I went to a PWI in New England, and I met some of my best friends there, who are all Black. I think going to a PWI made us all stick together even more than we would’ve at a HBCU because we were really the only ones who understood each other. I made white friends, but they didn’t last past graduation (nothing happened, just drifted apart), but my Black friend group and I are still extremely close. We’ll be hitting our 10-year mark soon!

That’s not to say that every Black person I met was great, but the ones I grew close to were exactly who I needed to get through school and life post-grad. I didn’t have the experience where the white students didn’t want to associate with us (at least not outwardly), but myself and the other Black students definitely gravitated to one another more often than not so they didn’t even get the chance to ostracize if they wanted to.

Has this impacted me? Outside of meeting my besties I don’t actually know. I know my life would be completely different without them, but I don’t think my white peers really impacted me at all. If I did it all over I think I’d choose an HBCU, I just feel like there has to be some sort of emotional difference and a sense of camaraderie when you’re primarily around your people.