14-year-old prodigy turns down Harvard, Yale for HBCU

dont you think this young has done very well without harvard to date? im sure harvard and yale were more interested in having another child prodigy then in making sure this young would reach his full potential. overall, with or without an ivy league education this young is going to be fine.

K, I could pull out a list of HBCU grads that includes Dr. David Satchel, Alexis Herman, Dr. Louis Sullivan, half the CBC and most black mayors of major cities. I could also list a slew of corporate executives like Issac Blythers, President of Atlanta Gas & Light, George Wiley a Senior Partner with Bert Smith & Co or Eula Adams, Sr VP with First Data Corp...or even moguls like Oprah....but you know what? I can also name two that I work with everyday at a global financial institution (AEGON)...a VP that's a graduate of Southern, an IT Director that graduated from Howard...heck, I'm a manager and a graduate of FAMU. I have a brother that designs motors, grad of AL A&M, a sister working on a PhD at Ohio State, undergrad of AL A&M. Contrary to popular belief, HBCUs arent stomping grounds for underachievers...if you think so, that says more about you than you'll ever know.

Some reality needs to introduced to discussions.

Success in life is all about money. Readers may not like this but the measure of success is a measure of how much money a person acquires in life. This is simply a fact of life in our modern world.

Very few of us aspire to be Mother Teresa nor Martin Luther King. Lifestyles of people like them are immensely successful but not a lifestyle the many would choose. We admire Teresa, Martin Luther and others yet acknowledge we simply do not have what it takes to be successful like them.

College is a virtual guarantee of success and money. Attending Princeton, Yale, Harvard, other elitist colleges is a guarantee of quicker employment and higher wages. However, quality of education is no better than typical more affordable colleges, including black colleges.

blkbandit writes, "...an ivy league education gives one a false sense of prestige."

There is some truth to this statement. There is a sense of prestige but a false prestige. So many believe graduates of elitist colleges are bound to be very smart. Our president, George W. Bush, is a graduate of Yale. Bush is about as smart as a bucket of rocks; he is an illiterate idiot.

Nonetheless, graduates of elitist colleges are given preferential treatment. Should this young boy, Polite Stewart, attend Princeton, Yale or Harvard, he will be given preferential treatment upon graduation; he will be hired quicker and will begin work at a higher pay scale. I am not convinced preferential treatment is beneficial.

With my being an English professor and, in retirement, continuing to guest lecture, I do know the intent and the purpose of college is to teach students how to teach themselves. So many believe college teaches knowledge but college truly teaches students how to learn, on their own. Being given preferential treatment based upon attending an elitist college often leads to false prestige which leads to an attitude of not needing to continue learning. George Bush, a victim of his own ego and false prestige, is too smug with his Yale degree and is an idiot because of this; he is an ignorant know-it-all.

Polite Stewart will learn more and, most important, will become a better learner by attending an HBCU where instructors are more focused on teaching rather than focused on prestige and egotistical pursuits.

True, Polite will will be more challenged to become employed and will earn slightly less wages than compared to elitist college graduates, but Polite will, most likely, be better educated and, again so important, be better at teaching himself. These down-to-earth common sense skills he will learn at an HBCU will provide him with an advantage to earn more money than elitists as Polite moves through his life; he will be smarter.

Life is all about money. Polite Stewart will be better equipped to make smart decisions about acquiring money. Polite Stewart will learn common sense at an HBCU and common sense is the most critical need for success in life.

This boy will learn the pride of good work ethics rather than learn the false prestige of elitist entitlement.

Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation

I just want ot say also while working at a HBCU last year ,I never in my life met so many kids who had double majors,I've been in an integrated work place for most of my life but I never met as many white kids as I have met black kids that were doubled majored.I would stop kids and talk to them just to see where their heads at, and was told by more than one student that not only were they graduating but that they will be receiving two degrees or that all they needed was to return for a semester or two to receive an addictional degree. As I said I've worked in an integrated environment most of my life I never had any young white kids to tell me they were receiving 2 degrees except for that one white kid who were getting his from an HBCU. I also saw more white and hispanic kids at Southern in New Orleans then I've ever seen before,particularly older white Females getting their Masters. PEACE.

well said purl gurl

Tandy, my lucid and cogent response to your vulgar post shows that I am calm. Your response to my post shows how churlish you are. That child and his parents still deserve an apology from you. The fact that you can not participate in this online discussion with a modicum of civility reflects poorly on you. Also, I do wonder if your strong passion and negative reaction to this story reflects your own failings. Maybe you wanted to go to an Ivy League school and couldn't make the grade so you are projecting your dreams and life goals on this young man who might not have same? You need to examine your psyche on this one. Finally, in your reply to my post you stated that I should "get real". To accept that there are many realities and that your reality is different from mine and that of the young man is a sign of maturity for which you should strive. Let it be. Peace.

ugh.. the direction this post has went in disgusts me. I PWI white graduates coming in trying to attack the right for HBCU's to even exist? What is really going on? And then you have RON downing a particular university because he was light skinned lol? Get over yourself (thats a personal issue) Sigh the important thing or atleast I thought was important is like I said when I commented first on this post. A YOUNG BLACK MAN IS GOING TO COLLEGE. I dont care where he goes just be proud that he is going. Some of you people need to quit with the ignorant rants. I assume that most of you are older than myself (20) so its really sad that all this bickering and bitching is happening over the right for one young black man to attend a historically black college.

Miranda, Mr. Famu, etc...: We all have different opinions on this--and none of us seem to be willing to accept any truth in the others' opinion.

The reality is that, independent of race, students excel in different environments. Some benefit from the environment/experience that HBCU's provide, while some benefit from the environment/experience Ivy's provide--and some benefit from neither.

I FIRMLY believe that a prodigy, like this young man, would benefit more in an environment that has a track record of nurturing similar students with similar academic backgrounds....this statement is NOT being made to undermine the intellectual abilities of student sin HBCU's or any other non-ivy university.

The kid has worked hard enough to have invitations from, argueably, the world's top universities. And I wholeheartedly believe that he should have taken one of those oppurtunties, stepped outside of his comfort zone (he attended Southern's pre-college program and BOTH of his parents are alumni), and gotten more exposure.

As an aside, It's really sad that some of you keep making this about races (i.e. "whitewashed"). Race and achievement should never go hand-in-hand. I believe HBCU's are just as good as another other university; however, the minute I suggest that this 14 year old prodigy could benefit from an alternative academic enviroment, I am vilified. Grow up, Get over yourselves, and GET REAL.

I agree with Tandy. HBCU's are an incredible vehicle for attracting young african americans to college and getting them to graduate.

However, there are CLEAR advantages to attending an Ivy league school. Opportunities like business associations, alumni networks, networking opportunities, exposure to cutting edge research (if he's interested) etc. The list goes on and on.

Are you honestly suggesting that this kid will get even remotely similar opportunities at Southern as he would have at an Ivy? Oh please. As someone who went to a top institution as undergrad and is in an ivy for graduate school I can say that during undergrad I was able to do research (at my school's enormous well funded medical center) which gave me valuable experience...without which I would not have been accepted to an Ivy. In fact, one of my undergrad mentors knew one of the professors here and was able to put me into contact....and she was the one who interviewed me when I was applying. The point is that if I'd chosen to go to an HBCU I would have not gotten similar exposure.

That's not to say it would have been impossible to get where I am if I'd chosen an HBCU undergrad...but it would have taken a lot more effort and the level of my experiences would not have been the same.

As an aside, this assumption that Ivy league/top institutions are all about numbers is false. My professors know me. My professors in undergrad knew me. My mentors at both levels know who I am and are invested in me.

This young man is 14.Just think about where most 14 year olds are at this point, black or white and put things in perspective. I'm sure he will continue his education beyond Southern. I'm also sure he'll still have an opportunity to attend an Ivy League.

Have people lost their minds on this board? Like the writer above me said the child is 14 years old. He will get a chance to go to an Ivy league again. He currently lives in Baton Rouge and attends programs at Southern. Perhaps he is not ready to leave his parents just yet. I personally hope he goes to a more prestigious school in Europe. Good luck and all the Bbst to you Polite.

Yeah Tandy, the white man's ice is colder....keep believing that. You claim you're not disparaging the students at HBCUs, but that's exactly what you're doing with that insane assumption that somehow this young man's decision to attend Southern is not as beneficial as it would be attending an "Ivy League" school, and what is that based on? What statistic? Is that your assumption because a group of predominantly old white men said so? Please, the most prominent African-American business/entertainment mogul in the whole damn world is a HBCU grad...props to TENN STATE UNIV From the UNCF: Nine of the top ten colleges that graduate most of the African American students who go on to earn Ph.D.s are HBCUs. More than 50 percent of the nation's African American public school teachers and 70 percent of African American dentists and physicians earned degrees at HBCUs. In 2000, Xavier University in New Orleans individually produced more successful African American medical school applicants (94) than Johns Hopkins (20), Harvard (37), and the University of Maryland (24) combined. Two other HBCUs also placed in the top ten producers of medical school applicants, including Morehouse (33), and Spelman (38). Spelman and Bennett Colleges produce over half of the nation's African American women who go on to earn doctorates in all science fields; more than produced by the Ivy League's Seven Sisters combined (Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley, and Vassar Colleges). HBCUs produce 40 percent of all African American doctorate degrees awarded for Communications.

BOTTOM LINE---> HBCU do not offer the same advantages and opportunities as Ive League schools...for Black students, the Talented Tenth...we need our Leading youth to gain the best opportunities possible... In preparation for the real world...it's not Historically Black! I love those attending HBCUs but just being realistic.

preparing for what ron? we really cant say what this young mans agenda is. and like the other commenters said early he will have a chance to go to an ivy. nonetheless i get the vibe that people feel like HBCU's are inadequate while the ivy's are the pie in the sky. i know alot of black folk who went to an ivy and were miserable. did they reap the benefits? yes! are they happy today? nope.

Miranda: YOU are the only person making this about race...grow up. Just because I disagrees with this specific young man choosing an HBCU does not mean that I have have any racial issues, or lean towards thinking white schools are better.

Its people like you that make these types of discussions pointliess.

Stock phrases like "grow up" and "get real" does not mask the fact that you, Miss Tandy, are wrong on this issue and revoltingly rude in your first post. Again I ask, are you a failed ivy league aspirant who is projecting unto this child? If so, why don't YOU face reality. The people concerned have made their decision. Respect that. A YOUNG BLACK MALE IS GOING TO COLLEGE< NOT JAIL. Celebrate that.

Tandy please, that hyperbole doesn't work on me. You have disparaged HBCUs and in your very first post you pretty much made up a bold faced lie to support your position. Now you want to kinda ease off of that (sshhh don't want people to go back and read that first post do ya?)and play a game of sticks and stones?? LOL

Mr. FAMU....interesting that of ALL the complaints I had about FAMU you seem to only pick out the one part about what I said about light skin/dark skin. All the other stuff I mentioned just somehow didn't find its way into your counterargument with me. Yet I'm the one with the person issue regarding that huh? Hmmm. Like I said, overall I needed the experience growing up in upper middle class white suburbia, but to each his own. Not everyone who is black has to be down with an HBCU. My cousin had the same option a few years back of choosing between Hampton, Howard, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia. You best believe I told him to take out the two H's and focus on the ivy league choices he had. I believe the first thing I said in my post about the article was that I hope the young man is satisfied with his choice and has a great experience.

I applaud the young man and his family for making the decision to attend a college of his choice. I was reared in the state of Iowa and was educated to have a flawed view of black people and their accomplishments and contributions to society. Southern University taught me a number of things and the first was BLACK MEN can be successful in all areas, regardless of the stereotypes “Drug Dealers, Domestic Abusers and Baby Makers” Secondly, we as black people have made a number of positive contributions to society. Predominately White Universities do not and will not teach “Black Pride” Education is not Black Pride; however if you are proud of who you are and the previous accomplishments of similar (minorities) people, this is the foundation for future success. I wish this young man the best with his endeavors at Southern University and the future.

Re: BlkBandit....Preparation for LIFE...no matter what his goals are, he has a higher chance of being equipped with resources and privilege to reach any goal than an institution with fewer opportunities...The Brother has a chance to attend an Ivy League later, correct...and I hope he does. I am excited, elated, that he is so successful. But I wish he does not limit his opportunities to the walls of an HBCU...progress occurs when one goes beyond the walls...because HONESTLY that's where the opportunities are...

Well, as a parent it's clear to me that some obvious things are being missed. Firstly, the child is fourteen. Academically ready does not equal socially ready, and there is no way I would send my 14 year old black male child all the way across the country to ANY institution where he could not live with relatives who knew him well and loved him, and who could mentor him through that difficult time in any CHILD's life. So Southern is a great choice in that regard; he can be home with mom and dad, and with what sounds like some very committed instructors who have obviously already brought him to a level of excellence! Secondly, as a black Ivy grad, I do regret picking the most "prestigious" institution over a more personalized one. There were tons of opportunities, but no one pulled my coat about them because I wasn't mentored there. (For example, despite very successfully studying three languages, I never did a semester abroad because I thought it would cost extra money which my parents couldn't afford. It wouldn't have.) I got called "jigaboo" to my face for the first time there. My qualifications for being there were constantly questioned - despite my high A average and 1450 SAT's. I had to travel blocks and blocks off campus just to find hair grease, while every other student could get what they needed on campus! In other words, it's a great choice for a type A personality with an iron hide who can take a lot of insults, but if you don't want to constantly be reminded of your "place" in life, it's not for you. Different strokes for different folks. Yes, the Ivies do have more money and therefore resources than any other instituion in this country. However, those statistics Miranda quoted about who's producing the most black PhD's kind of speak for themselves.

allaye: i am beyond the idea that he is special just for going to college--plenty of black men do the same thing every year...i am more focused on the quality of his education at this point.

You're right, the decision has been made--and I wish him the best.

Miranda: I invite the readers to read my first, second , or third post--in NONE of those posts did I ever make a case against HBCU's based on the racial composition of the student body, nor did I make a case for IVY league schools based on the racial composition of their student body. I simply said that this prodigy would benefit from being in an environment that has a srong track record for nurturing similar students (compare averageSAT scores at Ivy league schools to those at HBCU's).... Again I will say GROW UP and accept the fact that I DON'T AGREE WITH YOUR OPINION...insulting me or my sense of heritage won't change my opinion.

We are grown enough to recognise your boundless rudeness and lack of civility and adult enough to call you on it. Now YOU grow up.

He has his reason for why he’s doing this and regardless IVY LEAGUE is the Top of the chain but sometimes finding out who you through higher education is a real journey that some of us must go on as we navigate through life. After all that white student gave up an Ivy League education to attend Moorehouse

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He will finish at an HBCU with undergraduate honors and then head for an Ivy League for his graduate education and I would hope we all wish him nothing but SUCCESS!

Basically, undergraduate work can be completed at any accredited university or college, even online. Believe me, companies will hire you. When one seeks to expand to the Master's and Doctoral programs is when the search for programs and institutions that provide enhanced experiences should begin. There are many successful people who are graduates of little known institutions throughout this country. When I entered the job market, many of the elite who worked closely with me lacked many of the basic skills of writing. It is what you put in as effort while you are a student that will reflect how you are as an employee. George Bush entered and graduated from an ivy league school and has some of the worse speaking skills I have seen in a national leader. Note that many Fortune 500 companies have extensive recruiting events on the campuses of many HBCU campuses. Famu has been noted for its dynamic business and journalism programs.

THis is the very reason why blacks will ALWAYS be behind every other racial group. See other ethnic groups believe in building your own house FIRST. I personally believe that going to an HBCU is not a bad decision. Like one of the other posters said: HBCU"s have a stellar record of promoting black success. A lot of the top blacks in business, science, engineering and almost any other field were products of HBCUs. And for those who say HBCU's don't offer the same opportunities as PWI's..I say..whose fault is that? Its OUR (read: black people's) fault! With those who share 'white man's sugar is sweeter' mentality, no wonder HBCU's lack the financial and institutional support needed. Blacks need to get back to the basics of tending to their own fields. To those who dont know, you really need to research the origins of the HBCU and take that into perspective when you are posting. Miranda has provided some pretty impressive "pro HBCU" stats that cannot be denied. I have nothing against PWI's..but imagine if all talented black students chose to contribute their talents to PWI's...then what would become of the HBCU? College is more than a network database upon graduation...like another poster said, college is about giving you the tools to be a life learner, which I see HBCU students do an exceptional job in.

Let me start by saying that, Southern University has and will continue to GRADUATE intellectuals on all levels. I would say study HBCU’s and you will find that there are many who have been recruited by Ivy League institutions in the past but have chosen to attend Southern, Howard, FAMU, Alcorn and Tuskegee to name a few. What you don’t know is that currently there is a young man at Cal State Pasadena pursuing a dual Master’s / PhD, that graduated from Southern in Physics, 4.3 GPA in 3 years. This young man was also recruited by Harvard and Yale, he and his parents selected Southern and as of today he is considered one of the top research physicist in the world. Far to often, HBCU’s are given the shaft because of our insecurities, but I tell you this that if Southern was GOOD enough for me then IT or any other HBCU is GOOD enough for my child!

I support you,Southern University Grad, all the way it's about upgrading ours. I hope he's becomes the best dam physicist in the world and draw other young black intellectuals to follow in his foot steps. And I want to send my congrads to Ava & Polite Sr. for a job dam well done, PEACE OUT BORTHERS AND TO ALL THOUGHS WHO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT EVERYDAY. Polite has already won.

Well, it's good to hear that Princeton has become such a bastion of diversity - - when I attended it 30+ years ago; it certainly was no picnic for minorities or the poor and working-class. I received 2 degrees - - undergrad and graduate - - and a boatload of loan debt that nearly drowned me. I did not go to Wall Street or into corporate suites; but back to low-income communities to work with people who grew up poor and disadvantaged like I did. So not every black or poor graduate of an Ivie is rolling in dough. It depends upon your priorities, I suppose. I absolutely would not send a 14-year old child to a Princeton; no matter how wonderful it supposedly is now. There is a social adjustment aspect of attending such schools that can be very tough for most 18-year olds, not to mention a younger teen. There are predatory people at Ivy League schools just like at any other big, faceless institution. I believe this family made the right decision. I came nearly 1,000 miles from home to attend Princeton and felt lost and isolated. Eventually I made friends who would take me to their homes on weekends and holidays - - otherwise I would have never had a home-cooked meal or felt the warmth of a family environment. My family was on public assistance so I could not fly home when I needed a hug, some reassurance, or even some spending money. I had no idea what it was like to go on a Spring Break or any of that - - I worked 2 campus jobs starting in my freshman year just to have money to do my laundry and buy an occasional sandwich at WaWa. I would never want another kid to suffer the way I did in my quest for a good education. In graduate school, I met a number of people who held undergrad degrees from HBCUs and they were some of the sharpest people in the room. A group of us attended a summer program at Harvard and the admissions people there wanted to "poach" us and lure us to Harvard; so obviously they were impressed by us all, including grads of HBCUs. One of my siblings attended a HBCU and received a good education. I believe you should choose the school that really meets your needs and interests; and if you are outstanding, the world will take notice. Sure, the Ivies have a certain mystique and act as as "door-opener"; but it is what you do once you get in the door that really matters. I strongly believe that this family made the best decision for their child.

His parents should be proud, and all those who supported him to this stage of his development.

I'll be a junior in high school this fall and I've been having this issue too. It just clicked in my mind that I will be making the BIG decision in a matter of a year's time. I have pretty good grades and I have the ability to choose either an Ivy League or an HBCU. Morehouse College has always been my first college choice. However, after careful review and research, I found out that Ivy League college graduates will be more likely to achieve in corporate America and more jobs will be granted. I also found out that Morehouse has dropped in rankings of producing viable and successful African American students. I'm beginning to drift more towards Stanford University, partly because, as an inspiring physician, of the fact that Stanford is ranked number 10 in pre-medicine education and Medical School while Morehouse, along with Howard University, are ranked in the bottom 10 tier. In a case different from Polite's, this year, if you were unaware, Morehouse College graduated its first white valedictorian, who chose Morehouse College over Yale, MIT, Princeton and Harvard. Must I add, he was also a Rhodes Scholar. I feel that Ivy leagues offer a diverse educational and social environment that enriches competition for American employment. When employers look at resumes and see an Ivy league, the person is more likely to get the job. However, HBCUs offer traditions and African American foundations that students can take and embrace for successful lives in corporate America. But when I mention to my friends and my teachers that I want to go to Morehouse College, they look at me funny and say "Where's that?" (not that I'm using an Ivy league as an excuse of recognition). People say that I would be wasting my brain and gifts if I go to an HBCU while I have the oppurtunity to go to an Ivy league. Any suggestions of what should I do?

I find it quite interesting how so many posters to this article encourage attending an HBCU for undergrad and going to an Ivy for grad school. What is so key or instrumental about the HBCU experience that a student should choose it over another institution. Some of the main reasons I hear of students choose HBCUs include because they attended white schools their whole lives and what the so called "black experience" or they want to continue the family legacy. You rarely hear someone praise a specific department or initiative of the school and its academic standards as their reason for selection. That was singlehandedly the most important factor for me when I applied to college 4 years ago. Coming from Detroit and an all black high school, it was not a race thing for me. I wanted to pursue medicine and therefore wanted to go to a school that would assist me in doing so with every regard, not a school that would provide the best social atmosphere. I was going to college to learn something and achieve the next step in my life plan, not to kick it with people I looked like or was used to being around. Some factors I looked at included undergraduate research opportunities, science departments, distinguished faculty, the prestige of the school, etc. I had my heart set on attending an Ivy and only and Ivy and that is what I accomplished and I wouldn't have changed my decision for the world. Yes HBCUs were created for the purpose of educating blacks during a point and time when we had no other options, however, we also need to understand that the academic standards and opportunities available at HBCUs simply do not match up to those of ivies. This is not to put black schools down. It is just a harsh reality that some are not ready to accept and are fast to criticize others as belittling the value of HBCUs. That is not my purpose in this post. Do HBCUs produce phenomenal black men and women. Of course they do, some of our nations leaders attended them. Still, they have a long way to go before measuring up to the caliber of top ten national universities and the eight ivies. If the young man in this story made his choice based on legitimate reasons relevant to the actual value of his education, then I definitely support it. I do not support when people encourage students to HBCUs because it is supposedly the black thing to do and they can pursue other avenues later in life.

MARTIN LUTHER KING WENT TO MOREHOUSE THURGOOD MARSHALL WENT TO HOWARD GREAT LEADERS DO COME FROM HBCUS.

yeah I have mixed feelings about it... but for this Tandy idiot... first of all HBCUs provide just fine opportunities for anyone to work at fortune 500 companies. do you know what it means to be a fortune 500 company? google and please feel like a dumbass bc LOTS of people work at fortune 500 companies and don't even make that much money necessarily. NEXT, for some communities it IS necessary to investigate the racial makeup of a school. Having graduated from an HBCU to come to a predomiately white school is a big change, not only in school but where some of these people come from. To hear people talk down to, or empathize with, people whom are my friends and neighbors is hard, but you have to just realize that some people (like TANDY again lol) just will never understand what it's like out there. Hopefully this young man will take advantage of his smarts on go Ivy for his master's and M.D. in a couple of years.