Poll Finds That Racial Diversity on Campus Is an Important Factor When Black Students Choose Where to Enroll in College

A new poll of nearly 1,000 black and other minority college and high school students conducted by Widmeyer Communications finds that racial diversity was an important consideration for them in choosing a college. More than two thirds of the minority students said that it was important that the university they chose “had students from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds.” Twelve percent of the respondents said that racial diversity was the most important factor in choosing a college.

Among the college students polled, 35 percent said they had encountered more diversity on campus than they had expected. But nearly one in five minority college students said the level of racial diversity was less than they had expected.

Nearly three quarters of all minority college students stated that they thought the colleges and universities needed to do more to foster greater interaction between different racial and ethnic groups on campus.

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