Aid Study

Few studies have compared the educational experiences and outcomes of students attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) to those of students attending traditionally white institutions. This study consists of three analyses that contain some justification for the continued existence of HBCUs, threatened by court decisions that question their role in equal educational systems. The study first reviews findings from a previously published study of undergraduates (H. Wenglinsky, 1996) that used a nationally representative database (the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study) to conclude that black students often choose HBCUs because costs are perceived to be, and are indeed, lower. This study also found that students at HBCUs were more likely to aspire to postbaccalaureate degrees. The second analysis used data from the American Association of Universities/Association of Graduate Schools to compare retention rates of black graduate students who had attended HBCUs or traditionally whit