This past week I was talking to a family about college admission and we had a brief venture into the never-ending PWI (predominantly white institution) vs HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) debate. I wanted to bring a few thoughts (really one particular comparison point) about that to the blog . . . so here we are. Let’s go . . .
While debating about schools by different broad categories is as common as applying to college, it’s one of the most problematic parts of the college search. Unfortunately, while reductive this type of comparison fairly common in the media, in the consultant industry, hell even in companies’ hiring processes. All of these simple single factor categorical evaluations tend to fall apart when any level of nuance is added. Students don’t attend university categories, they attend universities.
The single factor comparison seems to be loudest when we talk about HBCUs, which adds another element to the conversation (Yes, that element). We can, if we want to, do a comparison in almost any category: liberal arts college vs flagship colleges, public vs private, christian of any flavor vs non-secular, HSI vs PWI, large school vs small school, sports school vs academic school (is this even a thing), stem school vs humanities school, rich school vs not rich school, woman’s college vs coed school, . . .
But for now I’m going to focus on the version of this debate I end up hearing most often: HRC (highly rejective college) vs HBCU.
Let’s start this by recognizing that every family has to look at multiple factors and their individual situation. So I am not going to resolve this debate, but I’m going to add a consideration that many overlook: cultural celebration.
There are two examples from recent history that I want to share. First, in the summer of 2023, I toured Emory and then later that day toured Morehouse, two institutions in the same city that both offered the major my student was interested in. I don’t recommend back to back tours of schools with vastly different resources. It can’t be easy for most teenagers to have to make such stark comparisons objectively. I also made the mistake of touring empty campuses, which is also not ideal and tilted the evaluation. So why was it a mistake? The differences I saw boiled down to money. Touring empty Emory (thanks to Tim for being an amazing host) it felt like the message was, we have resources and money will likely fall off our buildings and into your pockets. Corporate sponsorships were abundant, connection to industry was obvious, and resources were plentiful. Later in the day, I toured Morehouse (thanks to Shadeed for showing us around!). Morehouse clearly offered a cultural experience that would respect, reflect on, honor, uplift, and celebrate the black student. This is an interesting juxtaposition and I’ve been thinking about it ever since: culture vs cash.
Here is another example reinforced the comparison.
HBCUs
This fall I started seeing more social media that reaffirmed this framing. Check out these three TickyToks about HBCU orientation activities:
And finally, this one seems to say everything. Watch:
This last video captured a bunch of things: surging popularity, understaffed offices, making lemonade from lemons, and joy. That sounds like a very 2024 picture of HBCUs. I’m not sure whether the good outweighs the bad and I would not venture to say whether this is better or worse for your student or family. But I think I would love being in this hallway (after I got over being in that line!)! All three of those videos convey a shared cultural experience and joy.
If you’re interested in exploring more about this, here are a couple of resources that my friend Tim Fields recommended:
The Power of Black Excellence: HBCU and the Fight for American Democracy β this is
an academic book, but provides a good overview of HBCUs and their presence in
American History
HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black Experience β this is a collection of essays that
speak directly to the lived experience as told by prominent HBCU grads.
Highly Rejective Colleges
What I see online about HRCs offer a different proposition. Access to money seems to be at the core of that pitch. I came across a picture and a TickyTock reaffirmed that idea. Here’s the picture:
This image of an alumni even for the class of 1991 at Harvard seems to reek old money or an attempt to convey affiliation with an historic aristocracy. Then I learned about the Yale First Year Holiday dinner:
It’s also worth pointing to this TikyTok that introduced me to the Yale first year holiday dinner, it’s essential viewing:
How can you use this
First, that when a student is building a list of colleges to apply to is not the time to rely on generalizations or simplistic single factors. Making a decision solely based on the physical facilities and landscaping doesn’t make much sense. College decisions should be thoughtful, especially considering that the college experience encompasses much more than just what happens in the quad or even in the classroom.
Second, keep in mind that individual schools in any category will have lots of differences. There are 100 HBCUs some public, some private, some large some small, some well endowed, some not.
Quantify Differences
To make application and decision conversations easier, I recommend quantifying even seemingly unquantifiable differences. Create a “cultural experience” (is that the right word? Maybe cultural celebration . . mental health . . . social comfort) category in your college comparison spreadsheet. Maybe assign a dollar value to that cultural experience.
For example, a student who went to a predominately white independent high school, who wants a different college experience before working in a predominately white workplace, might assign a $10k value to the cultural experience of an HBCU. So let’s say that student is admitted to both Rice and Morgan State. In my made up example, the family costs for Rice after gift aid (always include all loans in family costs regardless of how the college lists them) is $14,000 and the family costs for Morgan State is $22,500, I might call that dollar difference a wash because all other things being equal, it’s worth it to me as a parent (if I can afford it) to pay a premium for a rewarding cultural experience. But if the offer at Morgan was $31,000 that would cross my threshold for just cultural value, since I’d be unwilling to take out loans to cover that difference.
Perceptions of Black Families
Just as schools are not a monolith nor are people, there are lots of perspectives on HBCUs. In Tim’s book The Black Family’s Guide to College Admission they pointed that while black families have varied perspective on HBCU, there were three prevailing perspectives among Black families college:
- The largest group comprises those willing to consider PWIs and HBCUs, weighing their options based on individual preferences and circumstances.
- A second group believed that Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) are superior, citing their perceived diversity and better representation of the world at large. [this isn’t categorical true and that’s one of the problems with this type of comparison.]
- A third group held a solid allegiance to HBCUs, expressing that their financial or emotional support should strictly go to these institutions, as they view them as the sole appropriate choice for Black students.
Lastly, let me tell you a story of a family I talked to last year:
A mother came to me about her son, who went to a private independent school in New York for most of k-12. He had received acceptances from institutions Yale, Emory, Morehouse, and other prestigious colleges. The aid packages ranged from full tuition scholarships to $0 in gift aid. While many in the mom’s family felt it would be a mistake for him to choose Morehouse over the other impressive options, her son wanted Morehouse. Mom was torn.
What finally convinced her to fully support his decision was when he said: “All my life, Iβve been in predominantly white spaces. People have often questioned my presence, wondered if I was there on a scholarship, and criticized my hair. What I truly want is to be in a place where I can be myself, where my identity isnβt scrutinized, and where I can just feel comfortable being me.”
For him, the comfort of the HBCU was worth paying a little more for.
This story sparked a lot of conversation on Xwitter. Here are the results of two polls I posted at the time:
Hope this helps. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Bellowings 