Howard University

I think its important to visit Howard, or any other college you are interested in, and really be honest with yourself about what it is that you want from a college experience. The visit is extremely important. It should even be done more than once, if possible. The visit will allow you to see if Howard is what you want. If you have a good eye, and your intuition says yes, and you can truly picture yourself attending Howard, then Howard is for you.

The mistake I made, was that I visited Howard one time, and I was passive. I was excited about attending the "Mecca", and I convinced myself, when I visited, that even though I instantly disliked the feel I had on campus, that I would grow to appreciate what I did not like and experience would turn out great. I attended Howard with an open mind.

The things I personally dislike about Howard is that, in my opinion, the social life far outweighs the academics. As others have commented, Howard is big on networking, fun, and fashion, but the academics suffer to a certain extent. If you are a social and outgoing you will love the experience at Howard. However, it is important to balance social life with studies.

As an introverted, hard-working, confident student, I felt overwhelmed by Howard's overly social scene. I found, after being here for a year's time, that a college which somehow accommodates solitude and optional quiet time is what I not only wanted, but needed.

If you want to make tons of new friends, be apart of the social HBCU family, are ok with alot of interaction and less quiet time on campus, then by all means, Howard is great.But if you much rather appreciate a beautiful, predominantly quiet laid back campus with trees and grass and beautiful surroundings that you can indulge in when you want "you" time AND the OPTION to socialize if you feel, then I would recommend looking into other colleges. That is what I am doing at this moment.

Professors: a hit or miss situation. There are some professors that will help you, but you have to ask for it or prove that you are worthy of taking up their time to help you. Not that this is a bad thing: I have met so many wonderful professors here. Now, some of them are truly terrible and cannot explain their subject work or simply do not want to help you at all.

Students: to me, the best part about Howard. You will meet SO many cool people here. Everyone is pretty nice, and there are a lot of outgoing people here that will make you laugh or smile. There are so many different people here and you will love Howard if you love to meet all kinds of people. It is really easy to meet people here and make friends: all you have to do is not be too afraid to approach anybody or introduce yourself. Many students at other colleges complain that they can't meet people because they are not dorming, however, at Howard, that isn't a problem.

Major/Minor: because of the situation I am in right now, the biggest advice I can give is to do your research about the programs Howard offers. Please, Please, Please, do not enroll at this school "just to be here." You will find yourself wasting your time and $19,000 of tuition money. Howard offers many programs, but only enroll if your program is popular at Howard and can get you a job or internship because you are in that program at Howard.

I made the mistake in being in a program that is simply ludicrous and mediocre and I am transferring. Howard doesn't provide good resources for ALL of their programs, just to let you know.In closing, Howard was truly an experience that I am grateful to have experienced. I have met wonderful people and learned a lot about myself, however, continuing my education here will not help me in the long run.