SPECIAL REPORT
50
Top
Colleges
African
For
Americans
Our exclusive ranking yielded some
surprises and some staples. And this
ye a r, after we show you the best
schools, we take a comprehensive look
at how to make college affordable.
By Tanisha A. Sykes
Additional reporting by Michelle J. Nealy,
Tennille M. Robinson, Tykisha N. Lundy
& Stephanie Young
74
SEPTEMBER 2006 : BLACK ENTERPRISE : WWW.BLACKENTERPRISE.COM
ADAMS
WILL GRADUATE
PRINCETON
DEBT-FREE THANKS
TO LOANS TAKEN
OUT BY HIS
PARENTS.
PHOTOGRAPH BY HALEY MURPHY : BLACK ENTERPRISE : WWW.BLACKENTERPRISE.COM : SEPTEMBER 2006
75
S PECIAL REPORT
5 0 T O P C OL L E G E S F O R A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S
FOR A KID GROWING UP IN THE INNER
city, visiting a college campus can be an
eye-opening experience. At any given
moment, you may find yourself on a winding path with large sycamores, fallen pine
cones, and ivy-covered buildings, leaving
behind a life of loud streets and overcrowded schools.
The experience was no different for Michael E. Adams, a
Princeton University student, originally from Chicago. “I applied
to the school for an early decision because I went on a tour
during the spring of my junior year,” says Adams, a 19-year-old
sophomore studying economics. “I did an Ivy League tour, and
Princeton was one of the friendliest campuses. And it was the
most welcoming.”
That wasn’t the only reason Princeton caught Adams’ eye.
“It’s great for academics, obviously, and the social life. I don’t feel
like you have to be popular or in the social scene to have fun.”
There were just 116 African Americans in his freshman class, but
that doesn’t bother Adams in the least: “When there are African
American get-togethers, it seems like a lot of people. It’s not
huge, but it’s not minute.”
Choosing the right college is anything but minute. It’s one of
the most important decisions a young adult can make. How to
finance that education is just as much a concern to many par ents. To help you make the right choice, BLACKENTERPRISE offers
our ranking of the 50 Top Colleges for African Americans. In addi-
Crunching the
tion, we’ve included a financing guide in which you’ll find everything you need to know about grants, loans, and scholarships.
This year, our team of writers, editors, and researchers updated and
improved the selection process for the list, which was last compiled in 2004. First, we expanded our pool of survey reviewers,
which now includes more than 500 higher education professionals. These professionals reviewed more than 1,400 schools, whereas previous reviewers were sent a list of schools specific to their
region. In addition, we conducted the survey online, yielding a better, faster response.
The new approach—combined with giving more weight to
graduation rates and other necessary adjustments to the criteria—bumped some longstanding schools off the list. Nevertheless, all of the top 10 schools returned. Perennials such as Stanford and Howard universities, which are lauded for their academic
and social environments, continue to do well.
Seventeen schools that made the list this year didn’t appear in
2004, including Mills College and Northwestern University. Morehouse, which had been the top school on the last two listings,
slipped 44 spots, from No. 1 to No. 45, primarily because its graduation rate fell from 56% to 49% over the last two years. Several of
the newcomers, such as Dickinson and Babson colleges, have black
graduation rates of 90% or higher, so schools with rates below 50%
were pushed farther down or off the list completely. However,
larger HBCUs like Florida A&M University did well, even though
they had black graduation rates of less than 50%, because they
benefited from having higher black enrollment numbers.
NUMBERS
To develop the 2006 BE 50 Top Colleges for African
The list was derived using the following variables:
Americans list, we surveyed more than 500 African
■
American higher education professionals including
presidents, chancellors, and directors of student affairs
■
for their assessments of the social and academic environments for African American students at the nation’s
■
colleges and universities.
A total of 1,423 colleges met our criteria based on their
■
status as accredited four-year colleges with African
American student enrollments of at least 3%. In addi-
■
tion, schools needed to have enrollment data submitted with the U.S. Department of Education. Each school
was rated on a five-point scale from 1 (strongly recommend) to 5 (strongly don’t recommend).
■
The schools were sorted into seven categories: his-
Black student graduation rate
Average survey score for the
school’s academic environment
Average survey score for the
school’s social environment
Total black undergraduate
enrollment
Black undergraduate students
as a percentage of total
undergraduates (credit for this variable
was capped at 50% for HBCUs)
Ranking on the 2004 BE
Top Colleges list
torically black colleges and universities, national
universities, national liberal arts colleges, regional uni-
76
The criteria was established by
BE
and Thomas A.
versities in the Northeast and Midwest, regional uni-
LaVeist, Ph.D., CEO of DayStar Research. The variables
versities in the South and West, regional liberal arts
given the heaviest weighting were black graduation
colleges in the Northeast and Midwest, and regional lib-
rate, followed by the average academic and social
eral arts colleges in the South and West.
environment scores.
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S PECIAL REPORT
5 0 T O P C OL L E G E S F O R A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S
SPELMAN
OFFERS ITS
STUDENTS ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE AND
CAMARADERIE.
Celebrating its 125th anniversary,
Spelman has consistently ranked in the
top five of our listing. “After attending a
predominantly white school all of my life,
I chose to go to Spelman College for the
social change,” says Aarica J. Blackett, a
third-year economics major. “My senior
year in high school, I was a debutante for
the Links Incorporated. The more and
more I bonded with these girls, the more
I realized how much potential I had to
become more than what I was.” More
than 83% of full-time Spelman faculty
hold doctoral degrees. In addition, the
school offers rich cultural programs such
as The Sumiko Takahara Japan Studies
Program, in which students can study
Japanese history and culture.
According to Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D.,
CEO of DayStar Research and the compiler
of the list, the reason for so many changes
has less to do with any one variable than
with the combination of all of the new
adjustments. Several historically black colleges and universities, such as Johnson C.
Smith and Clark Atlanta universities,
which had been on the list since its inception in 1999, didn’t make the cut.
SPECIAL REPORT
50 TOP COLLEGES FOR AFRICAN AM ERICANS
50TopCollegesforAfricanAmericans
2006
Rank
Colleges & Universities
City, State
1
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL
Howard University, Washington, DC
2
North Carolina A&T State Univ., Greensboro, NC
3
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
4
Spelman College, Atlanta, GA
5
Hampton University, Hampton, VA
6
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
7
Columbia University, New York, NY
8
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
9
10
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
11
Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
12
Amherst College, Amherst, MA
13
Duke University, Durham, NC
14
Smith College, Northampton, MA
15
Barnard College, New York, NY
16
Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN
17
18
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
19
Brown University, Providence, RI
Yale University, New Haven, CT
20
21
Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
22
Babson College, Wellesley, MA
23
Williams College, Williamstown, MA
24
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
25
26
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX
27
28
Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
ON
AIN , TCollege,
HISISDU
MMYC
29CEAGOberlin
Oberlin,
OHOPY being honored.
The
event,
a
wcholarwhip
fund-raiNorth Carolina Central University, Durham,
NC
30
31
Mills College, Oakland, CA
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
32
33
Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
34
Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
35
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
36
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
37
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
38
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
39
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
40
41
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
42
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
43
Davidson College, Davidson, NC
Simmons College, Boston, MA
44
Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA
45
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
46
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
47
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
48
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
49
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
50
Web
Address
Total
Black
Social Academic Undergrad. Undergrad. Black Grad.
Score
Score Enrollment Enrollment
Rate
www.famu.edu
44.2
43.8
11,450
www.howard.edu
43.3
42.6
7,112
www.ncat.edu
42.0
41.6
9,121
www.harvard.edu
36.4
45.9
9,519
www.spelman.edu
43.2
43.0
2,186
www.hamptonu.edu 42.8
41.5
5,315
www.stanford.edu
35.7
45.4
6,555
www.columbia.edu
36.2
42.1
7,233
www.upenn.edu
36.8
43.6
11,958
www.wesleyan.edu
38.6
47.1
2,777
www.dickinson.edu
38.3
43.3
2,321
www.wellesley.edu
38.0
42.0
2,289
www.amherst.edu
38.9
45.6
1,640
www.duke.edu
34.7
43.1
6,301
www.smith.edu
43.3
43.3
2,692
www.barnard.edu
38.6
40.0
2,287
www.tnstate.edu
40.0
39.6
7,257
www.gsu.edu
35.2
34.2
19,889
www.brown.edu
36.7
43.5
6,014
www.yale.edu
34.2
45.8
5,319
www.georgetown.edu 36.6
42.6
6,522
www.wfu.edu
40.0
42.9
4,128
www.babson.edu
38.3
37.1
1,697
www.williams.edu
37.5
43.8
1,991
www.fsu.edu
35.2
35.5
30,373
www.cornell.edu
31.2
41.5
13,625
www.pvamu.edu
38.8
38.8
6,324
www.jsums.edu
40.0
38.5
6,605
wwer
ww.obheld
erlin.edby
u the Wpelman-Morehouwe
41.1
47.8
2,837
Alumni
Awwociation,
www.nccu.edu
38.1 haw
40.brought
0
6out
,028 a
www.mills.edu
42.0
43.3
762
www.unc.edu
37.6
40.0
16,525
www.grinnell.edu
38.3
44.0
1,556
www.morgan.edu
40.4
38.8
6,243
www.virginia.edu
30.6
41.9
14,129
www.mtholyoke.edu 41.3
45.0
2,143
www.emory.edu
38.6
42.1
6,346
www.princeton.edu
32.8
44.4
4,678
www.swarthmore.edu 38.6
48.6
1,474
www.umich.edu
37.1
42.5
24,828
www.temple.edu
37.3
37.3
23,429
www.wustl.edu
33.7
36.3
7,350
www.davidson.edu
31.4
44.3
1,714
www.simmons.edu
37.5
42.0
1,874
www.morehouse.edu 41.5
42.6
2,891
www.jhu.edu
35.0
43.0
5,710
www.dartmouth.edu 30.4
40.4
4,079
www.vassar.edu
36.7
44.2
2,475
www.northwestern.edu 30.5
38.6
9,115
www.umd.edu
36.7
37.5
25,140
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS; THOMAS A. LAVEIST, PH.D.
*PRICES FOR FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2005–2006
80
SEPTEMBER 2006 : BLACK ENTERPRISE : WWW.BLACKENTERPRISE.COM
10,731
5,975
8,409
641
2,058
4,980
698
511
790
190
88
135
148
682
153
112
5,896
6,765
383
413
424
249
56
192
3,607
634
5,795
6,388
175
5,182
68
1,794
61
5,782
1,193
88
585
385
96
1,875
4,666
691
107
121
2,731
472
274
128
498
3,047
46%
62
43
97
77
54
92
90
90
90
100
95
91
86
95
100
47
48
93
92
85
89
100
86
68
88
46
40
78
50
89
70
91
39
87
82
78
90
82
69
53
90
91
88
49
81
91
83
90
57
Type of
School
Tuition
In/Out
of State*
Public
Private
Public
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Public
Public
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Public
Private
Public
Public
Private
Public
Private
Public
Private
Public
Public
Private
Private
Private
Private
Public
Public
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
Public
$2,958/$14,949
12,295
3,114/12,556
32,097
15,945
14,182
31,200
33,246
32,364
32,976
32,120
31,348
32,395
31,420
30,754
30,676
4,414/13,726
4,464/15,378
32,974
31,460
32,024
30,210
30,496
31,548
3,208/16,340
31,467
4,906/13,186
3,964/8,872
32,724
3,778/13,522
29,990
4,613/18,411
27,060
6,110/13,520
7,370/24,290
32,598
30,794
31,450
31,516
9,213/27,601
9,640/17,236
32,042
28,667
24,880
16,016
31,620
31,770
33,800
31,789
7,821/20,145
S PECIAL REPORT
5 0 T O P C OL L E G E S F O R A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S
NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE 50 TOP COLLEGES FOR
African Americans, how do you go about paying for
such top-notch educations? This was certainly an
issue for Michael Adams and his family. Before Michael
enrolled at Princeton University, his parents sat down
to figure out how they we re going to affo rd the
$31,000-a-year college education.
Guide To
College
Financing
PHELPS’ STRICT
ACADEMIC REGIMEN
HELPED HIM WIN $150,000
IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO
NORTH CAROLINA A&T.
82
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S PECIAL REPORT
5 0 T O P C OL L E G E S F O R A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S
K
n
ow
YourLimits
Here is a breakdown of the federal loans:
Perkins
Loan
Subsidized
Stafford
Loan
Unsubsidized
Stafford
Loan
Direct &
FFEL PLUS
Loans
Min. amount
—
$2,625
$2,625
—
Max. amount
$4,000 for
undergraduate students
$6,000 for
graduate students
$8,500
$18,500
Cost of attendance
minus additional
financial aid
Interest rate
5.0%
5.3%
5.3%
6.1%
Grace period
Nine months
Six months
Six months
—
Repayment
Up to 10 years
10–30 years
10–30 years
None specified
SOURCE:: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FEDERAL STUDENT AID
NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE 50 TOP
COLLEGES FOR African Americans, how
do you go about paying for such topnotch educations? This was certainly
an issue for Michael Adams and his family. Before Michael enrolled at Princeton
University, his parents sat down to figure out how they were going to afford
the $31,000-a-year college education.
“We worked out a budget. My salary goes to paying his schooling and his sister’ school loans,” says Karen Adams, while her husband, Edward, covers the household bills. “We were sending
Michael to private high school, so we couldn’t really save anything,” Karen explains.
To prevent students from graduating with thousands of dollars in debt, Princeton funds education primarily through grants
and offers loans only to parents. Karen admits that she was initially surprised by the school’s “Graduate Debt Free” promise, “but
the way they have it set up, and how they handle financial aid
compared to other schools, is pretty good,” she says.
The Adamses took out $80,000 in loans to divide over four
years. They make a monthly payment of $628 because Princeton
doesn’t allow parents to defer payment.
While Michael was still in middle school, the Adamses paid off
their home using money from Karen’s 403(b) in preparation for
his private schooling. “I know you’re not supposed to do that, but
I knew I would pay myself back,” Karen says.
Although using retirement money to pay for your child’s education is unwise, many families are forced to be creative with their
84
Scholarships
From the time Christopher Phelps, a senior at North
Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University,
was in elementary school, he knew that academic
scholarships were going to be his golden ticket to
a free college education. His parents, Norman and Con-
nie Phelps, made sure all three of their sons excelled academically every school year. “We did not have a college fund
established for our boys. We kept our sons on a strict academic regimen,” says Norman. “They knew that school, community service, and leadership activities were the priority.”
During his junior year in high school, Christopher, who won
more than $150,000 in scholarships, spent at least one hour
every day researching and filling out college applications.
The Phelps family required that each child mail off at least
one scholarship application a week. In fact, the other two
brothers, Norman and Calvin, received more than $350,000
in scholarships. For Christopher, who boasted a 4.2 grade
point average in high school and averaged five to 10 hours of
community service a week, finding scholarships to apply for
was easy.
In all, Christopher won 13 scholarships from various organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha. With time, effort,
and a little knowledge about where to look, your child can
attend college for free, too.
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S PECIAL REPORT
5 0 T O P C OL L E G E S F O R A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S
The Scholarship Box
Striking Gold
The key to scholarship success is taking the time to fill out
applications completely. Marianne Ragins, founder of The
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that
there are 750,000 scholarships earmarked annually
for qualified students, totaling $1.2 billion. So how do you
Scholarship Workshop (www.scholarshipworkshop.com), an
educational and consulting service that gives presentations on
college topics, suggests creating a scholarship box to hold all
application materials.
In the scholarship box, students should arrange the applications to their top 15 scholarships according to deadline. Here are
the other components:
■ Student activity list This is a list of all the things the student
has done from the ninth through the 12th grades. It should
state any awards, honors, and participation in academic contests.
■ Official transcripts The student should request five to 10
copies. High schools have different criteria for obtaining this
document, so students should visit their guidance counselor for
help.
■ Essays Most scholarships require essays. Ragins suggests
that students complete two basic essays: one that describes
who he or she is and another that describes future career goals.
■ Recommendation letters Students should ask for recommendation letters at least two months prior to the application
deadline. Ask people who have worked closely with the student
and can give a strong recommendation about his or her character
and work ethic.
find them? According to Gen and Kelly Tanabe, founders of
SuperCollege.com and authors of Get Into Any College and Get
Free Cash for College (SuperCollege L.L.C.; $16.95 and $22.95),
it’s a matter of doing your homework.
“Most students search for scholarships on the Internet and
think that they are done. This is a huge mistake,” says Gen. “We’ve
discovered scholarships in the dusty collection of books at our
library, in newspaper announcements, and on a supermarket
shopping bag.” Try these places to find scholarships:
■ School High school students should visit their guidance counselor to discuss financial aid. Students should think about their
family’s background, the type of college they want to attend, and
special interests that make them eligible for certain scholarships.
■ The community Call all the local clubs, organizations, unions,
and fraternities and sororities. Some organizations include local
NAACP chapters, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the Urban
League.
■ The library Try scholarship directories such as Peterson’s
Scholarships, Grants & Prizes 2006 (Thomson Peterson’s Guides;
$32) and The Scholarship Search: A Guide to Winning Free Money
for College and More (iUniverse Inc.; $9.95).
Resources
WEBSITES
www.fastweb.com
www.collegeboard.org
www.scholarshipworkshop.com
www.finaid.org
BOOKS
Beckham’s Guide to Scholarships for Black and Minority
Students by Barry Beckham
(Beckham Publications Group Inc.; $17.95)
College Board Scholarship Handbook 2007
(Henry Holt & Co. Inc.; $27.95)
Scholarships for African-American Students
by Peterson’s (Peterson’s Guides; $14.95)
The Everything Paying for College Book: Grants, Loans,
Scholarships, and Financial Aid—All You Need to Fund
Higher Education by Nathan Brown and
Sheryle A. Proper (Adams Media Corp.; $14.95)
ORGANIZATIONS
NAACP (www.naacp.org)
National Urban League (www.nul.org)
Elks Club (www.elks.org)
American Red Cross (www.redcross.org)
The Lending Tree
When used wisely, loans can be an effective method of paying for college. Use this guide to determine whether a
loan will be beneficial to you.
Federal Perkins Loans are available to part-time or full-time
undergraduate and graduate students with great financial need,
although Federal Pell Grant recipients receive top priority.
The loan amount is determined by your financial need and the
school’s available funds. Schools receive financial aid funds annually from the U.S. Department of Education. When all available
funds have been distributed, no more are given for that academic year. This is why it is important to submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) early.
With a subsidized Stafford Loan, the Department of Education pays the interest while the student is in school, for six
months after he or she leaves school, and during a deferment period. Eligible students can borrow a Direct Loan or a Federal
Family Education Loan (FFEL) to cover some or all of their
need. Direct Loans are borrowed from and must be repaid to the
Department of Education, while FFEL loans are borrowed from
and must be repaid to private lenders. Depending on which program the school participates in, students may receive a Direct
Loan, an FFEL Loan, or both.
With an unsubsidized Stafford Loan, the student is responsible for paying interest from the time the loan is disbursed
When used wisely, loans can be an
effective method of paying for college. Use this guide to determine
whether a loan will be beneficial to
you.
Federal Perkins Loans are available to
2/3
AD
BE-7669
part-time or full-time undergraduate and
graduate students with great financial need,
although Federal Pell Grant recipients
receive top priority.
The loan amount is determined by your
financial need and the school’s available
funds. Schools receive financial aid funds
annually from the U.S. Department of Education. When all available funds have
been distributed, no more are given for
that academic year. This is why it is important to submit your Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) early.
With a subsidized Stafford Loan,
the Department of Education pays the
interest while the student is in school, for
six months after he or she leaves school,
and during a deferment period. Eligible
students can borrow a Direct Loan or a
Federal Family Education Loan
(FFEL) to cover some or all of their need.
Direct Loans are borrowed from and must
be repaid to the Department of Education, while FFEL loans are borrowed from
and must be repaid to private lenders.
Depending on which program the school
participates in, students may receive a
Direct Loan, an FFEL Loan, or both.
With an unsubsidized Stafford Loan,
the student is responsible for paying interest from the time the loan is disbursed
until it is paid in full. This loan is available
only to part-time or full-time students
without financial need. Students can
receive a subsidized loan and an unsubsidized loan for the same enrollment period
as long as the total does not exceed the
annual loan limit, which is $18,500, depending on the grade level.
A Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is subsidized
by the Department of Education. Parents
must fill out the loan application form as
well as a promissory note, which lists specific conditions, such as interest rates, grace
periods, and repayment plans. Keep this
document handy as you may need to refer
to it throughout the course of the loan. The
school will distribute the loan application,
process the loan, and distribute the funds.
An FFEL PLUS Loan is subsidized by
a lender or guaranty agency—an orga-
SPECIAL REPORT
50 TOP COLLEGES FOR AFRICAN AM ERICANS
Grant
Me A Wish
“If I had not been awarded grant
money,” says Emory University senior
Christopher Williams, “I would be
attending school elsewhere, no questions asked.” The 21-year-old Columbia,
South Carolina, native chose to pursue a
degree in accounting and finance at
Emory’s Goizueta Business School.
With more than $29,000 in institutional
funding and $2,000 from federal workstudy, nearly 80% of Williams’ financial
aid package is need-based aid. The rest
EMORY
is a small, yet helpful, group of scholarGRANTED
ships and loans. Emory’s tuition for the
WILLIAMS AN
2006–2007 school year is $32,100, while
EDUCATION
WORTH $29,000.
the total costs are estimated at $44,844.
According to Jean Farnsworth, Emory’s
associate director of financial aid, 14% of
the 1,890 aid applicants for the 2004–2005
school year were black. “All of our aid
awarded is need-based,” she says. “Emory wants students who
are qualified to come. The school does not want money to be the
deterrent.”
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used
by nearly all colleges and universities in conjunction with the U.S.
Department of Education to distribute aid to students based on
financial need. Filled out yearly, the information students report
on their FAFSA is used to calculate their family’s financial strength
based on their income and assets.
Unlike FAFSA, the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE—the College
Board’s aid application service, used by more than 600 schools and
scholarship programs—requests information about home equity
and also makes allowances for things such as debt against the
home, private school tuition for a younger sibling, and medical
expenses. For example, a family of four that earns $50,000, owns
a home, and has some equity is different financially from a family of four that makes $50,000 and rents.
With financial aid, Williams has only to pay for his food, books,
transportation, and personal expenses. He takes on this responsibility himself, to lessen the burden on his parents, through an oncampus federal work-study, a job with the student newspaper,
and by cutting hair in the lobby of his residence. “I do this so I don’t
have to ask my parents for money all the time,” he says. “They’ve
done more than enough with just raising me.”
Getting the most out of financial aid
With no repayment required, grants can greatly offset the
cost of a college education. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that in 2007, Federal Student Aid (FSA)
programs will distribute $12.7 billion to fund Federal Pell
Grants, $770.9 million for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), and $980.4 million for
the Federal Work-Study Program.
Students should keep the following in mind when applying:
■ Be mindful of deadlines. You could be penalized if your
application is late.
■ Turn in all requested documents. “If we’ve asked for it,
we need it. We’re not just trying to be nosy. We want the
information to make an award,” says Jean Farnsworth,
associate director of financial aid for Emory University.
■ Take some personal responsibility. Know how to apply
for aid and be an active and informed participant. The goal
90
is to understand your package and be able to talk about it.
“It’s much easier to help a student that is aware than for us
to help a student that says, ‘I don’t know, my parents do
that,’” Farnsworth says. “Students need to be a part of the
process.”
■ Know your financial aid counselor. During your first few
weeks, stop by to introduce yourself. Don’t be afraid to visit
the office when you are not having an issue. When there is
a problem, remain courteous. And if you don’t understand,
ask for further clarification.
■ Don’t let costs be a deterrent. If you really want to go to
a high-cost school, apply for it. But also apply for financial
aid and do it before the deadline. In addition, apply to
other schools that may be more affordable so that when you
get your acceptance letters and financial aid letters, you can
review your options.
SEPTEMBER 2006 : BLACK ENTERPRISE : WWW.BLACKENTERPRISE.COM : PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX JONES
SPECIAL REPORT
5 0 T O P C O L L E G E S F OR A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N S
Family
Financing
For parents Karen and Derek Adams,
paying for their daughter’s college
education was less about choice than
about duty. A native of Trinidad,
Derek was sent by his parents to
Howard University to get an education and pursue a better life. It would
make perfect sense that he would
do the same for his only child, Brittany, a 20-year-old junior at Hampton University.
THE ADAMSES
USED SAVINGS
BONDS TO SEND
BRITTANY TO
HAMPTON.
“When she was born, I started putting
money away every paycheck through savings bonds. At the time, I worked at a bank, so they allowed me to
make automatic deductions,” says Derek, a 45-year-old senior vice
president of information systems and technology at PRG Schultz.
His plan was simple: first save $50 per paycheck, then $100, and
eventually up to $150 per paycheck. He did that diligently from
1986 to 2003, saving $54,000 in after-tax dollars. “You’d be amazed
at the power of compounding,” he says. Derek kept the money
in savings bonds for years before transferring it into a 529 plan.
Even if you didn’t start saving early like the Adamses, there are
creative ways to finance your child’s education.
Here are some practical things you can do to offset the high cost of college:
Have your child take the SAT early. Since
there are more merit awards than need-based
awards, students have to take the SAT seriously.
Most money is given out on a first-come, firstserve basis, so the earlier your child takes the
SAT, the better the chance to receive an award.
■ Send your child to the school’s summer program. Some colleges offer high school students
summer enrichment programs prior to admittance. It’s a great way for the student to get to
know faculty and financial aid administrators and
become a more appealing candidate.
■ Know the types of aid prospective colleges
offer. When visiting a campus, stop by the
financial aid office. Also search the financial
aid section of the school’s Website, call and
request information, or speak to a financial aid
counselor.
■ Be clear about your financial situation.
“Schools want to see how financially savvy
you are,” says Sterling Laylock, the Adamses’
Atlanta-based financial adviser. “At some universities, parents must answer hundreds of
questions that are at the discretion of the
school.” Those questions, which include the
cost of your mortgage, allocation of investments, and make and model of your car, can
weigh heavily on the type of financial aid you
receive.
■
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If you start early, a good place to begin is with a savings plan. No matter which plan you choose, keep it in your name so you control the money.
Also, if the money is in the child’s name, it may make him or her less eligible for aid.
Here’s a quick breakdown of your options:
■ The 529 Plan is an attractive savings vehicle because the money
grows tax-free and withdrawals used for college expenses are not
taxed. “Most of the 529 plans offer tax credit to their residents. However, if your state doesn’t have a 529 plan, you may participate with
another state that does have a plan, but you won’t get the tax credit,” says Vicki Brackens, a financial planner with MetLife in Syracuse,
New York. However, she does advise everyone to seek tax advice
before choosing the plan.
■ The Coverdell Education Savings Account, formerly known as the
Education IRA, allows you to save up to $2,000 a year tax-deferred.
What’s great about the account is that you can use it for elementary
and secondary school as well as college. Unfortunately, these funds are
considered student assets, so when financial aid is calculated, it could
reduce your child’s aid.
■ State prepaid tuition programs allow you to lock in current tuition rates
for future use. The tuition rate is an in-state public college rate, so if your
child attends a private school, be prepared to pay the difference.
■ The Uniform Gifts to Minors/Uniform Transfers to Minors Acts allow
you to give your child $11,000 without getting hit with taxes. It’s more
flexible in the way it can be used, but at age 18, your child assumes complete responsibility, so be careful.
For more ways to make college affordable, log on to www.black
enterprise.com/payforcollege.
BE
SEPTEMBER 2006 : BLACK ENTERPRISE : WWW.BLACKENTERPRISE.COM : PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX JONES