The Pros And Cons Of Attending HBCU And PWI: What To Look Out For?
Today some well known HBCUs include schools such as Howard University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College. These elements make the talkers, HBCU and PWI advocates alike, smart and socially conscious. But all of us are having conversations that are insignificant in what higher education really means to students and graduates, and communities. We, black people, tend to shape the HBCU vs. PWI argument on the peripheral elements of college life — school pride, job prospects and civic identity. There’s nothing ridiculous, wasteful or inappropriate about the ongoing ‘HBCU vs. PWI’ debate, which continually finds new life every few months on social media outlets of all kinds.
I received practically a full-tuition scholarship and a seat in the University Honors Program, two blessings I couldn’t pass up. Said having a wider dating pool of black people is good, especially if you are another Black person who wants to date black people. She said their school being in the south does help expose everyone SexMessenger how to use to Black culture more. Shaw is trying to increase its endowment, but it is working on a “shoestring budget,” she said. About 80 percent of students at the private liberal arts college are eligible to receive federal Pell Grants, compared to about 40 percent of the total undergraduate population across higher education.
A Minority in a HBCU
This can be a challenge when a Black person is trying to find someone with whom they have similar experiences. Said she has noticed from social media and from personal experience that some Black men have this mentality that Black women are only attractive if they look a certain way. “It speaks volumes that institutions that overwhelmingly serve low-income and Black students have been underfunded for decades and have still continued to overproduce Black graduates,” she said. While Shaw is a tuition-driven institution, it also has to keep prices low to serve its population, Dillard said. The university is using social media and other platforms to establish a brand identity. Dillard hopes Shaw’s history as the first HBCU in the southern states will attract more attention — and donors.
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Recently, some students at Towson University have taken it upon themselves to declare their college an HBCU. Whatever that means, I would hope that this is not the case considering the fact that Towson barely has enough black people at their institution, being 16 percent, to speak for even a small majority of the campus. They claim that they became an HBCU because of what looks like a cookout hosted by their Black Student Union and the different social events surrounding the black students.
THE Campus
Arowolo said she considered going to an HBCU at one point because of the sense of community they have. Hinton said the administration has a misconception that a majority of Black students are underprivileged. From Morehouse College, one thing I learned is the value of “thy neighbor.” At VSU, I walked past people I often saw, but we have never spoken, exchanged names, nor do I know their major or organizational involvement.
What irritates me is the recklessness and arrogance with which the HBCU vs.PWI debate can be conducted. Black PWI students and alums can be guilty of insulting the HBCU community with mindless assumptions that more well-resourced institutions mean higher quality education. There are those in the HBCU community who thoughtlessly accuse Black PWI students and alumni of sacrificing their cultural identity for “Mr. Charlie.”
Is Harvard a PWI?
Some students prefer this environment because it gives them more hands-on experience with research projects. McKinzie encourages Black students to be vocal and advocate for what they need on their campus. McKinzie said giving students a space to be themselves will allow them to thrive and feel like they do not have to hide who they are. Batiste said at PWIs it feels as though Black students have to talk to each other.
I attended many of their activities and made meaningful career connections. However, I did not find much success by applying through their portal. Some jobs posted in the system were never checked or were out of date. The PWI offered more career opportunities than the HBCU, but not all the postings were applicable; you had to curate the list carefully. According to Pew Research, in 2015, only 3 percent of the nation’s higher learning institutions were HBCUs, but just 9 percent of black college students in the United States attended one. 9% of black students enrolled in HBCU accumulate approximately 300,000 individuals.
“And I’m sure many of my colleagues in the smaller institutions are doing the same thing.” “The reasons those institutions attract funding at a higher rate and are more visible is simply because they are much better funded than some of the rest of us,” Dillard said. “With higher visibility comes people wanting to back a winner.” “Every time something happens, there seems to be a glib anticipation of HBCUs closing. I don’t know if that type of dialogue is beneficial to HBCUs,” he said. “HBCUs need more support, generally, compared to other institutions in times of crisis and in normal times. They’re institutions that have taken on this historic mission of taking care of those who have less.” Across higher education, colleges that hold more prestige tend to get the most donations, said Gregory Price, professor of economics at the University of New Orleans.
In other words, every time an HBCU closes its doors, we get one step closer to the elimination of the historical and consequential institutions. The numbers are a welcome boost for HBCUs, many of which have struggled financially and otherwise in recent years. Most of the first HBCUs were founded during Reconstruction so that freed slaves could obtain a higher education; the schools have produced such noteworthy graduates as Martin Luther King Jr. and Oprah Winfrey.
These findings have the potential to improve the experiences of both groups of students at both PWIs and HBCUs by incorporating the aspects that had positive effects on their quality of life. This research could also be continued in several ways such as by involving different groups of students or looking at other aspects that the schools may affect. Predominantly White Institutions is colleges or Universities where the student populace is primarily White.