Question for parents of AA chil

[Anonymous]

Does or did your college or Guidance counselor push your child into applying to A HBCU? My DD, a junior, states that her counselor is doing this to her because most of the African American kids go to HBCU'S. Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, the last word in the title is children

[Anonymous]

Not ours. We didn't indicate any interest, so that might have been part of it.

[Anonymous]

We're not quite there yet. I have a sophomore so we haven't discussed specific schools with the guidance counselor yet, but many of my friends with African American kids tell me that their guidance counselors seem to encourage them to aim "low". I know one kid, for example, whose guidance counselor really pushed community college, saying she'd never get into a 4 year school, and yet was accepted to every school she applied to. So, I do think that it's important that we, as parents of AA kids do our own research into options, and don't rely on the school to tell us where to apply.

Having said that, I think that my kid is the kind of kid that often does well at an HBCU, so I think it's likely that there will be HBCU's on his list. I also trust his counselor, who is one of the strongest professionals we've encountered in MCPS, and happens to be African American, so if she suggests we look at a specific HBCU, I'm sure we'll do so.

[Anonymous]

Not ours. We were in California and our counselors couldn't see the point of applying to any schools outside of Cal State and UC. They were surprised when she applied to different, out of state schools, and she was one of the few students in her class who ended up being accepted to top private schools. Always do your own research and pick schools that are best tailored to your own kid and their needs/goals.

That being said, Howard was her safety school and she was accepted with a full scholarship, but she ended up going to a different private. I would say not to rule them out because they can be very generous with aid.

[Anonymous]

I would not say it was "pushed." Guidance counselor thougt that Spelman would be a good fit for my DD but she was not insistent or pushy about it. DS expressed an interest so the counselors helped him gather info without seeming pushy.

Although we went to flagship state schools, both DH and I have a lot of HBCU alums in our familes so we are pretty well informed about them. I mean that to say that the counselor could not "push" our kids that way unless we were already inclined.

[Anonymous]

Op here. DD father and I didn't attend college, so we are brand new to the process. Her dad is really pushing towards UMD due to him being a terps fan and in state tuition. She doesn't have the stats and it's too large for her. She's physically disabled and navigat a big campus may be a struggle for her. Anyway, her counselor says that students that have gone to HBCU'S have done well. She's only interested in Howard and Spelman.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure you know this already, but check the accessibility for all schools. Sometimes state schools and larger school have systems in place (shuttles, elevators, etc.) that older schools don't have yet. I'm sure you know more than I do, but I think you can't build something new that isn't accessible, but you don't have to modify everything old until there's a demand. Also, a larger school may have more of a cohort. Doesn't mean all her friends have to be disabled, just that there are others to share some aspects of her college experience.