Why does Spelman cost so much ?

[Anonymous]

It is not very competitive to get in.

[Anonymous]

43% of Spelman students receive financial aid (Pell grants) so the cost is not as high as list price for many.

[Anonymous]

What are your PWI options, OP? I think the only options that are worth it financially over Spelman are Ivies and Ivy adjacent, and even then it depends on the needs of your child. I definitely wouldn’t pay more to go to Vassar, Smith, etc. because the outcomes aren’t there. If you’ve been able to get money at other schools where you would pay less, then let us know what those options are. And what does your daughter want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:43% of Spelman students receive financial aid (Pell grants) so the cost is not as high as list price for many.

That stat doesn't make it less expensive. That makes it more expensive for those not getting Pell grants. And Pell grants are a pittance in and of themselves, but being Pell Grant eligible makes you scholarship eligible. Somebody has to pay the higher prices to cover those scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:43% of Spelman students receive financial aid (Pell grants) so the cost is not as high as list price for many.

That stat doesn't make it less expensive. That makes it more expensive for those not getting Pell grants. And Pell grants are a pittance in and of themselves, but being Pell Grant eligible makes you scholarship eligible. Somebody has to pay the higher prices to cover those scholarships.

So.. that's like every other college out there. And Spelman has lower tuitiion than many of them. I see no issue with Spelman at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not very competitive to get in.

More competitive than JMU, GMU & VT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:May I politely suggest that DCUM is the very last place you want to ask advice about Spelman. Try the Facebook group, Parents of Black and Brown College Bound, to get the information you need is Spelman is a serious consideration.
The Spelman undergrad to Ivy grad school path is well worn, and a smart idea for most. You get that network of Spelman, you get the Ivy cache. Doors fly open. Legally adult or not, your student is still a kid from 18-22. What foundation do you want them to have culturally, socially, mentally, emotionally? You want a daughter that can walk into any room and kick ass with confidence in who she is, an all women's HBCU is a double-whammy.

This is very overstated and usually for masters degrees that don't matter, like divinity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are your PWI options, OP? I think the only options that are worth it financially over Spelman are Ivies and Ivy adjacent, and even then it depends on the needs of your child. I definitely wouldn’t pay more to go to Vassar, Smith, etc. because the outcomes aren’t there. If you’ve been able to get money at other schools where you would pay less, then let us know what those options are. And what does your daughter want?

Spelman grads 58k
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?141060-Spelman-College
Vassar 65k
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?197133-Vassar-College
Smith 59k
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?167835-Smith-College
Since Spelman is an HBCU ill give it thr benefit of the doubt and say it's better than Smith, but not Vassar.

[Anonymous]

It's fairly expensive, but they do a good job, which cannot be said of many other colleges. The average student who goes to Spelman will generally do better there than if she'd gone somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is it?

$48,000 all in. By contrast my slac (which was bery diverse) Is now $81k a year so SpellmAn seems a great deal to me.

But is your SLAC in the top?

No it’s what I would call a second tier school. Most SLACs are now 72-81k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a niche school (HBCU) and hope to get some serious answers before the racists come out, but why is Spelman so expensive? I think my DD would thrive at Spelman but it costs so much money. Why? It's not ranked particularly high, nationally. I understand it's the #1 HBCU but my goodness she could go to higher-ranked PWIs for less. What is driving the cost???

Do we suck it up and pay or save our money and send her to a PWI (the only other HBCU that interested her were Howard (too close to home) and FAMU (we will not pay to send her to FL. She applied without our knowledge and got in).

Name the high ranked PWIs that your DD can go to that are less than $45k. Respectfully, your issue is you think that because it’s an HBCU it should be dirt cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a niche school (HBCU) and hope to get some serious answers before the racists come out, but why is Spelman so expensive? I think my DD would thrive at Spelman but it costs so much money. Why? It's not ranked particularly high, nationally. I understand it's the #1 HBCU but my goodness she could go to higher-ranked PWIs for less. What is driving the cost???

Do we suck it up and pay or save our money and send her to a PWI (the only other HBCU that interested her were Howard (too close to home) and FAMU (we will not pay to send her to FL. She applied without our knowledge and got in).

FYI, FAMU was famous for working with diversity programs at Fortune 500 companies starting in the early 1990s. Its business college determined that a lot of first generation college students struggled in the corporate environment, and they taught not only core business principles but things like interpersonal skills, networking, professionalism, etc. They basically taught the students job search skills early on, brought in tons and tons of corporate lecturers, and the FAMU students were some of the most impressive kids I have ever interviewed. They were like gung ho, go getters. They learn very early on they needed to be leaders and the business school just had a culture where you had to be leader and every active on campus.

Anyways, after my consulting firm started recruiting kids out of FAMU, we had better success at getting really good minority candidates from there then even Ivies or big state flagship U. (not every top student like the grind of entry level consulting work), the school hit us up for huge demands for donations. Their dean was probably the most aggressive fundraising I have ever met in academia. As a result of those efforts, FAMU gave out tons of financial aid and scholarships and generally had a high quality student body for their business college.

I wouldn't dismiss FAMU off-handedly if you child is interested in a business career. It is highly regarded and that isn't really known outside of people who are familiar with large corporate diversity programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a niche school (HBCU) and hope to get some serious answers before the racists come out, but why is Spelman so expensive? I think my DD would thrive at Spelman but it costs so much money. Why? It's not ranked particularly high, nationally. I understand it's the #1 HBCU but my goodness she could go to higher-ranked PWIs for less. What is driving the cost???

Do we suck it up and pay or save our money and send her to a PWI (the only other HBCU that interested her were Howard (too close to home) and FAMU (we will not pay to send her to FL. She applied without our knowledge and got in).

Are you black?
Seriously! What do you mean higher ranked? Are these other schools higher ranked in their outcomes and achievements for black women?
Are the higher ranked for providing an environment that will understand , empower, affirm, and encourage your daughter for all of who she is???
Are they higher ranked for providing an education that is tailored to her?
Are they higher ranked in not making her feel like she got in due to affirmative action?
Are they higher ranked in teaching black history without being concerned about being called out about CRT?

Do some research!
Signed,
A Spelman Woman
💙
PS even my DD’s White girlfriend’s know the value of a Spelman education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a niche school (HBCU) and hope to get some serious answers before the racists come out, but why is Spelman so expensive? I think my DD would thrive at Spelman but it costs so much money. Why? It's not ranked particularly high, nationally. I understand it's the #1 HBCU but my goodness she could go to higher-ranked PWIs for less. What is driving the cost???

Do we suck it up and pay or save our money and send her to a PWI (the only other HBCU that interested her were Howard (too close to home) and FAMU (we will not pay to send her to FL. She applied without our knowledge and got in).

Name the high ranked PWIs that your DD can go to that are less than $45k. Respectfully, your issue is you think that because it’s an HBCU it should be dirt cheap.

This! We are Asian with a child who has exec functioning issues and potential ADHD. Would love for him to go private and a good school like Spelman would be great pricepoint. However, most crappy privates/SLACS want to charge $70K+.. for what? If Spelman were a bit more diverse (I understand the reasons it's not) and admits men, we'd send our kid there in a heartbeat! Not to take this thread off-topic but are there any privates/slacs that are of comparable quality/cost to Spelman which are open to men?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a niche school (HBCU) and hope to get some serious answers before the racists come out, but why is Spelman so expensive? I think my DD would thrive at Spelman but it costs so much money. Why? It's not ranked particularly high, nationally. I understand it's the #1 HBCU but my goodness she could go to higher-ranked PWIs for less. What is driving the cost???

Do we suck it up and pay or save our money and send her to a PWI (the only other HBCU that interested her were Howard (too close to home) and FAMU (we will not pay to send her to FL. She applied without our knowledge and got in).

Name the high ranked PWIs that your DD can go to that are less than $45k. Respectfully, your issue is you think that because it’s an HBCU it should be dirt cheap.

This! We are Asian with a child who has exec functioning issues and potential ADHD. Would love for him to go private and a good school like Spelman would be great pricepoint. However, most crappy privates/SLACS want to charge $70K+.. for what? If Spelman were a bit more diverse (I understand the reasons it's not) and admits men, we'd send our kid there in a heartbeat! Not to take this thread off-topic but are there any privates/slacs that are of comparable quality/cost to Spelman which are open to men?

You might want to
Look in-state. Many Virginia in-state schools have disability offices to handle SN keep DS with ADHD issues