r/HBCU

How is life at an HBCU withOUT the partying aspect?

I took a gap year after graduating, and now I’m looking into school options. Recently, I completely fell in love with HBCU culture.

I’m really interested in attending an HBCU for the environment, sense of community, campus life, networking, traditions, and overall experience. BUT I have absolutely no interest in partying 😭

I love the idea of being surrounded by Black excellence, meeting new people, joining organizations, building connections, and just experiencing the overall vibe and culture of an HBCU. I'm just rally not a “party person,” and I’m sure there are thousands of other prospective HBCU students who feel the same way.

For people who attend or attended HBCUs without going to parties:

• Did you still enjoy your experience without being into partying?
• Was it easy to find friends and things to do outside of that scene?
• Did you ever feel left out?

Social media makes it seem like partying is the MAIN part of HBCU life, and I’m 100% sure that’s not accurate at all, so I’d really love some honest perspectives.

BALTIMORE — Morgan State University’s Department of Nursing continues to distinguish itself as a leader in nursing education, achieving a 100% first-time NCLEX-RN licensure examination pass rate among its 2025 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates and securing its position as a top-ranked nursing program in Maryland for the 2025-2026 academic year. This milestone, validated by the Maryland Board of Nursing in its 2026 fiscal year reporting cycle, reflects sustained excellence in program outcomes and positions Morgan among the highest-performing nursing programs nationally.

According to the 2025–2026 NCLEX-RN Program Report, the complete cohort of Morgan candidates testing during the current academic reporting period passed on their first attempt, outperforming statewide and national averages, which hovered near 87% and 86%, respectively. 

The University’s performance trajectory marks a new milestone for the program, netting a perfect pass rate for the calendar year 2025—a feat the program has neared in recent years, but not matched since it last achieved a 100% pass rate in the fall of 2018. A perennial producer of proficient healthcare professionals, this latest accomplishment reinforces Morgan’s consistency at the highest level of nursing education.

“This achievement affirms the strength, discipline and intentionality of a program that has steadily built toward this level of excellence,” said Kim Dobson Sydnor, Ph.D., dean of the School of Community Health and Policy. “A 100 percent pass rate is not simply a measure of academic success—it reflects the readiness of our graduates to enter the profession at a critical moment for healthcare.”

Morgan’s ascent to the top of Maryland’s nursing programs is based on recent data reported by Mountain Measurement, Inc., a leader in psychometrics, analytics and test development, specializing in nursing education data, specifically NCLEX-RN. For the 2025-2026 academic year, Mountain Measurement ranked Morgan in the 97th percentile among Maryland nursing programs—a competitive field encompassing 31 pre-licensure nursing programs, including bachelor’s and master’s entry-level programs in the state. The achievement, paired with a 100% pass rate, culminates a decade-long transformation. Longitudinal data confirms the program’s evolution from inconsistent outcomes to sustained excellence, establishing Morgan as a premier source for the region’s next generation of caregivers. 

“This moment represents both validation and responsibility,” said Maija Anderson, DNP, APRN, chair of the Department of Nursing at Morgan. “Our faculty and students have worked with focus and purpose to reach this level of performance, but we view it as a foundation—not a finish line. The goal is not only to sustain this success, but to build upon it in ways that further elevate our graduates and the profession.”

Beyond pass rates, Morgan graduates demonstrate strong competency relative to peers. The program’s median overall competency estimate of 0.44 logits —a measure used to assess graduate readiness—exceeds both Maryland and national averages, reinforcing a shared commitment to strengthening advanced clinical reasoning ensuring that graduates are prepared for increasingly complex, high-acuity healthcare environments. 

Morgan’s achievements arrive at a critical moment for the healthcare sector. The United States is confronting a deepening nursing shortage projected to exceed 263,000 registered nurses by 2026, driven by an aging population and workforce. Turnover remains high, with more than one in five newly hired nurses leaving the profession within their first year.

In Maryland, the challenge is especially acute. Hospital RN vacancy rates have reached approximately 16%, and the state is projected to require 13,800 additional nurses by 2035. These shortages are compounded by a growing need for a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves—particularly in urban centers such as Baltimore, where the population is predominantly Black and increasingly multicultural.

While the national nursing workforce has become more diverse in recent years, it still does not fully reflect the demographics of the communities it serves. Research consistently shows that greater diversity in healthcare improves patient outcomes and reduces disparities, particularly in underserved urban settings.

“Our graduates leave Morgan not only with the academic and clinical preparation required for practice, but with a clear understanding of the communities they will serve—bringing cultural awareness and patient-centered perspective to care that reflects the realities of diverse populations,” added Dr. Anderson.

Morgan’s program directly responds to this need, producing graduates who are prepared to practice in high-demand metropolitan areas and contribute meaningfully to reducing gaps in care.

The NCLEX-RN pass rate builds upon a legacy of excellence that defines Morgan Nursing, placing the program among the few institutions in Maryland to achieve perfect outcomes on the national licensure exam. From community, issues-based research to novel initiatives supporting degree attainment and career advancement, Nursing at Morgan is the exemplar. The program offers the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredited baccalaureate degree program, advanced degrees at the master’s and Ph.D. levels, as well as an online, accelerated RN-to-BSN-to-MPH —"1+2" program designed to allow registered nurses with associate degrees to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) consecutively.

https://www.morgan.edu/news/morgan-nursing-100-percent-nclex-rn-pass-rate

Hey wassup anybody got some crazy roommate stories recently? Lemme tell you bout mines...my roommate is constantly yelling on discord and online gaming at 2-4 in the morning (we constantly tell his ass bout this), he leaves spots & crumbs all over the kitchen , he has the upstairs hallway STANK one time he had something so damn nasty and stank in his room the entire house smelled rotten and like boiled ass, he leaves body hair and spots all over the tub and one time the other roommate had to cuss him out, because he left piss multiple times on the toilet seat and he also got some of the worst body odor ever...he ran off 5 roommate and now 2 more is leaving so he literally pushed 7 roommates out in total...Please tell me I ain't the only person out of UCF dealing with a dirty, loud and disgusting ssa roommate? Who else got horrible student housing experience?

ETA: oh y'all another thing when i first moved in i brought a lot of propel water and he would end up stealing it and when I confronted his 5-600 lb (not exaggerating he big ASF!) ssa about it he blamed it on our other roommate....who was in Louisiana 😑

i’m a senior psychology student, first gen. i’m supposed to graduate december ‘26, and have been counting down to this moment for years. however, i was informed (only a DAY before add/drop period is over, mind you) that my classes will be dropped tomorrow due to an outstanding balance that would be literally impossible to cover in one day.

my family has been hit with 3 unexpected losses in just the past year and a half alone, alongside unexpected medical bills and accidents, and it felt like every time we got close to catching up something else happened

i got the outstanding balance reduced to a payment plan (thank GOD btw) but i have no idea if i’ll be able to get the funds together in time, so it’s looking like i’ll be forced to drop out all together until i’m ready again financially.

this is all just back story for my question, since i need advice asap no rocky; has anyone else been through something like this and made it through on the other side? if so, how?? does anyone know any quick resources i can use/might have missed? any help is appreciated!!

i’m truly devastated, watching all my friends graduate and being so close to the finish line but having to give up due to finances is really eating at me right now. i’m really not ready to give up, but if there’s no other options i’m not sure what to do

I want to go to an HBCU in the DMV. I don’t want to go to howard because it’s so expensive and everyone i know who’s gone there had terrible experiences with admin). I want to study history and minor in environmental science. I would be transferring with 30 credits. Any suggestions based on program?

Hey everyone, I’m trying to make a list of possible host for a black gala at a university? Any ideas? Would love the help, thanks!

I’m a black high school student who wants to become an airline pilot. I’ve always wanted to go a HBCU or a diverse non-HBCU school with a good amount of other black students. There isn’t much information out there for these programs or there funding and I was wondering if I could get some recommendations for some good aviation/part 141 programs.

Fisk University President Agenia Clark on Thursday announced a $900 million plan to remake the historically Black university’s North Nashville campus, complete with a 100,000-square-foot data and technology center.
Details remain limited as the 160-year-old university, once home to civil rights luminaries like John Lewis and Ida B. Wells, embarks on the project, dubbed Quantum Leap. Fisk plans to renovate three residence halls and build at least five major projects: the data center, an annex for the John Lewis Center for Social Justice, a 120,000-square-foot sports arena, a 45,000-square foot student center and an 80,000-square-foot annex to the Carl Van Vechten Gallery.
Fisk is submitting the proposal to Metro for approval, Clark said.
The push comes amid a groundswell of opposition to data centers around the country, with residents expressing concerns about air and water quality, strain on power infrastructure and noise. More than 70 percent of Americans oppose constructing data centers for artificial intelligence in their community, according to newly released Gallup polling.

“If, along the way, we had identified instances where a project of this nature would do harm, we wouldn’t be here today,” Clark told reporters after the announcement, adding that the theme of the project is “do no harm.”

Asked whether Fisk has a partner for the data center, Clark said she is “not in a position to talk about that today.”

Don Hardin, owner of project and construction management firm Don Hardin Group and a partner on the Fisk project, said the team studied the impacts of data centers across the country “because we want to make sure we do it right.”
He said that Nashville Electric Service has assured the group that there is sufficient capacity to handle the data center’s electricity needs without increasing power bills for neighbors. Hardin also said the data center, at 30 megawatts, will be “fairly small” compared to other centers.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we answer questions, make the campus feel comfortable, students feel comfortable and the community feels really good about what we’re doing in terms of noise mitigation, water consumption and energy usage,” Hardin said.
At an event in Fisk’s Jubilee Hall — joined by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, state and local lawmakers, Fisk faculty and students and philanthropic and business executives — Clark said the facility “will adhere to environmental standards, taking advantage of the most current technologies, that will not affect the quality of life for the residents of (ZIP code) 37208.”
Information about the financing of the overall project also remains limited.
“Every single piece of this master plan has a different financial model to it,” she said. “There will be fundraising. I can assure you that.”
Hardin said there is a list of priority projects and that projects will commence “as opportunities come about.” The annex at the John Lewis Center is likely first up and could be complete within two years. He said the data center is not expected to generate the revenue to complete the other projects.

“We look forward to being a vibrant partner to the state, to the city, and more importantly to you, as we strive to assure that Fisk’s history is here to stay, but its future is also an integral part of the city’s next decades,” Clark said.

— a data center is wild