African American Males

[flushmaverick]

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@dignified1

I think I read something a few months ago where they mentioned that one of the causes of higher college drop-out rates among African-Americans was related to the financial burden of attending college.

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<p>When I read this, I thought of an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education about black students and loan debt: [Black</a> Graduates Owe More Debt Than White, Asian, or Hispanic Graduates - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Black-Graduates-Owe-More-Debt/65253/]Black”>http://chronicle.com/article/Black-Graduates-Owe-More-Debt/65253/)</p>

<p>I don’t know if that link works for everyone, so here are some excerpts:

Many students graduate with manageable debt or no education loans, but almost 17 percent of graduates in 2008 borrowed $30,500 or more to get their bachelor’s degrees, according to a new analysis.

The College Board also analyzed the relationship between student debt and race, finding that black students were more likely than Asians, whites, and Hispanics to have high debt levels. Only 19 percent of black students graduated with no debt, while the percentage of debt-free graduates from other racial groups ranged from 33 for Hispanic students to 40 percent for Asian students. About 27 percent of all black students graduated with at least $30,500 in student-loan debt, while the portion of students with that level of debt ranged from 9 percent to 16 percent for other races.

You’re very right about it being a particular concern for this community. (As an aside, some commenters on the article discussed how higher black attendance at for-profit universities could have something to do with that.)</p>

<p>Sorry for derailing the thread - I don’t know of any UC system initiatives for black students, though some campuses are looking to start a holistic-style application review (as opposed to mostly point-based systems at some campuses). I initially read that as some way of getting around Prop. 209 from a while back, which stopped UCs from explicitly considering applicants’ race/sex.</p>