Where do the majority of HBCU students come from?


Bartram

Bartram

Brand HBCUbian
Where do the majority of the students come from at your school? From within the state of the school? From the south? From big cities outside the south?

A disturbing pattern I have observed in Alabama is many black grads from high school are opting for the Alabamas, Auburns, Auburn Univ-Montgomerys, Troy States, Troy State-Montgomerys, UABs, Univ of South Alabamas, and UAHs of the world.

In fact, Troy State Univ-Montgomery, Auburn-Montgomery and UAB have the highest percentage of black student population in the state (in the 30-50% range) among the PWCs. Some of this, especially in the case of TSUM and AUM, is a factor of night school, but still, the numbers of fulltime enrolled student percentages are very high for blacks.

What I find disturbing is some of the image problems I have run into among natives blacks in Alabama towards HBCUs. Comments like, "I dont' want to send my kid to those schools; those are just party schools" really get under my skin.

Is the traditional base of HBCU students, the south/the rural south, eroding?
 
Now tis is not going to be indepth but I have to speak on this.

Reason #1
Well, many people view PWC to be more advanced and gives more opportunities to all of their students than HBCU's. The whole idea goes back to the seperate but equal thing. and since in the past HBCU's had "inferior" material, and equipment compaired to these school the idea is that they (PWC) are better than HBCU'c which is not the case now.

Reason#2
You have a more diverse student population st a school and parent s may want to send their children to a school where they can meet different people.

Reason#3
People see the Party image come out of and HBCU so they feel that their child is going to go to frat/soro parties all day.
Which is not true. Actually PWC's have become more of a party school than HBCU's. Like Tulane, Louisiana State University, U colorado-boulder, FSU, Miami, and so on. Most of thoes schools are looked at as good schools but Alot of them are big party schools. Like Tulane, and LSU. That is what a majority of the students do over there.

But form thoes reasons I hear spawn the ideas that people are not going to send their chold to HBCU's unless they have a dominating program like Xavier University here in New Orleans, they have one of the top Pharmacy and pre-med programs in the country. And they are an HBCU...well if ney need a hand out they will consider themselves an HBCU.

But you also have to understand that these schools are open now and people want to send their kids to other places. But I feel HBCU's are no different than PWC. HBCU's just have more black people:D
 

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I need a GOOD reason

If parents send their kids to PWCs (or HBCUs for that matter) because of a particular program that's considered strong or unique, then I understand their decision. Or if those PWCs or HBCUs are offering their students scholarships. But just to keep their kid from going because they think it's nothing but a party school is a copout. :tdown:

They need to read the statistics: there are more deaths from alcohol abuse, more rapes (& other physical crimes), more hate crimes, and other negativity on most PWCs than HBCUs. A PWC is much more likely to be a "party school" than an HBCU, and students are more likely to be able to go to a PWC and never get noticed, do nothing but party during their time there, and flunk out much easier than at an HBCU. One of the best qualities about an HBCU is that the size of the student population is small enough to where the professors and other university workers can get to know students and care about what they are doing. It doesn't happen all the time, but I think HBCUs are more likely to help a struggling child succeed.

Ultimately, it's what you as a student get out of the college that counts. I got a wonderful experience from Alabama A&M University and will recommend it to anyone. But A&M isn't for everyone, HBCUs aren't for everyone, PWCs are for everyone. But one shouldn't be downcast without substantial reason. And we have to work to keep up positive attitudes towards HBCUs so that people won't be able to dismiss them on a whim.
 
Well. Right now I go to a PWC UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS 70% of the student s are white. I am transfering to SU soon that is why I am on here. thoes reasons I metioned are the ususal things I hear from friends or classmates. I was never satisifed with either school.

So take it from me I know what goes on at a PWC. But you are right on this, they do not give the same attention to us as they do to other students at a PWC. :D
 
I noticed an amzing thing when I transefered from Prairie View to a PWC in the same area of Texas. The white teachers and even the students at the school had better things to say about PV then the blacks in the area. When I would mention transferring back most whites at least said "thats a good school" but many blacks including my ex girlfriends mom fell into that same trap of HBCU stereotypes. I convinced my ex into transferring to PV and now her mother has nothing but praises for the school.

After one semester in the Biology program at PV my ex said she felt stupid for not coming to PV first to try to get into med school. She said there were so many things that PV could offer her and help her with that she would never have gotten at a PWC.
 
Re: I need a GOOD reason

Originally posted by kevdawg
......And we have to work to keep up positive attitudes towards HBCUs so that people won't be able to dismiss them on a whim.
Click to expand...

Thats it in a nutshell. I have said it once and I will say it again, HBCUs have got to do a better job of public relations.
 
Blaque Prince nails my frustration, concern, on the head.

That is what really got to me. To hear some of these people that I work with, many of whom are my age and living in the rural Black Belt counties,,, make all these comments about HBCUs totally based on here-say and the 5-10 seconds of a fight they see on TV or the few stories from the girls who go up and get pregnant or the guys that wash out partying too much, but precisely as yall point out,, THIS FREAKING HAPPENS AT ANY COLLEGE!! THIS IS NOT SPECIFIC TO AN HBCU,,, but I just can't get this through the heads of some of these people and they are so "proud" of their sending their kids to the PWCs and ridiculing the HBCUs.

That really burns me. :redhot: They don't stop and think that it was students from HBCUs that worked to defeat segregation so that their kids now have a choice; but to sit up and surcumb to this mentality of automatically thinking HBCUs are "bad",,,, to fall into this mentality that says, "the white man's ice is colder than the black man's ice" is appauling and I am severely insulted by it.

To my original question though; I really believe that increasingly Alabama's HBCU students are coming from outside the region, the south.

Not only like dude said about hearing more positive things from white folk than black folk, I find that in many cases blacks here in the urban cities of California know more about HBCU history than n-words right there in Alabama! I too have run into a few white people, especially outside the south, who are more complementary of HBCUs than many blacks right there in Alabama!
 
Prince Hall is right; Good observation TSU/Bama.

I would acknowledge we have our problems and we, HBCUs, perhaps take our percieved monopoly for granted.

Perhaps we (i'm speaking of Alabama HBCUs) need increased outreach programs with the high schools across the state. Depending on word of mouth and black loyalty sure don't seem to be doing too well.
 
TSU/BAMA, I agree with you on the public relations slant. Maybe if HBCUs got those lists of the top party schools, then those stereotypes would subside.

B, I agree with you and everyone else. I suspect that the same thing is happening in Georgia that is happening in Alabama. Maybe it is not to as large as an extent. But I will bet that it is happening.

Anyway, it is up to the grads to get out the word. If there are conselors or teachers from HBCUs at these high schools, tell them about our schools. Too often HBCU grads at the high schools have done far too little in talking about their schools.
 
- Here is the website for top partying schools and other stuff, it's the Princeton Review Website ( white man's university); http://www.review.com/college/rankingsparties.cfm?menulD=0&search=1/.
- Bartram, this will help you out, matter-of- fact, I carry a copy of the website with me,so that when I run into these black people who think they know, I just give them the website address and tell them to review for them selves, shut's them up every time.
 
Originally posted by blue72
- Here is the website for top partying schools and other stuff, it's the Princeton Review Website ( white man's university); http://www.review.com/college/rankingsparties.cfm?menulD=0&search=1/.
- Bartram, this will help you out, matter-of- fact, I carry a copy of the website with me,so that when I run into these black people who think they know, I just give them the website address and tell them to review for them selves, shut's them up every time.
Click to expand...


Bout time some one exposes the EVIL! 4 sho dawg!:D
 

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- You'll are welcome. For some reason, the word "rankings" in the web address keeps showing up as "rank...", but the word is "rankings". I also appreciate you'll spreading the word, I've been fighting this battle for years with negros and high schools, but, when I give them the website, they get quite like the white man is listening to them!
 
I am thinking aloud.

Someone may have mentioned this earlier.

Could part of the problem with Black people's (from small towns) perception with HBCUs is that not enough HBCU grads go back to the small towns? In part I am guilty. However, my hometown is different than a lot of others, and it is for another story.

If the folks in these towns saw more of us when (that is if) we visit friends and relative, I wonder how their perception would be different. After all they would be getting it from the horse's mouth.

Consider this. My parents and I are members of the church that she was raised in as a child. It is not the same place where my old high school is. However, most of the kids attend HBCUs. The town does have a lot of people there who went to HBCUs. And this includes the minister.
 
I find that most of our HBCU'S in the south have a generous amount of students from different geographical areas. Northern, East Coast and West Coast in particular.
 
In bold was my signature when I first joined the SP -- 3 or 4 years ago

Representing that file gumbo that eclectic flavor of GS GS GS UUU -I thought you knew! Students from every parish in Louisiana, 41 states, and 74 foreign countries.


Grambling had the most diverse enrollment in the state of Louisiana when I started in 1993. The enrollment was 48% out of state and 52% in state. Grambling is a public school, and these numbers are amazing for a state-funded school. Grambling is World Famed all across the board. ;) Students from Chicago, Cali, New York were deep at Gram.
 
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