HBCU & PWI

HBCU & PWI: The Advantages, Disadvantages, and Discouragement of an HBCU Education

This is the fifth and final section within the topic on the Role of Education.  This discussion revolves around the difficult choice for college-bound Black students and whether going to an HBCU or PWI impact the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. What is, was, or would be your biggest reason for attending any university?

2. Do you consider HBCU’s or PWI’s better schools for Black students?

3. Do you agree or disagree with the notion that HBCU’s do not prepare you for the “real world” and are antiquated?

FRONT STREET

As a graduate of the illustrious Hampton University, I can truly say that HBCU’s are different.  The atmosphere, the culture, the populations, and the Homecomings!!!  Honestly, it was a life-changing experience and I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else.  However, I have plenty of friends, relatives, co-workers, associates etc. who attended PWI’s and to be frank they don’t view college the way HBCU grads view their alma maters.  They often looked at college as a business preposition and cited, scholarships, technology, and “more diversity” as the main upsides of their experience.  I think both options have value, but the future doesn’t look bright for HBCU’s.  Between the “diversity” warriors seeing HBCU’s as self-imposed segregationist, and well-meaning Blacks seeing them as antiquated and depleted, the age old question of whether Black students should go to HBCU’s or PWI’s has come to the forefront once again.  Are HBCU’s unknowingly playing a hand in the destruction of Our Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 10/18/2020 in our Roundtable which is also available on YouTube.

HBCU & PWI’s

3 thoughts on “HBCU & PWI”

  1. As someone that attended an HBCU and has professional experience in higher education for more than 12 years, I would say that HBCU’s are not only important for the student experience but are a vital piece of maintaining diversity .

    What is, was, or would be your biggest reason for attending any university? My reason for attending an HBCU was really because of “A different world “and what i saw on TV. It seemed like a fun environment and the older people that i knew that attended PWI’s encouraged me to attend a HBCU.

    Do you consider HBCU’s or PWI’s better schools for Black students?
    I think HBCU’s provide choice for students, some may choose a school because of the faculty or the academic programs, students should also be able to consider a school with a long history of graduating and providing opportunities to students of color. Similar to in football, players flourish in teams that fit their “style of play.” You can take a player and put them in a program that will play toward their strengths and that player will go further and have more opportunities. In the college arena, choosing a college that matches the student is an important part of future success .Often student choose large prestigious colleges with lots of money and they miss the small personal experience that another smaller college could have offered.

    Do you agree or disagree with the notion that HBCU’s do not prepare you for the “real world” and are antiquated?

    The point of college is not only to prepare you for what is, but to give you the tools to create the future. The reason we teach algebra is not for algebra but to learn the concepts that later on, students can build on in the future. Algebra can lay the foundation for medical school, engineering or research statistics in their Phd programs. College is just the vehicle to spark ideas in its students, a college that does that is never antiquated.

  2. 1. My biggest reason for attending college was because that was what I was supposed to do. In my house, graduating from high school meant nothing. It was not considered an achievement. It marked the beginning of my education and having a college degree was the bare minimum. It never crossed my mind I could NOT go to college.

    2. I grew up in all white neighborhoods and went to all white private schools. I was used to being the only black kid on every sports team I played on and usually the only black student in my grade. It was all I knew and it did not bother me, but when it was time to choose a college, something told me to find a HBCU. All colleges have drawbacks and Hampton was no different, but what they gave me was something I could not have received at a PWI – a sense of pride about my black skin and what it represents. My parents did not raise me to be ashamed of my skin and I never was ashamed, but the pride I gained at Hampton was life changing. Everyone in my family noticed it and made every drawback at Hampton, absolutely worth it.

    3. This is a tough one for me, because Hampton was the only time in my life I was around a majority of black people. After graduation, I knew I was going back to “my” world which happened to be mostly white. I’ve heard people say HBCU’s don’t represent the real world, but I don’t think they need to. College is a time to mature, begin finding yourself, and to prove you can finish a task. I feel it’s much less about “learning and remembering” what you were taught, because most companies are going to train you to do things their way, anyways. Graduating from college shows you can follow directions and finish what you start. It shows you are teachable and capable of “learning”. And because that is what I believe college is for and what college does, saying HBCU’s are antiquated is just an excuse to diminish their value. Unfortunately many people, including some of who are in positions that conduct the hiring process, believe this falsehood and in turn disregard degrees from HBCU’s.

  3. 1. What is, was, or would be your biggest reason for attending any university? Major and affordability. I would want the best school for my money.

    2. Do you consider HBCU’s or PWI’s better schools for Black students? PWI’s are better to me only because you will go to school in an environment that is just like the one in which you will work. Most places you will work with a college degree will be largely white, like it or not, it is a fact. I’m sure HBCU’s can prepare folks to work in that world but practicing isn’t playing, and at a PWI you are in the game everyday not reading about it or hearing someone speak about it.

    3. Do you agree or disagree with the notion that HBCU’s do not prepare you for the “real world” and are antiquated? I believe it is an antiquated concept. A university is a university and anyone who wishes to attend should feel welcomed and the existence of HBCU’s fosters a chasm that need not exist, sort of like the n-word.

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