Selecting a college to attend can shape the viability of a young person’s entire life. That choice is especially critical for Black students due to hurdles like the pervasive racial wealth gap serving as a significant barrier they are forced to face before their careers have even began. Institutions like historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are specifically designed to help Black students circumvent those barriers through culturally competent curricula and socially specific touch points. But what about PWIs (a college or university where 50% of the students and faculty are White.)?
As we traverse through new terrain post-affirmative action and DEI divestment, there is a great chance that Black students can become particularly more vulnerable than they already are to discrimination, under-investment and opportunity gaps. Since most Black college students attend predominantly white institutions (PWIs), it’s important to take a look at how the schools can work the best for Black students.
“I think it’s definitely going to be a step backwards for the country,” Pierre told ESSENCE in July 2023, just a few weeks after the Supreme Court moved to ban affirmative action. “And I’ll give a couple of reasons why. California banned affirmative action back in 1988, and that was through Proposition 209. And there’s been many studies that tracked the after effects of that in the state. Four things happened. One, underrepresented minorities, especially Black people, ended up attending lower quality schools.”
One recent study suggests that some PWIs can be considered just as viable as a choice for Black students to lay the foundation for a successful future and overall, a social safe haven.
Data platform OnlineU’s May 2024 report PWIs with the highest potential payoffs for Black students took a look at some of the socioeconomic benefits of Black students could take advantage of if they considered attending a PWI. For instance, of the number of schools evaluated, four of those predominantly white institutions (PWIs) lead to payoffs where alumni earn at least $10,000 more than the median pay for Black employees in their state.
The report names Chamberlain University – Ohio as the top PWI that gives Black students the highest payoff after examining the median salary for graduates ($88,622), the state salary threshold ($44,282), and financial payoff ($44,340). Other schools that made the list are Indiana Wesleyan University -National & Global, Neumann University and the University of Southern Mississippi.