliam adds that she was also able to take advantage of resources and attend classes at other HBCUs such as Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University.
Whatever school you attend, make sure to step outside your comfort zone and interact with people unlike yourself, adds Spiva. “It’s important to come out of your cocoon. It might be comfortable, but it’s also limiting,” he says. And Whittaker agrees, “When I went to Harvard, some of the black kids sat at the “black” table for four years. It’s a shame to go to a place like Harvard for four years and not take advantage of the environment.”
Johnson says that the beauty of attending a school like Stanford is that it affords the opportunity to interact with other African Americans at different socioeconomic levels as well. She recalls one incident in which star quarterback John Elway arrived on campus driving a shiny sports car: “It wasn’t just white kids who were wealthy,” she says, “I had a black classmate who was driving a car of equal caliber. That just blew me away.”
But Bridges, who designed former President Bill Clinton’s office in Harlem, adds that the differences she saw at the predominantly white Brown University, helped prepare her for the real world. “For me, part of the reason to choose a school like Brown rather than a traditionally black institution was that this is real life. This is what I’m going to have to deal with on a daily basis for the rest of my life,” she says. “There’s no question that it’s a predominantly white school, but there was a very strong sense of community among blacks on campus.”
Whittaker admits that for many African American students, the idea of attending a predominantly white school can be intimidating–because of its reputation and perceived expense. “There are students, particularly students of color, who might be able to get in and don’t apply because they don’t think they’re going to get in–that the bar is too high,” he says. But Whittaker points out that a big reason he went to Harvard University (besides the high academic standards) was that the school offered him a generous financial aid package. And Christ adds, “It’s important not to look at the sticker price but the amount the family is going to pay. It’s really about going to the very best college the student aspires to attend.”
CALCULATING THE DAYSTAR RATING
Colleges were selected to be in our analysis based on one of two criteria: 1) They are accredited four-year colleges with an African American student enrollment of at least 3%; or 2) Every other college that did not meet criteria one but is a large or well-known university (e.g., the University of Utah, New Mexico State University, etc.). The goal was to be as inclusive as possible without including schools of little interest to black students. This process resulted in 482 colleges.
OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS
We compiled a list of 1,855 African American professionals in higher education from membership lists of professional organizations, news reports, and other sources, and mailed each of them a questionnaire. The professionals held titles such as president, chancellor, vice president, vice chancellor, provost, dean, assistant dean, department chair, director of admissions, admissions counselor, and college recruiter. They were all employed by one of the 482 universities in the study. The questionnaire asked them to rate colleges based on whether they felt the schools were a good social and educational environment for African American students. Each school was rated on the following scale: 2=strongly recommended, 1=recommended, 0=neutral, -1=not recommended, -2=strongly not recommended. Each school was categorized according to the college classification protocol developed by U.S. News and World Report, which is a modified version of the protocol developed by Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Each survey respondent was asked to rate only schools that were in the same classification as the school where he or she was employed. Survey respondents were asked to rate only schools that they felt they knew enough about to have an opinion. Of the 936 persons surveyed, 409 (43.7%) completed the questionnaire providing usable data.
Calculating The Daystar Rating
The DayStar rating was calculated by developing a regression-based weighted multiplicative index combining four variables: 1) percentage of African American undergraduate students; 2) the school’s DayStar rating from 2001; 3) average survey score for the school’s social environment for African American students; and 4) average survey score for the school’s educational environment for African American students.