Best Minority Colleges And Universities In America

Updated November 17, 2022

Discover which colleges and Universities are the best value schools in America for minorities.

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Best Schools in America For Minorities

If you're a person of color looking to enter college this year, then there's good news and bad news. The good news is that there's more opportunity for you than ever before. But the bad news is that American colleges on the whole still need to do much more for minority students once they're studying.

The enrollment of minority students into college across America is on the rise. In 2014, 63% of African American students and 62% of Hispanic students leaving high school were directly enrolling in college. However, minority students still face many barriers to attaining a great career that requires a college degree. In many instances, these barriers are caused by the colleges that minority students are attending. Financial burdens, racial bias, and many other concerns contribute to this. In fact, just 45.8% of Hispanic students and 38% of African American students make it all the way through college to graduation.

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The shockingly low graduation rate reported above shows that most colleges need to do more for minorities. Graduation should be equal among all races. Luckily, some colleges are working against these statistics. They are providing the right assistance, creating a learning community free of prejudice and ensuring that graduation rates are high for all.

But there are many colleges that claim to have an equal selection process and great services for ethnic minorities. Only some of them actually have the statistics to back these claims up. If you're wondering how you can identify these colleges, then look no further than this article. We've crunched the numbers, researched many sources and provided a definitive list of the best colleges for minority students.

Any one of the 30 institutions listed below is a great choice for a person of color. However, in case none of the choices are right for you, then we've ensured that this article can still be a vital resource. We've highlighted inclusive activities, financial initiatives and other things that the below colleges are doing for minorities. You can look at these and see if your college options are doing anything comparable. If not, then perhaps you could start similar activities at your college.

At the end of the day, achieving your desired career goals is up to you. And the first step you need to take on this journey is to pick a college that will facilitate this. This choice should be much easier after reading this article.

Top 10 Ranking Minority Colleges & Universities

#1 Stanford University Stanford, CA
#2 Columbia University New York, NY
#3 Harvard University Cambridge, MA
#4 Amherst College Amherst, MA
#5 Pomona College Claremont, CA
#6 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
#7 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
#8 Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA
#9 New York University New York, NY
#10 Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA

Methodology

Our list takes into consideration a range of sources, which all use different comparable data. A straightforward list of which colleges have the most minority enrollment is easy to come by online. Therefore, our list is more than that. Yes, enrollment rates are important, but we've also looked at graduation rates, early career salaries, college affordability and, most importantly, evidence of a great learning environment for people of any background. Our sources are as follows:

Diverse Education: 30 Best U.S. Non-HBCU Schools for Minorities: https://diverseeducation.com/article/53530/

Time Money, The 50 Best Colleges for African Americans - in One Handy Chart: https://time.com/money/4282172/best-colleges-african-americans/

US News, Campus Ethnic Diversity: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/campus-ethnic-diversity

Niche.com, 2018 Most Diverse Colleges: https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/most-diverse-colleges/

Price Economics, Ranking the Most (and Least) Diverse Colleges in America: https://priceonomics.com/ranking-the-most-and-least-diverse-colleges-in/

One thing that must be noted is that both Price Economics and US News sort large universities and liberal arts colleges into two separate lists. Both are used for our methodology ranking.

The above sources give a perfect insight into which colleges are giving ethnically diverse students the education and college experience they deserve. Some sources use research they've conducted into colleges themselves, while others use aggregated student-led reviews. We've cross-referenced this data and then conducted our own research into the institutions, seeing what they have in place for minority students.

Not only is our article a synthesized list of the methodology lists, but it's also a fact-checked guide to what colleges are doing for minority students. Our findings of the best colleges for minorities are listed, from 30 to one, below:

  1. Stanford University
    Location

    Stanford, CA

    This college features on all but one methodology list. When looking at the different demographics of the college, Price Economics shows that Stanford has the most ethnically mixed population of any national university. 38% of students are white; 20% are Asian; 16% are Hispanic; 8% are African American, and 20% are other. This makes it the most diverse college in America. But it isn't just the mix of students that makes Stanford University a top choice for minority college students. Niche.com's student-led rankings place the college at 11th for most diverse colleges. The many reviews on the site attest to how the college is welcoming for everyone. US News considers it to be the fourth most diverse national university in America. Diverse Education places it at eighth. There are several reasons as to why Stanford secures such strong rankings on these sites. While it's an expensive college, Stanford provides financial grants to any students who can't afford its tuition. And Stanford has a holistic approach to admitting students. That means you don't necessarily need to have gone to a top high school or got the best GPA. If you can demonstrate that you'll provide a unique, valuable perspective, then you can get in!

  2. Columbia University
    Location

    New York, NY

    The top minority college for New York City, one of the most diverse places on the globe, is Columbia University. Price Economics considers it to be the fourth most diverse college in America. Its students are 39% white, 9% African American, 12% Hispanic, 18% Asian and 22% other. Additionally, Niche.com places it at 16th, with more than 1,000 student reviews that are filled with claims that the college is a great place for all. US News places it at 22nd for diversity. Time Money places it at 11th, noting that it has an incredible 90% graduation rate for African Americans, which is more than double the national average. And Columbia is doing lots to make sure diversity is represented everywhere. For instance, in the last 12 years, the college has spent $85 million on recruiting diverse faculty members. And Columbia has recently announced that it is spending another $100 million on this in the next five years.

  3. Harvard University
    Location

    Cambridge, MA

    This world-famous college is great for diversity. Every methodology list features it within its top 40 colleges for minorities. Niche.com places it at 35th, with over 600 student reviews backing this claim up. US News has it at 34th. Price Economics states that it's the 22nd most diverse national university in America demographically. Diverse Education places it at fourth, noting that white and African American graduation rates are almost equal. Time Money places it at second, stating that it has an early career salary of just $500 less than the top entry on the list. Harvard has tutors that are specifically focused on ensuring that race relations are positive among the whole community every day.

  4. Amherst College
    Location

    Amherst, MA

    Amherst is Price Economics's most diverse liberal arts college. The site states that it has a 42% white population, 12% African American population, 13% Hispanic population, 12% Asian population and 21% other population. Niche.com ranks it at sixth for diversity. US News ranks it at eighth. Time Money places it at 19th. Amherst is highly welcoming to prospective minority students and ensures that they feel confident in applying. It does this by hosting diversity open houses that encourage prospective students to see how inclusive it is. Additionally, it creates diversity interns out of current students, who reach out to minority students to ensure that Amherst has what they are looking for.

  5. Pomona College
    Location

    Claremont, CA

    This college tops Niche.com's student review led rankings on diversity, with over 300 reviews citing its excellent equality opportunities. Time Money places Pomona at 39th on its list and cites that it has a 92% African American graduation rate. US News considers it to be the seventh most diverse liberal arts college. Lastly, Price Economics names it the fifth most diverse liberal arts college in America. And Pomona is one of several colleges on this list that have taken recent efforts to become more diverse. For instance, now faculty members must be attentive to diversity in the student body to qualify for tenure. It has also created a plan to become significantly more diverse by 2025. This plan involves increasing access to inclusive opportunities, creating a friendly climate and community, improving scholarship and learning opportunities for minorities and developing its institutional commitment to diversity further. If these efforts mean more minority students can benefit from Pomona's incredible graduation rates, then that will be a great thing!

  6. Princeton University
    Location

    Princeton, NJ

    Time Money considers Princeton University to be the best college for African Americans. While its enrollment is not astoundingly high, at 6%, 93% of these students graduates. And they gain an early career salary of $60,500 on average. Princeton University also performs well on Niche.com and Price Economics, where it places at 27th in both instances. US News ranks it at 48th. And Princeton is expanding its diversity friendly services for all students. In 2016, it opened new cultural affinity spaces, launched training programs and renovated its center for equality and cultural understanding.

  7. University of San Francisco
    Location

    San Francisco, CA

    This college tops Diverse Education's minority college list, noting its generous financial aid policies in particular. It is sixth on US News's list and seventh on Niche.com's list. And the University of San Francisco is incredibly proud of its diverse student base and has several initiatives running to encourage diverse inclusion. For instance, it has the Intercultural Center, which offers a wide range of services and events for diversity on campus. Additionally, there are over 100 student clubs that specialize in diverse interests.

  8. Swarthmore College
    Location

    Swarthmore, PA

    This Pennsylvania based liberal arts college makes three lists but places in the top 10 on all. It's fifth on Niche.com's rankings and ninth on US News's list. Lastly, it's third on Price Economics‘s list. Swarthmore College engages with diversity in a number of innovative and engaging events. One is called the imagINe project, which encourages people of different backgrounds to inspire one another with their perspectives. Another is SwatDeck, which brings communication, "into unexpected places with unexpected players." What this means is that students get free travel and spending money to go into Philadelphia. However, each student receives a playing card. The playing cards match students up into groups of four, and they have to spend the day in Philadelphia with one another.

  9. New York University
    Location

    New York, NY

    Diverse Education specifically cites New York University's engineering school as being a great example of diversity. The source places it at second. The other methodology lists rank the whole college. US News places it at 35th. Niche.com places it at 10th. Price Economics places it at ninth, stating that 39% of students are white, 4% are African American, 10% are Hispanic, 18% are Asian and 29% are other. NYU is another college that has been doing lots in recent years to ensure that diversity is well managed and that all students are happy. In 2015, it created the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Task Force, which helps ensure that all diversity-related issues at the college are addressed. This task force is made up of 32 members of the college and includes deans, faculty, students and other college members.

  10. Bryn Mawr College
    Location

    Bryn Mawr, PA

    Price Economics names Bryn Mawr the sixth most diverse liberal arts college in America. It has a 37% white population, 5% African American population, 10% Hispanic Population, 11% Asian population and 37% other population. US News places it at 13th for liberal arts college diversity. Niche.com's student-led reviews place it at 15th of all colleges in America. And Bryn Mawr has been doing some great things for minorities. For instance, in the last year, four out of seven faculty tenure track positions went to people of color and open conversation lunches for diversity were organized to happen every week on an ongoing basis.

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