I am the oldest of four kids. I was told that the college application process would be challenging, however, I had to find ways to make my process easier. I was blessed with information from other students and want to bless other students by creating one place with all of the information needed for a smooth transition.

I created this website because, although the applications themselves weren't challenging, picking a school, learning about HBCUs, and picking one of them while also keeping finances in mind was my struggle. A few years ago, I did not know what an HBCU was. If I was informed about these schools at an earlier time, this process would have been a lot shorter for me. I created this database because I know old me would have greatly benefitted from it. After I shared the steps I used to apply to HBCUs with my friends, I realized that other black students are having similar experiences which made me ask myself: "How can I aid other black students in having a smoother transition into a HBCU of their choosing?"

sing songy tone Friends. How many of us have them?! Friends.

(If you don't know this song, go listen. It's Friends by Whodini.)

After being in high school for the past four years, I think I can offer a little insight on this matter.

Do not let anyone (and I mean anyone) put you in uncomfortable positions. You are what matters. It's your life, your opinions. It's your life, meaning the world does revolve around you (not in a cocky manner though). Like I said in my Career> blog post, you want to put yourself in the best possible position career wise.

Let me speak a little about myself. I am a shy person. I hang out with a mix of extroverted and introverted friends. You know when you're with a friend who knows everybody and you have to wait for them to stop talking to other people so they can talk to you. Yeah, that used to be me. The person that waited for her extroverted friend. I'm not saying all of the time, but some of the time I was put in uncomfortable positions where I should have stood up and left. Rather than putting my mental health and education first, I wanted to hang to see what would happen. This was the wrong move. I'm not saying that this will happen to you, I'm saying find yourself, know yourself. Know what you're comfortable with and always put yourself and career first.

Oh! Another thing! Do not continue to be friends with people who continually put you down. Even if they say it's a joke. All jokes have a little bit of truth. So watch, listen, and learn. Learn more about yourself and your limits.

NEWS FLASH: Not everyone is going to like you.

I know I came on strong but I am just telling it how it is. The brutal, honest truth.

Speaking from experience, I need YOU to know that not everyone is going to like you so stop trying to please everyone. As you transition (or if this is a parent reading...as your child transitions) to college, you need to understand that your education and career is what comes first. Social groups, or cliques, is fun, yes, however these should not be over your education and career!

While people are over here talking about me, I'm creating a website, getting a head start on making a name for myself in the education and business realm (this is just an example). Something like this really makes you reevaluate your life and what you want to make of it.

Does tuition matter when picking my school? Yes. Always, yes. If you, or your parents, are financially able to pay for college then maybe this isn't for you (however I still think you can benefit from it). For me, tuition was the second thing on my list. First is a tie between distance from home and overall environment.

This is about to be long. Brace yourself.

What I want to start with is keep a high GPA. I would say 3.5+ (a lot of HBCUs require about a 3.0 GPA for admission and merit scholarships). The higher the GPA, the better. GPA is not necessarily going to get you a free ride however you are more likely to acquire more scholarship dollars. As someone who finished their first semester senior year with a 4.36 GPA (on a 4.0 scale), I was not offered a full ride to my school. Did it help, certainly. There is more to just a high GPA, although it is very helpful. This leads me to my next topic: Extracurriculars and community service.

You are going to here this over and over and over and over til your ears bleed. BE INVOLVED! I am a shy black girl and I was still able to hold positions in clubs, be involved in sports, and more. Trust me, it's possible. Whether it's required or not, do community service. Volunteer at a food pantry or be involved with the children's ministry at your church. There is always something you can do. This shows schools that you are multi-faceted. Not only do you have a high GPA but you are Vice President of a club and are on a varsity sports team. It shows that you are someone who can bring multiple things to the table.

Last thing. I may contradict myself in this, but let me cook.

1. Do not put yourself in a position where you are going to put yourself in a financial hole. You do not want to be paying for your school in the next 100 years. Trust me.

2. If your school is worth the price, go for it. If you know the experience is going to worth the price, then by all means go for it. Things will fall in place for you to get a good job and eventually pay for your school.

(I am going to do another blog about the scholarship search. Stay tuned!)

For me, I picked the school because I knew I would thrive there. The price for me didn't matter as much (my parents told me that I don't comprehend the value of money yet but oh well). I knew that this experience, described by other students, was worth the price.

I know, I know. Trust me, if I didn't have to sit through long hours of testing, I wouldn't. But, we all have to do things that we don't want to. WOMP WOMP. It's life. Get over it.

Take these tests. And when I say this I mean study for them (but don't lose sleep) because you want to try to do the best you possibly can. A higher score means a higher chance of admission and a more likely chance a school is going to offer you more money.

As someone who applied Test Optional to my dream school, I am telling you this right now: Do not apply test optional. Do I have to say it again? Do not apply test optional. I thought my scores were bad or average (yes, I had a high GPA but not the best test scores) and I did not submit them to more than a few colleges. That is my biggest regret. When I was informed that I could have received more money for my test scores, I reached out to the faculty at my school asking how could I rectify the situation and get more money. I sent in my test scores and in a matter of minutes this action doubled my original scholarship offer. After thinking my scores were low or average, I was given even more money from my dream school.

On the other hand, you can also receive plenty of scholarship money without submitting your scores. After I found out I could get more scholarships from my dream school, I reached out to my other top five schools. One of the schools told me that I had already acquired the highest scholarship that they offer. However, this was not an HBCU. I believe that even if you don't think your test scores are high, consult with your counselor, and submit them anyway.

If you think you're not going to achieve something, then you won't. If you think you will achieve something, then you will. No in-between. Quit making up excuses. If you want to go to college for free, then start now. Create a plan. Schedule when you will do your college applications, apply for scholarships, and study for the SAT and ACT. You cannot breeze through this process. It requires dedication and hard work. However, with this work and effort you put in, great things will come from that. Tell yourself you are going to get a free ride, get perfect scores on the standardized tests, and get into all of your schools. Half-doing it isn't going to work. Start your game plan now.

"How do I pick out my dream school?". If you have asked yourself this question then this is the place for you. Hopefully, I will answer you question in an uncensored and authentic way. I have visited about twenty different schools and the HBCUs were the ones that stuck out to me. That's when I knew that I had to be at an HBCU. It was time to narrow down my options. If you are able to, I highly suggest that you schedule campus tours. If that's not possible, then try to see if a school has virtual tours. If that's not an option, look on YouTube. There are so many videos out there that it is likely that there will be a video about a school that interests you. For my dream school, I visited the campus three times before committing (even though I knew it was my dream school after the first visit). Visiting allows you to connect with students and faculty and understand the school's environment. When I visited my school, the REAL HU (yes there are two HU's however one of them is better than the other), I was met with a warm welcome. I had met people for the first time and when it was time to leave, we hugged each other. I don't even like hugs, however this experience was something that you can't get on every campus. Also, something that stood out to me about my school were the classrooms. The rooms were nostalgic for me. Being in one reminded me of when my family and I went to church to attend Vacation Bible School. It had felt like I had already been here before. Lastly, find a place where you know that you will thrive. If you know you thrive in smaller groups, then consider enrolling at a smaller school. If you know you thrive in larger groups, then maybe enroll in a bigger school.

Moral of the story: find a place where you can thrive and call home.