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How Being Biracial Affected My College Decision

12.02.19
How Being Biracial Affected My College Decision (Photo: Adan Barrera)

As a senior in high school, college is constantly on my mind. My top choices are Howard University and Spelman College which are historically black colleges. As a biracial teen, I can’t help but ask myself: Am I black enough to go to an HBCU?

In seventh grade, my parents switched me from a majority white Catholic school, to a more diverse charter school. For once, I wasn’t the only black kid in the class.

But adjusting to a new school didn’t come easy. 

Kids would ask me, “Why do you act so white?” I felt like I had to change my personality just to be accepted. 

Then, in ninth grade, I attended a college prep program for students of color. There, my racial identity was never questioned. I was just another student. That’s why I want to apply to an HBCU. One experience only HBCU’s can offer is that I’d no longer be the minority. 

But, I can’t help but feel those same insecurities from middle school coming back. 

After talking to a couple of HBCU graduates, they reminded me that no matter what college I go to, I can’t control how people view me. 

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