SAGregg002

I'm a freshman at Howard, just thought i'd share a bit of my experience from my first year.. just to give some perspective im a private school kid from the suburbs of houston, and dallas texas, i know before i came last year i was trying to get info about howard from people who were raised similarly just so I could determine whether or not howard would be a good fit for someone like myself.. This is pretty opinionated and pretty blunt.. dont make this a deciding factor just take this into account with everything else you hear/read.. this is just one guys experience

howard/DC is definately a fun place to be, and walking on the yard the buildings look pretty nice, on the inside not as much, they could have been better maintained but I got over it pretty quick(i used to have real issues with unkept interiors but its not too bad) .. the neighborhood is not the nicest, but it is not the worst by any means.. howard's surrounding neighborhood is going through rapid transition, if you walk two blocks off campus in most directions youll see white people walking their dogs, the next 2-5 years the area will see much improvement, they have put in condos and they are trying to revamp georgia ave. to make it more appealing.. a warning: you will on occasion see undesirable characters on the way to the howard metro stop, cvs, and mcdonalds but use good judgement, typically you dont bother them they dont bother you.. ladies you still do not want to walk these routes(or anywhere at night) by yourself, walk with a group of friends, or take the shuttle

The best idea i can give you of any of the dorms is that they are liveable, not luxurious, but liveable. As far as socio-economic makeup, people keep saying the whole middle-upper middle class thing, but from what ive seen i'd say 1/4 are lower, 2/4 are middle, and 1/4 are upper middle class. Nice cars, yes there are some (most are faculty and visitors), but not that many. The way people dress varies. Athletes male and female walk around in sweats all the time they dont care niether does anybody else. Nobody will shun you for not having the latest all the time. A lot of girls call themselves fashionistas with fake designer bags. Do not get caught up in thinking you have to outdo the next person because the vast majority of students here with "nice" stuff have been purchasing outside of their means, ask them if they want to go out to eat and they will tell you theyre broke.

There is a lot to get use to, you have to accept, as with any black school that facilities, living conditions, and administration/workers (not necessarily professors though) will not be as nice as a white school. I will say think about what you want out of your college experience, you will undoubtedly gain things from howard that no other institution can offer, but if you are wrapped up in 100% safe environment, new facilities, nice or efficient administrations persons then I would ask you to reevaluate your options for college. If you don't have fun at howard you deliberately tried not to have fun, everyone here likes to have fun. Homecoming is not necessarily the best/only time to come visit b/c theyres a lot of showiness that goes away two days after its over but it is a lot of fun! Campus tours can be helpful but i would also advise doing some exploring around the school on your own. I hope this was helpful any questions feel free to message me. Good Luck!