Customer Reviews

The 100 Best Colleges for African-American Students

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I gave this book one star because the computer program would not allow me to give it zero stars. Most of the so called "100 best colleges for African American students" don't have more than a handful of African American students. Here is a list of 20 of the 100 schools listed: Alaska Pacific University, Colorado School of Mines, Earlham College, Goshen College, Hanover College, Drake University, Hamline University, University of Mississippi (for God's sake "Ole Miss" is one of the 100 best colleges for African Americans?!?!?!), Creighton University, University of New Mexico, Utah State University, Marlboro College of Vermont, University of Wyoming, Stetson University, Harvey Mudd College, Agnes Scott College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Iowa State University, Bowdoin College in Maine, and Willamette University in Oregon. There are only 8 Historically Black Colleges in the book. I am not saying that only black colleges are good for black students, but I can't imagine that only 8 of them would make a list of 100. Here is a list of 20 historically black colleges that are NOT INCLUDED in this book, but should be in ANY African American college guide: Fisk University, Southern University, Grambling State University, Lincoln University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Johnson C. Smith, Bennett College, South Carolina State, Tennessee State, Kentucky State University, Delaware State, Shaw University, Tougaloo College, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Texas Southern, Xavier University, Norfolk State, Jackson State, and Alabama A&M.
I would suggest that you get the Black Enterprise list or the DayStar Guide to Colleges for African American Students or Black Excel.

This book starts with the assumption that the African American applicant is sub-par. It goes so far as to suggest that African American students make certain that the college of their choice include remedial courses to assure that they are allowed to graduate (since ivy league colleges have lowered their standards to attract minorities, but have neglected to include remedial studies). I hoped this book would provide suggestions of the best colleges that would widen the horizons of my academically talented, African American child. It gave a list of schools where an African American might actually graduate! I am appalled.

Schools in the book represent the spectrum of higher education in the United States, from large to small, Ivy League and liberal arts to state university to predominantly African-American. You'll find for each shool selected : the school's number of African-American students, faculty and administrators; scholarship and other aid programs for minorities; admission requirements, particularly standardized test scores; and provisions for remedial training and the availability of counseling and tutoring services.