If you’re a person of color looking to enter college this year, then there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s more opportunity for you than ever before. But the bad news is that American colleges on the whole still need to do much more for minority students once they’re studying.
The enrollment of minority students into college across America is on the rise. In
2014
, 63% of African American students and 62% of Hispanic students leaving high school were directly enrolling in college. However, minority students still face many barriers to attaining a great career that requires a college degree. In many instances, these barriers are caused by the colleges that minority students are attending. Financial burdens, racial bias, and many other concerns contribute to this. In fact,
just
45.8% of Hispanic students and 38% of African American students make it all the way through college to graduation.
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The shockingly low graduation rate reported above shows that most colleges need to do more for minorities. Graduation should be equal among all races. Luckily, some colleges are working against these statistics. They are providing the right assistance, creating a learning community free of prejudice and ensuring that graduation rates are high for all.
But there are many colleges that claim to have an equal selection process and great services for ethnic minorities. Only some of them actually have the statistics to back these claims up. If you’re wondering how you can identify these colleges, then look no further than this article. We’ve crunched the numbers, researched many sources and provided a definitive list of the best colleges for minority students.
Any one of the 30 institutions listed below is a great choice for a person of color. However, in case none of the choices are right for you, then we’ve ensured that this article can still be a vital resource. We’ve highlighted inclusive activities, financial initiatives and other things that the below colleges are doing for minorities. You can look at these and see if your college options are doing anything comparable. If not, then perhaps you could start similar activities at your college.
At the end of the day, achieving your desired career goals is up to you. And the first step you need to take on this journey is to pick a college that will facilitate this. This choice should be much easier after reading this article.
Our list takes into consideration a range of sources, which all use different comparable data. A straightforward list of which colleges have the most minority enrollment is easy to come by online. Therefore, our list is more than that. Yes, enrollment rates are important, but we’ve also looked at graduation rates, early career salaries, college affordability and, most importantly, evidence of a great learning environment for people of any background. Our sources are as follows:
One thing that must be noted is that both
Price Economics
and
US News
sort large universities and liberal arts colleges into two separate lists. Both are used for our methodology ranking.
The above sources give a perfect insight into which colleges are giving ethnically diverse students the education and college experience they deserve. Some sources use research they’ve conducted into colleges themselves, while others use aggregated student-led reviews. We’ve cross-referenced this data and then conducted our own research into the institutions, seeing what they have in place for minority students.
Not only is our article a synthesized list of the methodology lists, but it’s also a fact-checked guide to what colleges are doing for minority students. Our findings of the best colleges for minorities are listed, from 30 to one, below:
This college features on all but one methodology list. When looking at the different demographics of the college,
Price Economics
shows that Stanford has the most ethnically mixed population of any national university. 38% of students are white; 20% are Asian; 16% are Hispanic; 8% are African American, and 20% are other. This makes it the most diverse college in America. But it isn't just the mix of students that makes Stanford University a top choice for minority college students.
Niche.com's
student-led rankings place the college at 11
th
for most diverse colleges. The many reviews on the site attest to how the college is welcoming for everyone.
US News
considers it to be the fourth most diverse national university in America.
Diverse Education
places it at eighth. There are several
reasons
as to why Stanford secures such strong rankings on these sites. While it's an expensive college, Stanford provides financial grants to any students who can't afford its tuition. And Stanford has a holistic approach to admitting students. That means you don't necessarily need to have gone to a top high school or got the best GPA. If you can demonstrate that you'll provide a unique, valuable perspective, then you can get in!
The top minority college for New York City, one of the most diverse places on the globe, is Columbia University.
Price Economics
considers it to be the fourth most diverse college in America. Its students are 39% white, 9% African American, 12% Hispanic, 18% Asian and 22% other. Additionally,
Niche.com
places it at 16
th
, with more than 1,000 student reviews that are filled with claims that the college is a great place for all.
US News
places it at 22
nd
for diversity.
Time Money
places it at 11
th
, noting that it has an incredible 90% graduation rate for African Americans, which is more than double the national average. And Columbia is doing lots to make sure diversity is represented everywhere. For
instance
, in the last 12 years, the college has spent $85 million on recruiting diverse faculty members. And Columbia has recently announced that it is spending another $100 million on this in the next five years.
This world-famous college is great for diversity. Every methodology list features it within its top 40 colleges for minorities.
Niche.com
places it at 35
th
, with over 600 student reviews backing this claim up.
US News
has it at 34
th
.
Price Economics
states that it's the 22
nd
most diverse national university in America demographically.
Diverse Education
places it at fourth, noting that white and African American graduation rates are almost equal.
Time Money
places it at second, stating that it has an early career salary of just $500 less than the top entry on the list. Harvard has
tutors
that are specifically focused on ensuring that race relations are positive among the whole community every day.
Amherst is
Price Economics's
most diverse liberal arts college. The site states that it has a 42% white population, 12% African American population, 13% Hispanic population, 12% Asian population and 21% other population.
Niche.com
ranks it at sixth for diversity.
US News
ranks it at eighth.
Time Money
places it at 19
th
. Amherst is highly
welcoming
to prospective minority students and ensures that they feel confident in applying. It does this by hosting diversity open houses that encourage prospective students to see how inclusive it is. Additionally, it creates diversity interns out of current students, who reach out to minority students to ensure that Amherst has what they are looking for.
This college tops
Niche.com's
student review led rankings on diversity, with over 300 reviews citing its excellent equality opportunities.
Time Money
places Pomona at 39
th
on its list and cites that it has a 92% African American graduation rate.
US News
considers it to be the seventh most diverse liberal arts college. Lastly,
Price Economics
names it the fifth most diverse liberal arts college in America. And Pomona is one of several colleges on this list that have taken recent efforts to become more diverse. For instance,
now
faculty members must be attentive to diversity in the student body to qualify for tenure. It has also created a plan to become significantly more diverse by 2025. This plan involves increasing access to inclusive opportunities, creating a friendly climate and community, improving scholarship and learning opportunities for minorities and developing its institutional commitment to diversity further. If these efforts mean more minority students can benefit from Pomona's incredible graduation rates, then that will be a great thing!
Time Money
considers Princeton University to be the best college for African Americans. While its enrollment is not astoundingly high, at 6%, 93% of these students graduates. And they gain an early career salary of $60,500 on average. Princeton University also performs well on
Niche.com
and
Price Economics,
where it places at 27
th
in both instances.
US News
ranks it at 48
th
. And Princeton is expanding its diversity friendly services for all students. In 2016, it
opened
new cultural affinity spaces, launched training programs and renovated its center for equality and cultural understanding.
This college tops
Diverse Education's
minority college list, noting its generous financial aid policies in particular. It is sixth on
US News's
list and seventh on
Niche.com's
list. And the University of San Francisco is incredibly proud of its diverse student base and has several
initiatives
running to encourage diverse inclusion. For instance, it has the Intercultural Center, which offers a wide range of services and events for diversity on campus. Additionally, there are over 100 student clubs that specialize in diverse interests.
This Pennsylvania based liberal arts college makes three lists but places in the top 10 on all. It's fifth on
Niche.com's
rankings and ninth on
US News's
list. Lastly, it's third on
Price Economics
âs list. Swarthmore College engages with diversity in a
number
of innovative and engaging events. One is called the imagINe project, which encourages people of different backgrounds to inspire one another with their perspectives. Another is SwatDeck, which brings communication, "into unexpected places with unexpected players." What this means is that students get free travel and spending money to go into Philadelphia. However, each student receives a playing card. The playing cards match students up into groups of four, and they have to spend the day in Philadelphia with one another.
Diverse Education
specifically cites New York University's engineering school as being a great example of diversity. The source places it at second. The other methodology lists rank the whole college.
US News
places it at 35
th
.
Niche.com
places it at 10
th
.
Price Economics
places it at ninth, stating that 39% of students are white, 4% are African American, 10% are Hispanic, 18% are Asian and 29% are other. NYU is another college that has been doing lots in recent years to ensure that diversity is well managed and that all students are happy. In 2015, it created the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Task Force, which helps ensure that all diversity-related issues at the college are addressed. This
task force
is made up of 32 members of the college and includes deans, faculty, students and other college members.
Price Economics
names Bryn Mawr the sixth most diverse liberal arts college in America. It has a 37% white population, 5% African American population, 10% Hispanic Population, 11% Asian population and 37% other population.
US News
places it at 13
th
for liberal arts college diversity.
Niche.com's
student-led reviews place it at 15
th
of all colleges in America. And Bryn Mawr has been
doing
some great things for minorities. For instance, in the last year, four out of seven faculty tenure track positions went to people of color and open conversation lunches for diversity were organized to happen every week on an ongoing basis.
US News
considers Andrews University to be the most diverse national university in America.
Niche.com's
student-led rankings place the college at eighth. But it doesn't feature on any other list. Andrews University has certainly put a lot of
effort
into making its campus more diverse, and this can be seen in its rankings on
US News
over the years. In 2008, Andrews ranked 13
th
on its diversity list, but this has only been increasing since. The current list is the first time the college has topped
US News's
diversity chart. Andrews University is a Seventh-Day Adventist
college
, and it uses its religious values as a guide for including all cultural backgrounds.
Texas may not be regarded as the most diverse and welcoming state in America, but Rice University is different. This Houston based college has the fifth most diverse student body of any national university according to
Price Economics.
That source lists Rice University as having a student body that is 39% white, 6% African American, 13% Hispanic, 20% Asian and 22% other.
Niche.com
places it at 36
th
for diversity.
US News
places it at 30
th
.
Time Money
places it at 23
rd
. If these methodology sources weren't good enough, Rice University also
points out
that it is number one on
Princeton Review
for race/class interaction. Additionally, Rice's Office of Diversity and Inclusion is one of the best of its kind in the country. It
curates
events, services, and awards that help the diverse education of the college.
This Long Island-based college has something for everyone. Stony Brook's environs are beautifully rural, but they're also just an hour's drive from Queens, New York.
Price Economics
states that it has the seventh most diverse national university population in America. 38% are white; 7% are African American; 10% are Hispanic; 24% are Asian, and 21% are other.
Niche.com's
student reviews place the college at 67
th
best for diversity in America.
US News
places it at 43
rd
.
Time Money
places it at 46
th
. Lastly, it places at 20
th
on
Diverse Education.
This gives it the distinction of being featured on every methodology list. And its strong rankings stand to grow considerably in future years. In 2017, Stony Brook
established
the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer. This office is dedicated to making the diverse activities of Stony Brook even greater in the future.
This liberal arts college is well regarded by most methodology lists.
Price Economics
considers it to be the fourth most diverse liberal arts college in America. The site states that it has a 41% white, 6% African American, 12% Hispanic, 22% Asian and 19% other population. It also places at sixth on
US News's
list, 17
th
on
Time Money's
list (which notes its 95% African American graduation rate) and 90
th
on
Niche.com's
list. And the college has taken it upon itself to become even better at equality. In 2015, it
created
a commission for ethnicity, race and equity issues. Its findings have resulted in initiatives to add a system for biased incident reporting, hire more diverse faculty, launch unconscious bias training initiatives and more.
Harvey Mudd is
US News's
fifth-best liberal arts college for diversity.
Price Economics
places it at ninth.
Niche.com
places it at 28
th
. However, its African American representation is low, at just 1%. But the African American population of the college is
showing
growth, rising from seven students to 32 in the last eight years. Additionally, its white population is falling, shrinking from 451 in 2010 to 286 in 2017. This shows that while Harvey Mudd is still unequal, it is becoming more diverse every year. And the college has been on a mission to
improve
its campus diversity since 2000, meaning that for those who are admitted, the college is friendly and welcoming.
Based in Atlanta, the capital of the South, Emory University is a great college for anyone.
Price Economics
says that it's the 10
th
most diverse college in America. 40% of students are white; 10% are African American, 6% are Hispanic; 23% are Asian and 21% are other.
Niche.com
places it at 17
th
for diversity.
Time Money
places it at 42
nd
, noting that its 92% African American graduation rate is incredible. And the college engages in a range of activities that promote its strong diversity. For example, musicians from all over the world
come
to play their music, and exhibitions celebrating other cultures are always happening.
This college makes four of the methodology lists.
Time Money
places it at seventh, noting that the African American graduation rate is an incredible 94%.
Niche.com
places it at 57
th
.
US News
places it at 58
th
.
Price Economics
places it at 21
st
, stating that it has a 46% white population, 6% African American population, 8% Hispanic population, 15% Asian population and 19% other population. And the University of Pennsylvania's inclusive activities goes beyond its student population. It has
created
a program called Penn Compact 2020 that aims to engage with diverse communities in its home city, across America and around the globe. These activities include supporting schools, hospitals and equality related political activities.
Price Economics
states that Cornell University is the 17
th
most demographically diverse college in America.
Niche.com
places it at 59
th
.
US News
places it at 54
th
.
Time Money
places it at fourth but does note that the college has one of the highest net prices for a degree in America, at $213,000. Cornell's diversity inclusion
events
are incredible. The college hosts barbecues, career conversations and much more with an eye to making people feel welcome no matter their background and identity.
This New Jersey based institution is represented on almost every methodology list but in very different positions.
Diverse Education
ranks it at fifth, noting its affordable in-state tuition is at around $11,000 per year.
Time Money
tells a different tale, placing it at 50
th
and noting that while its 16% African American population is strong, its African Ameican graduation rate is only 60% (which is admittedly much higher than the national average.)
US News
places it at 2
nd
.
Niche.com's
student review led rankings place it at 82
nd
. It isn't featured on
Price Economics.
And Rutgers is proud of being a pioneer of campus diversity. For instance, the college
admitted
and graduated two African American women in the 1940s.
Time Money
considers Yale to be the eighth best college for people of color, noting that students graduate with a low student loan debt of $12,000.
US News
names it the 52
nd
best college for diversity.
Niche.com
places it at 13
th
.
Price Economics
places it at 26
th
. And Yale has ensured that its minority students have enough resources to feel included and that their needs are met. It has
five
different cultural centers, each with an individual focus on a specific minority, which includes African Americans, Asian Americans, Jewish Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans.
This island-based college performs incredibly well on some lists but isn't featured on others.
Diverse Education
considers it to be the third best college for minorities, noting that only 20% of students are white. It is seventh on
US News's
list. Lastly, it is 69
th
on
Niche.com's
list. However, its representation of African American and Hispanic students is lacking. They make up
just
3.4% of the current student population. This is presumably because of the distance of the university and the demographics of the state of Hawaii. The University of Hawaii at Manoa does have some
strong
programs for bringing underprivileged students out of poverty, such as Bridge to Hope, which benefits a range of its local communities.
This college is seventh on
Price Economics's
liberal arts college list, 19
th
on
US News's
list and 61
st
on
Niche.com's
list. The demographics of the college are 43% white, 5% African American, 11% Hispanic, 11% Asian and 30% other. Part of what makes Claremont Mckenna College so good for minority students is its continual
focus
on self-reflection. Part of this involves a survey on student life and campus climate every three years, which involves asking students whether or not they are happy with a range of potential issues related to campus life and study.
Time Money
places Duke University at third best for people of color.
Price Economics
places it at 32
nd
on the national demographic diversity scale. It notes that the college has a 49% white population, 10% African American population, 6% Asian population and 14% other population. Duke also ranks at 60
th
on
US News
and 142
nd
on
Niche.com.
Duke has
developed
an online diversity toolkit for both students and faculty that includes videos, articles and other resources that will help people from a range of backgrounds flourish. Topics covered in the materials include ways to make less biased decisions and ways to effectively communicate across cultural barriers.
This Atlanta based college places at 12
th
on
Time Money's
list. What makes Georgia Institute of Technology place so highly is that the average early career salary for a person of color graduate is $62,000, the highest in America.
US News
places the college at 97
th
for diversity.
Price Economics
places it at 42
nd
.
Niche.com
places it at 145
th
. The diversity-related
events
at this college are possibly the best in the country, with diversity symposiums, black history month lectures, and lectures on civil rights history.
This is the second most diverse liberal arts college in America when looking at
Price Economics's
demographic numbers. It has a 31% white population, 35% African American population, 11% Hispanic population, 3% Asian population and 20% other population.
US News
places the college at third for liberal arts college diversity.
Niche.com
places it at 147
th
. Part of what makes this college strong for different minorities is that its minority organizations have
formed
a coalition. This allows for diverse groups to both maintain their unique identities and collaborate together.
This college ranks at first place on
US News's
liberal arts section. It also manages to place at 49
th
on
Niche.com's
student review led list. Part of Pacific Union College's success in being diverse comes from it being a Seventh Day Adventist institution, which is the most racially
diverse
religion in America. And Pacific Union College has a long history of diversity. It admitted its first African American student as far back as 1883, just one year after its founding. So you can be sure that this is an accepting community!
Diverse Education
places San Francisco State University at seventh.
US News
places it at sixth. But
Niche.com
places it at 193
rd
in the country for diversity. None of the other lists feature it. Research into the college's diversity stats proves that it is indeed a diverse community. 24.2% of students are white. 30% are Asian. 32.9% are Hispanic. 5.4% are African American. And 7.5% are other. And the college is very active in ensuring that its diversity goals are always evolving. For this academic year, the college is
aiming
to start a workgroup for Hispanic student services, improve the infrastructure of its resource center, develop a free speech toolkit and much more.
Pepperdine is one of many California based colleges to make this list.
Price Economics
states that on a demographic level, 42% of students are white, 7% are African American, 15% are Hispanic, 15% are Asian and 21% are other. Those demographics mean that the college is the 11
th
most diverse national university in the country.
Diverse Education
places Pepperdine at 18
th
in America, noting its strong Hispanic graduation rate. However, Pepperdine fares less well on the other methodology lists.
US News
places the college at 98
th
for diversity.
Niche.com's
student review led rankings place Pepperdine at 224
th
. Pepperdine University's diversity outlook
comes
from the college's Christian focus. This has
resulted
in diversity councils at the college's various schools and one that is university-wide.
US News
names the University of California, Santa Cruz as the ninth best national university for diversity.
Price Economics
has a similar opinion, placing it at 15
th
nationally.
Niche.com's
student-led reviews are less generous, placing it at 194
th
(but this is out of 1,503 ranked colleges.) While this college's Hispanic and Asian
enrollment
rates are strong, at 29.9% and 18.7% respectively, it still needs to do more for African American enrollment, which stands at 4.6%. However, the college is an active force in championing equality. It recently
launched
Take a Stand Against Hate, which will create events aimed at enforcing inclusiveness.
This is the first of two Houston based entries on the list.
US News
regards the University of Houston as one of the best colleges in America for diversity, placing it at fifth.
Diverse Education
has a similar opinion, placing it at 12
th
and noting that in-state tuition is an incredibly affordable $6600 a year, with financial aid being granted to 41% of students regardless of where they come from. However, the only other methodology list that this college features on is
Niche.com,
where it ranks 468
th
. Further research proves that the University of Houston is indeed taking diversity and equality on its campus extremely seriously. In fact, in 2016 the college won
three
Insight Into Diversity
awards, the first-ever college to manage this.
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