Howard University (StudentsReview) - Comments, Reviews and Advice, Student Life at Howard University

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“Students: Howard is filled with some of theQuite BrightPolitical Science

Students: Howard is filled with some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. As a result many here are into their looks. There is a lot of competition between the girls and between the guys to look the best, which (from what I've heard) leads to little arguments between some people. I wouldn't characterize this materialism any worse than a high school in a well to do area (based on the fact that many of the students come from areas like that). Fashion and confidence are things that are important to the average "Bison", you can see many people making their own clothes, shopping a lot...etc.

When talking to many of the people here you come to realize how this school is an intelligence mecca. Everyone is here for a reason, don't think that someone is smarter or dumber than the other (or you!) I have met people here who seem like they don't like school, yet they are very talented in certain arenas (i have a friend who i barely see study always skips class yet he writes beautifully, he has published plays that have been performed in major cities...everyone here is sooo goal/career oriented).

The majority of the students on campus seem to be a little closed-minded. We cannot forget where most students have come from...protestant suburban areas, rough inner city ghettos, seemingly archaic rural areas, and other more culturally conservative nations. this leads to both an attitude of disgust for other lifestyles and celebration of other societies (sorry, can't really articulate it well)...in other words some students can be really conservative/religous (this is the majority) and look down on those who do not share their values and others can be open-minded and a little more liberal, wanting others to "accept" there lifestyles.

Campus: (safety) We are in the middle of the ghetto (LeDroit Park), which explains for a lot of the events and procedures that occur on campus. In years past LeDroit was a MUCH worse neighborhood than it is now (an alumni told me that "crack-heads were just apart of the atmosphere [on campus]"). However much of washington is going under gentrification and lets just say Chocolate City is melting away. Our neighborhood is (to me) is like an urban area, you have to watch your back at night. If you are smart (for the lack of a better term) you might get robbed...if you here stories of this happening people were probably CUTTING THROUGH THE PROJECTS, WALKING ALONE AT NIGHT, TALKING ON THE CELLPHONE WHILE WALKING AROUND/NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS, AND NOT USING THEIR RESOURCES LIKE THE FREE CAMPUS ESCORTS/CAMPUS SHUTTLES ETC.

Campus (facilitis) The campus is nice on the outside (nicer than i expected) somewhat park like in the middle of the city, however the inside of the facilities are ridiculous. there is barely security, the rooms are dirty and never maintained, paint is peeling off the walls, old, old heaters. the desks are old and falling apart (not built in which IS a fire hazard). if this is important to you i would advise you to look at other schools as this can get very frustrating...the school claims that there is no money to fix up the classrooms. if you do decide to go here you will come at a time when they are fixing up and building new buildings...they just put in a multi-million dollar library which is astonding, they are retrofitting the historic building (libraries, classrooms and dorms) and the are also building new dorms (about three new dorm halls).

Faculty: the professors here are a sorted bunch. you have those that are very-very approachable and inspirational, and you have those who are pretty strict and difficult to get along with i.e. arrogant (i haven't had any of them yet but i have heard a nightmare or two). As long as you make a good impression, always stay involved in class discussions, and maintain a positive attitude about the subject matter you will not have any trouble.

The Faculty: this school is pretty bad with organization. They lost my MEDICAL FORMS and almost forced me to pay for shots that i didn't need. I have about four other issues with the faculty including: switched meal plans, unprocessed transcripts etc. Howard could do a lot better with changing the faculty and making sure that things run the way that they should. Be aware of some of the attitudes from the staff members as they are over worked underpaid and don't really care about customer service. After being here for a while the faculty has seemed to ease up they smile more and seem more relaxed (i guess they are really busy at the beginning of the year, processing the students transcripts and such).

There are a lot of positive aspects to the experience you'll have with the faculty/admin. many alumni told me that it really prepared them for their career and life; having to deal with pushy DMV workers, unorganized business offices, rude clients, etc...one alumni i spoke with said that it helped him get more organized, more patient etc....i'm not trying to make excuses for my school unproffessionalism, just giving you a warning, if you are a little bit dependent (on others) this may really help you or really hurt you...you decide.

view full review→Dec 28 2004

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Faculty Accessibility: A-, University Resource Use/ spending: F

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“The undergraduate experience other than the social lifeNot so brightPhilosophy

The undergraduate experience other than the social life here is horrible. The school overall is bad and you can make no excuses for it. After one semester I transferred out, along with six acquaintances I met during my attendance. The school fails on all levels. Especially with the professors and you can see by the other comments on this site the how the Professors have failed. Students should have more to say about their school than “You might get joaned on”, “Or wear some fly gear.” These are good observations about the things that happen on campus and are also things that the professors fail to correct. I personal wanted to attend the “Mecca of Black Intelligence” to find what it was advertising. However all I found was a piss poor faculty, who are either wash-outs from other universities or haven’t published any material since grad school. Many of the professors failed to show up during the first week of classes, and took vacations during the middle of the semester. A lot their offices were unpleasant and unorganized with cobwebs everywhere. I’ve witness this from a handful of professors in the one semester I attended. I did meet and have a few good ones, but many of them are bad. A college professor has high moral obligations to the university, to their community, and to their students. This means the message to the students should you are here to learn and rise your level of education not just for a job, but as benefactor to society. The attitude of many of the students here is “I have a nice outfit on so I’ll be successful,” and this is not what academia is about. This goes for many of the students however there are a few students who are there for intellectual reasons and usually like me and my acquaintances end up transferring out because of the nonsense.

Howard needs to come up with a contingency plan to elevate the school out of its slumber neglect. It needs to restructure many of their departments and hire some new promising professors who plan to make change. If the spirit of the institution would change, the minor things on campus (like broken windows, doors and holes in the walls) would be tolerable and the students would not care about the worthless material on the backs and appreciate the material going into their heads. I’ve read all the comments here and no one said “Howard prepared me for Grad school.” Or something like, “the black experience at Howard was great not only because I partied but because it expanded my consciousness helping me to better thinker or whatever.”

The school is also expensive and you’ll see your dollars go right into the funding for the medical, business and law school. I toured the campus a year before I transferred in and I notice a hole and the bathroom wall in the Arts and Sciences building, a year and a half later the hole is still there. In my courses most of the exams where fill in the blank and multiple choice. I did not take any exams that allowed me to demonstrate my ability to analyze and think critically. If you want to see Black Intelligence go to another university and involve yourself in their Black studies department. Take my advice if you plan to get any kind of intellectual stimulation in your college career DO NOT GO HERE!!!

view full review→Feb 28 2007

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Social Life: A+, Innovation: D-

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“ATTENTION:Quite BrightOther

ATTENTION:
PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ATTENTION:
PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the Fall of 2004, I came in as a freshman to Howard. Even though I knew about the ROUGH neighborhood since I'm from the Baltimore area, I still was surprised by it:

homeless ppl walking up to you on GA Ave
trash, liquor bottles, debris everywhere
etc- picture the "roughest" part of any major city
I had never lived in the city so this was all a big shock to me.
I came to Howard expecting a FULL tuition & fees scholarship from CEACS (Coll of Engr) so I could study civil engineering. Within my first week, I was notified by CEACS that somehow my name was MISSING from the list of scholarship recipients & that I would have to wait for them to find some money or borrow $ from another source within the university. I was SHOCKED to say the less!!!!

Here, I came to THIS school because I was given a scholarship & then when I get there THEY DON'T HAVE IT!!!

Even though I had a huge run around from one building to another during my 1st week about this scholarship situation that I didn't even have a chance to enjoy the "Orientation" activities at Crampton Auditorium with all of the other freshman.

Nonetheless, I decided to stay because this WAS the school that I "wanted" to go to most of senior yr in high school... therefore, I switched to the School of B (Business) since that was the strongest program on the whole campus.

THE ONLY "GOOD THING": SCHOOL OF B
Even though the School of B was very organized, had good teachers for Business Orientation, had corporate reps at the bldg every week, placed us in teams for group projects, & to be "adopted" by a Fortune 500 company....

IT STILL WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH:

-ADMINISTRATION PROBLEMS!!!!!!!
(they'll lose you'll stuff, send you from 1 line to another, do things the old & long way, no one knows what they're doing, rude, don't care about you)

-project building dorm- Drew Hall
(no AC, old rundown bldg, blends in w/ the slum neighborhood, dirty communal bathrooms, HOT & STICKY, etc)

-unsafe neighborhood
(feel like a "prisoner"- restricted to only the campus since it's in the hood)
-math teacher(Sitarman- College Algebra II) who didn't speak english & struggled to talk over the loud fans so I had to go to math tutoring everyday to do my work & teach myself the work

-math teacher (Bayne- Applied Calculus) who doesn't care for students:

on the 1st day he said: "What, ya'll couldn't get switched out of my class? Didn't ya'll hear about me? Well, this class has about...45 ppl about 2-3 will have As, 3-6 Bs, 15 Cs, & the rest Ds & Fs"

-computer system (Internet) ALWAYS down
-OLD run down facilities, esp the library
none of the copiers work, old books & copmuters
-BAD cafeteria food
(you'll be sick (constapation, diarrhea) every other day: chicken sausage?)
-ALL they talk about is "The History of Howard"
I'm tired of hearing about the "legacy" & it's past
What is it doing today?
"GOOD THINGS" ABOUT THE SCHOOL:

-VERY SOCIAL
lots of ppl from across the country & world
lots of off-campus parties, but don't go to too many & flunk out 1st semester (it has happened)
-alot of "opportunties" in DC area (jobs,concerts, etc)
However, because of all the problems at HU, I'm now at UMBC (a tech school) only 30 mins from my home outside of Baltimore & I'm satisfied (new dorms w/ AC, good food, new buildings,diveristy- Asians, Whites, Indians, Blacks, Latinos)...much better than HU

BE SMART, JUST SAY NO
ATTENTION:
PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ATTENTION:
PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

view full review→Apr 05 2005

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

Social Life: A+, Individual Value: F

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