Howard University Top Questions

The best thing about Howard is the price. We have a great name and some great professors who make sure we get the most for our money. I would change the dorms because there are too many students that cannot get housing. Additionally, visitation rules need to change. It is great to know they are concerned with our safety, their rules are too restrictive.

The best thing about Howard is the student body. Howard has a very diverse student body. Washington, DC has a lot to do with that, seeing as though it to has a very diverse population. You'll meet students from a wide variety of countries, cultures, upbringings, and beliefs. Howard is also known for its "recreational" activities. Howard's homecoming is legendary and largely attended by more than just locals and alumnae. Celebrities often make it a point to be present at the homecoming events. However Howard has its issues. One of my major issues with Howard is their inconsistency when it comes to procedure and policy. It is common for you to receive several contradicting suggestions or comments with the same department. Many of the administrative offices will send you on a treasure hunt to complete simple tasks like receiving your financial aid refund, paying your Howard balance, applying for emergency loans, etc. It can be quite annoying and discouraging. Howard is also known for losing documents after a crucial deadline has passed, forcing you to have to resubmit your information "late." Because of these issues, I have learned to make copies of everything I give Howard; I take down the names of every individual I speak to and the date I spoke to that person as well; I am also forced to harass them with phone calls to assure that any documents requested of me have been received, processed, and logged into my personal account. Howard teaches how to be cautious and meticulous. These are amongst the most complaints I hear on a daily basis at Howard. Another issue the students have is the subpar conditions a lot of our facilities are in. We are currently renovating several buildings but it makes no sense for the majority of the main campus to have so many physical problems. Some buildings lack functioning heaters and air conditioners; some don't have enough desks. The dorms also could use a lot of remodeling. Some dorms are older than others and lack amenities like air conditioning; even some of the newer dorms are infested with roaches and sometimes mice, one of our dorms have extremely sensitive sprinklers which causes problems, and our freshman dorms have smoke detectors with the nose of Superman and are guaranteed to go off and force us all outside at no specific time at least once every two weeks. The food is overprocessed and served on sometimes dirty dishes that I am forced to sift through for the least dirty of them all to then rinse under the hot water spout supposed to be used for tea. I could go on and on about my issues with Howard's campus, dormitories, and lack of fresh foods. With all that said however, Howard offers you an experience second to none. I used to consider my feelings about Howard similar to those of a woman unable to leave an abusive relationship; he hits me but I love him and I know he loves me. I was wrong. My relationship with Howard has been most similar to that of a family. There is this unconditional love between me and Howard. We will always fight and we will constantly fail to see eye to eye. But I would never trade my family for anything in the world. Howard is one of a kind. Not only will you have the time of your life enjoying the new friends you make from places you've never been or even heard of; you will also be bombarded with opportunities to advance in any field you may be interested; and most importantly you will become a part of as expanding network of the best and brightest of America. Howard is not for the weak, or the unsure, it is for the determined and motivated who will contribute to its rich legacy. The Real HU!! Bison for life. Ms. Wright

The best thing about Howard is its students. The mix of black people from every socioeconomic level, religion, culture and background is unlike anything I ever could have gotten from a majority school. My experiences with the student body and extracurriculars are what make me inevitably say that I like Howard when my thoughts on the way the school is run make me hesitate at first. I went to predominantly white schools all my life, so none of my friends had heard of Howard (an HBCU) when I announced I was going there during my senior year of high school. However, the school has a great legacy and name recognition in the professional world, which certainly doesn't hurt. The main cmapus is one of the smallest I've ever seen, and I like that with only about 10,000 undergrads, there probably six (or fewer) degrees of separation between everyone. I love that I'm in D.C. and that there are so many interesting things about it, but I do sometimes feel like I missed out by not living in a typical "college town." We certainly have a lot of school pride, as evidenced by our alumni. However, there's not much hype around athletics because the our teams for typically popular sports (basketball, football, etc.) aren't that great. But our homecoming is always a huge event, attracting celebrities, alumni and even people who never went here from across the country.

The best thing about Howard is its legacy. And even though many people say that it's true because after you graduate with a degree from Howard u would need to find a job, a job will find you -granted that you had good grades and all that. One thing that I would change about Howard the administration. Many things about it is rly bad and hopefully with an incoming new president, things will get better. The size is just right. The way people react when I tell them I go to Howard depends on where that person comes from. Usually, if they're from the area they are very familiar with Howard and therefore arent very impressed, but if I tell someone is from farther away or is just ignorant to all of Howard secrets, they are very excited. On campus, I spend most of my time in my room. There is definately no "college town" around Howard. But a few businesses that share the same street with our university give discounts to us, or just simply have a Howard flag or something. Howard admin sucks. Well there was a protest to shut down the engineering builing. DEFINATELY!!! Howard's school pride is infectious. One thing that's unsual is the extreamly poor condition of some of the buildings. The biology building for examaple has electric wires and all sorts of dangerous things hanging from the ceiling and class still goes on in there. I think thats very unusual for a college campus. I mean we pay tuition to fix these sort of things. Also, Howard is kind of like a cult. The jazz fest. It was amazing. The adminsitration, the food sucks, the "locals"

a) The best thing about Howard is the experience. Each person that sets foot on campus will have one, both good and bad. From the friends one can acquire to the social experience to the realization that you attend a university full of history, it is all quite inspiring and even heartwarming(not to be cheesy). b)If I could change anything, I would enhance the level of difficulty of the coursework where it is needed. c) For me, the campus is just right. 11,000 students(6,500 of which are undergrad). I couldn't see myself at a smaller school or a larger school. d)Well, it depends on who you tell. If you tell fellow African Americans that you attend HU, some are impressed. If you tell some corporate figures, they may be impressed, that depends on their company's experience. If you tell an everyday Caucasian, they may 1) look at you in amazement as they initially think you say Harvard or 2) look at you in a dumbfound way as they have NO CLUE what or where HU is. e) As a business student, most of my time was spent in the School of Business or in my dorm, by preference and workload. For the other students, "The Yard" IS the chill spot. f)You could say "college town" because once you hit Howard territory, you KNOW you're on campus and the radio stations are abreast of Howard events etc. Other "competitors" could be considered Georgetown, American, etc...g)THE ADMINISTRATION SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE IT!!!!! I'm sure my peers can confirm this sentiment from 1989 to the present. (In 1989, the students protested, as they stood in front of the Administration building in large numbers until their needs were met. Historical moment and unfortunately, still needed to this day. (SAD FACE) h)Biggest recent controversy is difficult. Not to say we had plenty, but that question again is subject to one's interpretation. We receiving a new University President for the 2009 year and their selection is pivotal, but aside from that, I really couldn't tell you. i)I would say there IS a lot of school pride, but not athletically which is where it would mostly show. We don't have the best sports teams. Some are good, but they are few in numbers. j)I don't believe there is anything unusual about Howard besides the fact that it is a great institution(again, not unusual). Period. j)I'll never forget the relationships I established with my dorm floor(yes, the whole floor) freshman year. [NOTE TO FRESHMAN GIRLS: For the full dorm experience, you MUST, I repeat, YOU MUST stay in "The QUAD". It will do you an injustice if you don't]. We had extra dorm and floor spirit. During a dorm ceremony, we walked outside with a chant and a hand signal(NO GANG STUFF) which made the other girls follow suit. We were remembered for all we did that year i.e. getting in trouble from time to time as a floor(it was soooo much fun) having our own fashion show on the floor, creating our own runway with the drawers under our beds, dressing up the girls, and opening it to all other students and doing our chant at the Homecoming game that year. We were extra proud and truly enjoyed ourselves.(One of the greatest experiences of my life) k) the most frequent student complaints come from the Administration Building, as unqualified, non-professional employees treat the students horribly in our time of need.