The Complete List of Historically Black Colleges (Updated)

The Complete List of Historically Black Colleges (Updated) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have existed since Cheyney University in Pennsylvania was founded in 1837. Many well-known scholars, entrepreneurs, and entertainers have graduated from HBCUs, including Toni Morrison, Sean Combs, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., Taraji Henson, and Oprah Winfrey. Are you considering joining their ranks? This post will explaineverythingyou should know when deciding whether to attend an HBCU. In this article, I'll do the following: Define a historically black college Provide facts about HBCUs Detail possible pros and cons of attending an HBCU Give you the complete list of historically black colleges Advise you how to research HBCUs and other colleges Feature Image Credit: Adam Fagen/Flickr What Is a Historically Black College? A historically black college and university is defined in Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as a school of higher learning that was accredited and established before 1964 and whose principal mission was the education of African-Americans. Today, HBCUs enroll mostly African-American students, but a full quarter of HBCUs across the US have at least a 20% non-Black student body. HBCU Facts There are public, private, and religious HBCUs. There are 2-year and 4-year HBCUs. HBCUs have â…› the size of endowments of predominantly white institutions. More than 75% of students at HBCUs are awarded Pell Grants. HBCUs are responsible for 22% of bachelor’s degrees awarded to African-Americans. According to the Network Journal, 40% of black members of Congress, 40% of black engineers, and 80% of black judges graduated from HBCUs. Pros and Cons of Attending an HBCU Tarica Chambliss, my dear friend whom I met when we lived in the same freshman dorm at Stanford, helped me with this section of the article by writing about the pros and cons of attending an HBCU. Tarica is uniquely qualified to advise students about the merits of an HBCU education because she attended both an HBCU and a PWI (predominantly white institution) during her undergraduate years. She graduated from Stanford and spent three years there, but she spent her junior year at HBCU Howard University in Washington DC. Furthermore, she also went to law school at Howard. Here are Tarica's opinions about the benefitsand drawbacksof attending an HBCU. Benefits of an HBCU Let's start with the pros of an HBCU education. Lower Tuition The average tuition at an HBCU tends to be lower than tuition at many PWIs. At a PWI with larger resources, you may be more likely to receive a scholarship to help out with (or even fully cover) your tuition. But if you don't receive a scholarship, going to an HBCU may be a good idea because the overall tuition cost is likely to be significantly lower. This will help you exit college with lower debt. Nurturing Professors Oftentimes at HBCUs the professors may be more accessible and more invested in your future than is the case at other schools. Studies have shown that when it comes to more technical majors and programs (ie. the sciences, pre-med programs, or engineering), students have a higher chance of sticking with these majors at HBCUs than they do at other colleges. This is perhaps because daily they see examples of African-Americans who have successfully completed these rigorous programs and end up having more opportunities for mentorship. In fact, many have advised that African-American students who are interested in science or other technical programs should at least get their undergraduate degrees from HBCUs because they will be more likely to actually become doctors or engineers if they have that foundation. Not Being Called On to Be a Representative At an HBCU, you're not the minority in your classes, so you're not called upon to represent the minority perspective. Whereas at PWIs, if an issue that is thought to disproportionately affect African-Americans comes up in class, you are often called upon to serve as the â€Å"expert† or to give the "African-American perspective." This can at times become annoying (you're there to learn, not teach), so it's nice to be in class at an HBCU where these types of issues do not come up because many of the students already share your experience. Cons And now for the negative aspects of attending an HBCU. Fewer Financial Resources The difference in resources between an HBCU and other schools can at times be stark. HBCUs have smaller endowments and less monetary alumni support to draw from so their resources are often not as robust as those of PWIs. This often results in the facilities not being as modern or sophisticated as those of many PWIs. Administrative Challenges Generally, the administration at HBCUs is notoriously inefficient. I definitely ended up waiting in much longer lines at my HBCU than I did at my PWIand often ended up waiting longer for checks to be disbursed. Again, this may be due to differences in resources (which naturally lead to staffing differences), but it was extremely stressful at times. Less Camaraderie At HBCUs, there can be less unity among the African-American students because the majority of students are African-American. At a PWI, the African-American students tend to band together and have more of a sense of camaraderie and mutual support. At my PWI, almost all of the African-American students knew each other (and to this day I am still friends with many of them). Most PWIs have a Black Student Union or other groups aimed at fostering unity and sense of family among African-American students. These groups are not as prominent at HBCUs because obviously the schools are predominantly African-American. My Additions I just wanted to add a few things I learned from my research and from friends and former students who attended HBCUs. A common criticism of HBCUs is that they lack diversity. While most HBCUs are predominantly African-American, there are often students from every different socioeconomic class, geographic region, and from many different countries.Keep in mind, though, that the level of diversity is different for each HBCU. Remember that not all HBCUs are the same. Employers and graduate school representatives tend to recruit from HBCUs in an effort to increase diversity in their companies and in higher education. Finally, many African-American students feel increased confidence and pride in their African-American identities by being around so many African-American college students and by being in classes that more often incorporate the African-American experience. The Complete List of Historically Black Colleges For this list, I only included accredited 4-year colleges. Most of these schools are in the South, but there areHBCUs in 20 states, Washington DC, and the Virgin Islands. Public universities are in bold. The acceptance rates and percentage of African-American students were reported by the schools for the previous academic year. Alabama School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Alabama A M University 51% 95% Alabama State University 54% 92% Concordia College-Selma 100% Not Reported Miles College 26% Not Reported Oakwood University 57% 85% Selma University 100% Not Reported Stillman College 44% 93% Talladega College 51% 89% Tuskegee University 41% 78% Arkansas School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Arkansas Baptist College 100% Not Reported Philander Smith College 52% Not Reported University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 30% 93% California School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science 100% 32% Delaware School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Delaware State University 44% 75% District of Columbia School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Howard University 48% 91% University of the District of Columbia 93% 37% (DonkeyHotey/Flickr) Florida School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Bethune-Cookman University 64% 89% Edward Waters College 53% Not Reported Florida AM University 45% 94% Florida Memorial University 39% Not Reported Georgia School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Albany State University 47% 89% Clark Atlanta University 85% 87% Fort Valley State University 58% 94% Morehouse College 84% 95% Paine College 44% 91% Savannah State University 78% 88% Spelman College 54% 87% Kentucky School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Kentucky State University 48% 58% Simmons College of Kentucky Not Reported Not Reported Louisiana School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Dillard University 41% Not Reported Grambling State University 44% 91% Southern University and AM College 57% 93% Southern University at New Orleans 79% Not Reported Xavier University of Louisiana 66% 70% (J. Stephen Conn/Flickr) Maryland School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Bowie State University 54% 87% Coppin State University 54% 85% Morgan State University 40% 85% University of Maryland, Eastern Shore 61% 74% Mississippi School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Alcorn State University 78% 94% Jackson State University 69% 92% Mississippi Valley State University 16% 91% Rust College 39% 96% Tougaloo College 99% 97% Missouri School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Harris-Stowe State University 100% 83% Lincoln University of Missouri 54% 49% North Carolina School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Barber-Scotia College Not Reported Not Reported Bennett College 92% Not Reported Elizabeth City State University 52% 75% Fayetteville State University 50% 66% Johnson C. Smith University 42% 80% Livingstone College 64% 88% North Carolina AT State University 58% 81% North Carolina Central University 43% 83% St. Augustine's University 74% 95% Shaw University 59% 71% Winston-Salem State University 60% 72% (J. Stephen Conn/Flickr) Ohio School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Central State University 38% 95% Wilberforce University 38% 95% Oklahoma School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Langston University 46% 89% Pennsylvania School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Cheyney University of Pennsylvania 85% 86% Lincoln University 27% 81% South Carolina School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Allen University 72% 99% Benedict College 75% 99% Claflin University 44% 92% Morris College 62% 98% South Carolina State University 85% 95% Voorhees College 50% 98% Tennessee School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans American Baptist College 51% 97% Fisk University 20% 87% Lane College 43% 100% LeMoyne-Owen College 49% 99% Tennessee State University 52% 72% Texas School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Huston-Tillotson University 46% 70% Jarvis Christian College 42% 84% Paul Quinn College 90% 85% Prairie View AM University 39% 85% Southwestern Christian College Not Reported 82% Texas College 34% 85% Texas Southern University 51% 82% Wiley College 100% Not Reported Virginia School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Hampton University 29% 94% Norfolk State University 67% 83% Virginia State University 80% 85% Virginia Union University 24% 96% Virginia University of Lynchburg 100% Not Reported West Virginia School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans Bluefield State College 38% 10% West Virginia State University 41% 12% (Jerry "Woody"/Wikimedia) Virgin Islands School Acceptance Rate % of African-Americans University of the Virgin Islands 97% 72% University of the Virgin Islands-Kingshill Not Reported Not Reported How Should You Use This List? If you’re considering attending an HBCU, you should research the colleges that interest you on the list to determine if they’re schools you should apply to or attend. There are many factors to consider to determine if a college is a good fit for you including location, selectivity, support services, and the majors offered. Look at the school’s website, and use guidebooks,college finders, and search websitesto help you in the college selection process. If possible, consult with teachers, counselors, parents, current students, and alumni. To get a general idea of the reputations of different HBCUs, you can check out their US News rankings. Also,Big Future and College View allow you to search for HBCUs and other qualities you’re looking for in a college. Finally, you can attend an HBCU college fair or tour to learn more about specific HBCUs. What's Next? If you're worried about college costs, read about how to pay for college and how to pay for college without loans. Before you finalize your list of schools that you're going to apply to, make sure you know about reach and safety schools. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: