The Best of Both Worlds: PWI to HBCU
posted by Breasia L. Williams | September 18, 2023 | In OpinionAs a high school senior, choosing a college can be intimidating. Personally, I had been surrounded by people of other races forever, and the only thing I knew I wanted in college was to not be “the only one.” That is, the only one of color in my classes and extracurriculars. This is home to a lonely feeling that I had been plagued with for years.
The problem for some people, such as me, is that HBCUs have been given a bad reputation by people who haven’t experienced one themselves. I was told things like “HBCUs don’t prepare you for the real world or offer you money or help,” and “HBCUs are party schools.” I attended my local PWI for two years, participating in classes and extracurriculars, still being “the only one.”
As I got older, I never stopped longing to attend an HBCU. In my junior year, I transferred to Fayetteville State University. Immediately, I was welcomed like never before. I was seen, heard, and noticed. I’m not even sure my professors or peers cared to know my name at my PWI, where I was kind of just ‘there.’ At FSU, I felt ‘there’ and immersed in my college experience. The transition felt surreal.
Yes, it may be true that the financial aid offices are more responsive and financially equipped at PWIs than at HBCUs, however, it was never true that no money or help is available. Take FSU for example: an HBCU that offers low tuition and an abundance of institutional scholarships and other financial resources to students.
Yes, it may be true that HBCUs have great homecomings, but it was never true that we are just party schools. At my PWI, attendance was not counted and students were not held accountable—if you passed, you passed. At HBCUs students are seen as more than a pass or fail. Students are held accountable for making their academics a priority, and faculty will go to the ends of the earth to assure academic and professional success for students. At my PWI, I was never handpicked by professors for panels, awards, or scholarships, but I have been within my first year at my HBCU, regardless of being the same student at both institutions.
I have never felt more prepared for the real world. My HBCU has stacked my resume with internships, awards, and leadership experiences, and given me a community that I know will have my back through and through. And no, I am not dogging PWIs, because I did receive a quality education in my time there as well, but HBCUs turn college into a home away from home for anyone who attends. So yes, we party. Our partying is a sense of family and pride. More than anything though, we work, we achieve, and we succeed. The PWI experience is for college. The HBCU experience is for life.
Take it from someone who has seen both sides of the story.
Photo by Dominque Elliott
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