Howard University

Life is not going to be a cup of tea, so please don't expect any college experience to be. Some of Howard's faults are in its administration, the people that work for Howard have very bad attitudes and are lazy. They only care about they're next break. Keeping that in mind, be the creator of your own destiny. Be sure to have your financial aid in order, and keep your own copies of everything(because 9 times out of 10 they will lose it). Get as much done during the summer when they're are less students on campus, even if you go home to another state make phone calls. BE PERSISTENT, I've noticed unless you annoy the staff they will not care about you or help you.

If you approach Howard with this mindset you are already one up to everyone else.
As far as the social life, for young black minds this is the best place to be. You can learn so much from so many different experiences and people it seems to make the rest of your life seem boring. Oh and as far as parties and things of that nature, come its Howard. There is no college experience that has the potential of comparing to it. So even if you decide to go somewhere else make you come to homecoming at least once in your lifetime.

3rd Year Female -- Class 2007

Social Life: A+, Campus Maintenance: F

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.

1st Year Male -- Class 2008

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

Howard is a great social and fashion scene if that is all you care about. Half of the students are quite arrogant, and the faculty is not helpful most of the times. However, as far as the students go, you will definately find a group of people that you can relate to, and some of your professors will actually care about your progress. The facilities are not great, but they are managable. Howard is, however, the ultimate cultural experience, and you will experience a great educational experience also(depending on your major).

1st Year Female -- Class 2007

Social Life: A, Perceived Campus Safety: D