Black Voices Senior Editor, The Huffington Post
Picking a college can be a daunting task for anyone, but finding the best fit can be a particularly challenging feat for African American students.
Calls to end racism on campus have become more widespread in the last year asstudents across the country spoke out about both everyday and systemic racism at their schools. In addition, minority students also face other common factors college students must consider like high costs of tuition and concerns over student loan debt.
To get a sense for which colleges provide the best outcomes for black students, the editors of ESSENCE and Money created their first-ever comprehensive list of the “50 Best Colleges for African-American Students.”
The list was released Tuesday and includes historically black colleges and universities, ivy league schools and large public institutions. The list uses collected data to rank the nation’s top schools for black students based on four factors: black graduation rates, the average cost of tuition and the average student loan debt for all students as well as campus diversity, for these purposes determined by the percentage of students who are black.
Check out an exclusive partial preview of the schools that made it to the top 10 below, along with helpful data compiled by ESSENCE and Money:
10. University of Maryland, College Park
GETTY IMAGESPercentage of students who are African-American: 11 percent
African-American graduation rate: 77 percent
Estimated average net price of a degree: $96,300
Estimated average student debt load at graduation: $19,500
9. North Carolina A&T State University
GETTY IMAGESPercentage of students who are African-American: 80 percent
African-American graduation rate: 49 percent
Estimated average net price of a degree: $77,800
Estimated average student loan debt upon graduation: $23,000
8. Yale University
GETTY IMAGESPercentage of students who are African-American: 5 percent
African-American graduation rate: 92 percent
Estimated average net cost of a degree: $196,500
Estimated average student debt load upon graduation: $12,000
7. University of Pennsylvania
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIAPercentage of students who are African American: 6%
African-American graduation rate: 94%
Estimated average net price of a degree: $207,000
Estimated average student debt load at graduation: $21,500
6. Spelman College
SPELMAN COLLEGEPercentage of students who are African American: 87%
African-American graduation rate: 75%
Estimated average net price of a degree: $172,800
Estimated average student debt load at graduation: $27,000
To view the full list of schools, head over to Money.com.
