The Default College: How Racialized Messages Impact Black Student Perceptions of HBCUs and PWIs

Abstract

Abstract This study used interviews with 20 Black graduate and undergraduate students, Critical Race Theory, and Calmore's Racialized Space Framework to investigate how historical and societal racial narratives shape the messages Black students receive about HBCUs and PWIs. It also explores how later experiences with these institutions impact students' pre-existing beliefs. Four notable findings emerge: (1) Black students often receive racialized and oppositional messages about HBCUs and PWIs that influence how they perceive these institutions and what they consider the ideal college experience; (2) these messages are particularly powerful when Black students have limited firsthand knowledge of these institutions. In such cases, their evaluations are often shaped by how they interpret the societal messages they receive about HBCUs and PWIs; (3) over time, subsequent experiences with or exposure to HBCUs and PWIs can challenge their existing perceptions and evaluations, thereby disrupting the default assumption of PWIs as the college standard; and (4) while PWIs are frequently treated as normative educational institutions, HBCUs are frequently absent, overlooked, or marginalized in college discussions because they are often perceived as racialized educational institutions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.