If you search up “American University” on Google, you may notice a surprising difference in one important statistic- acceptance rate. As of today, U.S. News and World Report indicates that American University has a 64% acceptance rate, which is almost double what it was reported as a year prior.
Black students only make up 8.65% of American University’s student population, coining the university as a Predominantly White Institution, also known as a PWI. As conveyed through anonymous testimonies, social media posts and scholarly journals, being a person of color at a PWI can pose a distinctive set of challenges. Students of color at PWIs tend to have lower retention rates, consistently face discriminatory behavior, and disproportionately struggle to assimilate to their environment. Many Black students have testified that institutionalized racism on college campuses causes emotional distance between them and their white faculty and peers.
Solutions by The State News
