HBCU's WHAT DO AFRO-PUNKS THINK OF THESE UNIVERSITIES?????

[Trancypunkitty]

Hello my people,
We all know the stareotypes of these acclaimed universities, both the negative and the positive.
My question is..... What do YOU think?
Have any of you gone to an HBCU?
Know someone who has?
Would you recommend it?
I want to know specifically because prior to this year, I would have never even considered it, but I have come to a totally different conclusion about them.
sooooo
don't leave me hanging, I want to hear from y'all!!!!!
~MAni

[Rosenda]

Career choices? Young lady, no matter what university/college route you choose, PLEASE do an internship somewhere you're interested in working.

That will increase your chances on getting a good job after you graduate. Straight up......I did not know anything about how useful that is, otherwise I'd have done it.

An employer is looking for a smart candidate with a degree WITH some work experience.

I cannot tell you how many jobs I applied for after graduation where they told me they were impressed that I had a degree but needed someone who had experience or had done an internship somewhere in that field.

Trust me, it makes a difference. A younger cousin of mine was smart enough to do the same thing (she actually graduated the same university and major as I'd had back then) with an internship and she is doing very very well now (way better than me but I am very proud of her for it).

[J9]

hey all long time no see

I just had to say something on this thread
attending and HBCU (Howard University) was the best decision I ever made. And I really have to disagree with the School Daze statement because I think that movie is more of a reflection of the Light skinned obsession that was really taking over peoples brains in the 80s. I attended Howard from 2001 to 2005 and Im a dark skinned female and I have to say it just wasnt like that. Thank God.
And an HBCU, in my opinion is a totally different experience from Majority White Institutions because A. You are given so many more opportunities, one on one attention, and support from your teachers. B. You get the chance to be in an environment where you can build with Black intellectuals all day every day. C. We get to just be ourselves 24/7 and thats so liberating and uplifting. I got tired of toning myself down because the white folks were around or just not being able to express myself because in most cases white people just dont get it. Being at Howard was like being able to breath for the first time in my life. Everyone is there to learn and grow and to take it back home. We would spend all day everyday talking about ways in which we were going to make our opportunities benefit our own communities once we were done studying and ways to help the greater African American community in general. Solutions to our problems have to come from us and the places where those solutions are going to come from are HBCUs, because at majority institutions, in my opinion all they do is allow you to feel more like an outsider and an anomaly being that you are the only Black person in a class of 300. But being at Howard made me feel like OMG there are so many young black students my age who are just like me, trying to do what we can for our people Im not an anomaly there are many people just like me working toward the same goals. And that was an amazing revelation, at those other schools I dont feel like you can make those connections.

Its not like 'oh lets go over hear to the black students association and hang out' Your not as limited. I feel like if your not really identified than you might not be able to apprieciate the differences of a all black environment vs an a mostly white one but for me it made a huge difference in my life.

[Daoud]

^^^ what Rose & Jenine (J-9?) said.

Internships & the environment are key for future success.

[Rosenda]

J9!! Welcome back. And I loved how you described your experience at the HBCU you attended. Sometimes I think what you learn at the right university/college is the environment you learn in just as much the subjects you are studying.

[Daoud]

Omar Tyree has an article on HBCU's in the Ebony with Michelle Obama on the cover.

[Gullah*Gotham*Glitter]

I've never gone to an HBCU but I have friends who had. I agree with what some other people have said, college is what you make it. There is a different atmosphere when you are at an HBCU. More people are down with black and brown vs at my former school which was predominetly Caucasin everywhere you turned you saw a Caucasin proudly displaying their darky of the month.

College is what you make it, but there just seems to be more pride and respect at HBCUs. When and if I become a parent, I think I would encourage my child to go to a HBCU

[Daoud]

...and on the Omar Tyree article, he started at a white college and then transferred to a HBCU and spoke on the differences.

[willy l]

thats good to know that it gets better. im at a&t my first semester was hell. it was all a bit ghetto. the school is pretty underfunded but it does seem to be getting better this semester. thanks.

PolariVibez said:

I attended Hampton for a year and it was an interesting experience. You find out rather quickly were you fit in. After being miserable for about a semester I stumbled upon "my people"- the artist, the poets, the kids that wore funny clothes and listened to rock music, the quirky left of center girls, it was beautiful. I don't know if that's how it is for everyone, but I guess it's about finding those people you feel comfortable around. I would recomend that everyone at least try college. Whether it's an HBCU or not may depend on your pre collegiate experience. Did you grow up around Whites or Blacks? Like if your experience was one way, maybe try the opposite. I basically atteneded pretty diverse schools coming up but I still gained something from attending an HBCU.

[willy l]

well im at north carolina a&t my first semester was not what i expected college to be. i have a lot of complaints but i cant complain. im just looking forward to this semester. hoping it will get better. its looking like it will so far.

[Nana Yeah!]

... did jah realy say buppies lol

When I was in high school I wanted to stray faaarrrrrrr away from black colleges. But then as I grew a tiny bit older, I realized, college kids area always more mature, accepting, and open.

So it's not out of the question for me anymore, and I'm actually interested. I know there should be a few afropunks in each campus anyway.

[XiaMin]

Which path do you think is best for young black youth, as far as career choices in the future and over all success?

No matter what your major/major interest is, learn an asian language, minor in it if you can. Chinese especially. No matter what career you choose, being bilingual, esp chinese mandarin bilingual will be your tiebreaker when it comes to hiring/promotion/opportunities.
Trancypunkitty said:

OMG!!!!!!
so much info, I feel all of y'all though.
THanks to all of you. I'm starting my college application process this year and I am going to apply to Howard and North Carolina ANT........ Howard is the only HBCU on the top 10 communication programs in the nation. North Carolina ANT is getting up there and I spoke to an alum who promoted it pretty well ;-).
Before this year I was so ignorant about the whole HBCU thing, I thought that they would be one sided and I figures that you couldn't possibly get a world view from attending one of these universities, from visits, research, and from people that i know that are attending now or have gone, I have learned that I was totally wrong.
My guidence counseler told us today that the emotions that we feel should really determine what university we want to attend because all the logic that we try to apply to the situation is just going to lead us into more confliction. Alot of my friends say that couldn't see me at an HBCU, alot say that could....... All I know is that I could see myself at one and LOVING it.
but PLEASE DO keep coming with the responses........
ONE MORE QUESTION:
Which path do you think is best for young black youth, as far as career choices in the future and over all success?


personally I LOVE the sense of community in these universities, and I love the fact that I will have a support system. My people have done things to support me my whole life, I never want to feel like I'm just thrown out to the dogs........I don't know, I wish I could explain it better.
THANKS Y'ALL
PEACE
~MAni

[Daoud]

^^^ agreed, learn a language (especially some form of Chinese).