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HOUSTON (CW39) There’s been an increase in students researching and applying to attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities also known as HBCUs, in recent months. Many are attributing this to Vice President Kamala Harris, a Graduate of Howard University, which is an HBCU. It’s one reason why Student Loan Hero looks into the most affordable public and private HBCU’s around the United States.

Researchers are looking at 97 HBCUs across 18 states, to determine where students pay the lowest tuition and graduate with the least amount of student debt. It also looks into the HBCU that is the Hardest to get into.

Student Loan Hero

Let’s start with the Most Affordable Public and Private HBCUs:

Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Miss., is the most affordable public, 2-year HBCU for in-state undergraduates, at $3,003 annually. Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C., is the most affordable public HBCU for in-state undergraduates, at $3,260 annually. Shorter College in North Little Rock, Ark., is the most affordable private HBCU for in-state undergraduates, at $5,596 annually.

One of the hardest HBCUs to get into is Coppin State University in Baltimore. It has the lowest acceptance rate among HBCUs, with only 28% of applicants being accepted in the 2019-20 school year. But at the same time, Morehouse College in Atlanta, accepted 99.8% of applicants in that period.

Federal support for HBCUs has been on the rise, with the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges program providing $325 million in the 2020 fiscal year, up from $245 million in 2017. But even that is little compared to the $70 billion that President Joe Biden has pledged to HBCUs, particularly as schools continue to deal with the pandemic. Andrew Pentis with Student Loan Hero says, “A $70 billion pledge could absolutely go a long way toward helping HBCUs accelerate that transition, but their future is as much up in the air as any college’s, at least those without their own secure endowments”.

If you’d like more information on the full results of this study and how each HBCU ranks in the study, visit the Student Loan Hero Website.

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