What HBCU Should I Go To Quiz
How the Scales are Structured
Who Usually Takes This Test?
See How You Compare
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Example Questions From the Test
- A campus outside the urban core, with its own identity and access to the wider Houston region
- A dense capital-city campus where major institutions are immediately nearby
- A coastal campus that feels relatively self-contained
- A midsize-city campus with daily amenities close at hand
- I would rather have a very small campus where nearly everyone knows one another
- I could enjoy it, but I would spend most of my time in a small academic circle
- That combination of scale, energy, and options strongly appeals to me
- I prefer a medium-size private campus with a more contained atmosphere
- Build and test a practical solution with a multidisciplinary team
- Write an individual analysis based mainly on archival sources
- Develop a community proposal with some technical research
- Create a performance or exhibition for a small audience
What HBCU Should I Go To Quiz - Description and methodology of the test
Students comparing historically Black colleges and universities can use this questionnaire to clarify the campus setting, academic orientation, regional context, and community style that fit their preferences. The What HBCU Should I Go To Quiz turns those choices into a comparative profile rather than a universal ranking. A student asking which HBCU should I go to can use the result to decide which campuses deserve closer research.
What This Assessment Explores
College fit covers setting, scale, academic style, community, traditions, and regional or professional links. The result treats the question of which HBCU is best for me as compatibility, not a quality ranking.
Results present five affinities with three bands: Different Direction (0-4), Worth Exploring (5-8), and Strong Affinity (9-12). These five lines describe the campus profiles behind the scales:
- Florida A&M University Affinity (0-12) measures fit with a warm, spirited public university in a capital setting.
- Hampton University Affinity (0-12) measures fit with a private, historic, residential waterfront community.
- Howard University Affinity (0-12) measures fit with an urban campus and national professional networks.
- North Carolina A&T State University Affinity (0-12) measures fit with a large, applied, collaborative public environment.
- Prairie View A&M University Affinity (0-12) measures fit with a Texas-rooted, hands-on, service-oriented setting.
The highest score is your strongest affinity; scores within one point form a blended result.
Methodology and Evidence Base
The questionnaire functions as an HBCU college fit quiz: each item offers four alternatives describing a preference, situation, or campus trade-off. Choosing the closest response maps your pattern across the five profiles. The displayed totals are comparative signals within the questionnaire.
Clayton et al. (2023) provides the closest conceptual context, linking HBCU and PWI decisions with family and community input, academic considerations, affordability, location, and campus culture. Johnson (2019) adds that connections with HBCU students and alumni, alongside experiences of isolation or alienation, can shape college interest. These studies examine college-choice motivations, not this online questionnaire, so they support its themes rather than validate its scores.
Hossler and Gallagher (1987) offers a three-phase model-predisposition, search, and choice-that fits the questionnaire’s role in clarifying preferences before comparing schools. The questionnaire is conceptually consistent with these works, not an adaptation of any one of them, and the cited studies do not provide standardized norms for its score bands. Current priorities, financial realities, program availability, and self-perception can all affect the outcome, making it a focused starting point for further comparison.
- Clayton, Ashley B., McClay, Langley P., Davis, Raeshan D., & Tevis, Tenisha L. (2023). Considering Both HBCU and PWI Options: Exploring the College Choice Process of First-Year Black Students. The Journal of Higher Education, 94(1), 34-59. 10.1080/00221546.2022.2131966
- Johnson, Jennifer Michelle. (2019). Pride or Prejudice? Motivations for Choosing Black Colleges. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 56(4), 409-422. 10.1080/19496591.2019.1614936
- Hossler, Don, & Gallagher, Karen S. (1987). Studying Student College Choice: A Three-Phase Model and the Implications for Policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207-221.
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