The Black Excel Newsletter

                                                                            June, 2000

 

   In this issue:

   1) Howard University: An Update
   2) Fastweb and the United Negro College Fund
   3) Getting In: Some Good and Bad News
   4) The Chris Rock College Magazine Debut
   5) The Most Popular Bachelor's Degrees
   6) A Top University With No Black Freshmen
   7) Spelman College: An Update
   8) Florida A&M Gets Law School
 
 

                 HOWARD UNIVERSITY: AN UPDATE

In 1997, the average SAT score for entering Howard freshmen was 1007. In 1998, it was 1025. In 2000, it is 1050. The national average SAT score for African-American students is 856.

At the end of February, 2000 four MBA students from Howard University (in the School of Business) won the National Black MBA competition in Atlanta. They defeated teams from Duke, Indiana University, Baylor and Penn State, among others.

All of Howard University's residence halls have been upgraded. The most recent were renovations to Truth and Crandall Halls, restoring the "Quad" to its former glory.
 

    FASTWEB and the UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
               MAKE SCHOLARSHIP ARRANGEMENT

May 9th

Fastweb, the free Internet Scholarship giant ( www.fastweb.com ),
and the United Negro College Fund (www.uncf.org), have announced
a partnership. UNCF scholarship applications and information will now
be listed exclusively on FastWeb. The 400 UNCF e-scholarships to
students of color are said to be worth more than $6.9 million, and could be
awarded to as many as 200,000 applicants. Our students, of course,
should go to the site and register. Over 180,000 scholarships are in the
Fastweb database, and the group will specifically target those that might
be a match for you.
 

      GETTING IN: SOME GOOD AND BAD NEWS!

A recent U.S.News & World Report article gives students a good
overview of how admissions decisions are made. Thankfully, such
decisions are not always etched in stonbe, or universal. The article is
a "what goes on behind closed admissions doors" tell-all.

The schools spotlighted are Brown University of the Ivy League,
Wesleyan University of Connecticut, and the University of California
at Dan Diego (a state school). Interestingly, every applicant to Brown
gets hands-on scrutiny. From the beginning, Black Excel has said
that such screening is "always to our advantage." You become
a real person. One Hispanic student cited impressed the Brown
committee because he was "an incredible bridge builder." He mobilized
Latino high school students, while promoting AIDS awareness. He got
an accept although his tests and GPA were somewhat less than the
average applicant. In a nutshell, the student sold himself, which is
solid admissions strategy.

By contrast, the University of California-San Diego (a public institution
with 15,140 undergraduates) uses mathematical formulas and computer
programs to select its students. You are a number.

We recommend that you read the May 21 US News World & World Report edition for some insider insight as to how your fate may be decided.
 

     THE CHRIS ROCK COLLEGE MAGAZINE DEBUT

From a Washington Post article dated May 9, 2000

The Chris Rock-funded Howard University humor magazine, The Illtop Journal has arrived. The magazine, which some say is the Black answer to the  Harvard Lampoon, is getting a lot of laughs. Howard U. reportedly agreed to sponsor Rock's brainchild when he reportedly raised $100,000 to get it off the ground. Well, Illtop is now circulating. One writer says the concessus is it's "uneven, sophomoric, sex-obessed and sometimes very funny."

One fake ad states, "In trouble? Need someone to blame? Call
1-800-Dail-A-Negro." Reportedly, the funniest article is by a writer named Chuck O'Fay. It's titled, "The White Student's Guide to Howard U." They say that Illtop is only sold on campus. The price is $1.25.
 

               MOST POPULAR BACHELOR'S DEGREES
                         FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS

According to the latest statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Education (1996-1997), these are the 15 most popular degrees for African Americans (in order of popularity):

   1) Business Management
   2) Social Sciences (history, political science, sociology)
   3) Education
   4) Psychology
   5) Health Sciences
   6) Engineering
   7) Communications
   8) Biological Sciences
   9) Protective Services
   10) Public Administration
   11) Liberal Arts
   12) English
   13) Computer Science
   14) Visual and Performing Arts
   15) Multidisciplinary Studies
 

        A TOP UNIVERSITY WITH NO BLACK FRESHMEN?

In the 1999-2000 year, not a single Black student enrolled at Cal Tech (the California Institute of Technology). Only seven were admitted, and none decided to enroll, according to a recent article in the Journal of Blacks In Higher Education. Ironically, Cal Tech was ranked the Number 1 university in the country this past fall by US News & World Report. At last count, of 900 undergraduates at Cal Tech only 11 were Black.
 

                  SPELMAN COLLEGE: AN UPDATE

New College President Dr. Audrey Forbes Manley has named 1999-2000
the "Year of the Sciences" at Spelman. It was telling that the Spelman
commencement address this year (May 21), was delivered by Dr. Jackson
a world-renowned physicist.

Note that there's a $22.5 million science building under construction
at Spelman, and that 40% of Spelman's students are concentrating
in the sciences.
 

                 FLORIDA A&M GETS LAW SCHOOL

The Republican-controlled state legislature has passed a measure that
allows Florida A&M University, the state's lone historically Black college, to open a law school. Classes will begin in 2003. This is actually a restoration. The university first opened a law school in 1951, because the powers-to-be didn't want to integrate the University of Florida's law school. In 1968 they closed it to create a law school at Florida State University, a predominantly white college. Do note (of course) that Republican Party leaders concede that they will make good use of the part they played in the creation of the Florida A&M Law School in this year's upcoming elections.

Oh yes, African-American lawmakers coordinated a sustained fight for this victory. Mr. Bush, it is said, was "given high-fives" as, in the end, he gave us support. The next president? Mmm?
 

-Isaac Black
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Isaac Black is the CEO of Black Excel: The College Help Network (www.BlackExcel.org). His book, the Black Excel African American
Student's College Guide, will be published in August, 2000 by John
Wiley & Sons.
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