By Cardan Grant and Tyrese Brown, 11th Graders at Brien McMahon High School
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia. Today, we learned how to become a “Morehouse man,” thanks to the Carver Foundation of Norwalk. We are two of the twenty-seven students selected to participate in the Carver Foundation of Norwalk 49th annual spring college tour.
This has been a pleasant experience for us. We couldn’t help but wonder about the great leaders who walked the campus one step at a time, just as we were doing while making our way for a formal presentation at the admissions office. Miles, a twenty-year-old sophomore who is majoring in Marine biology, and a young lady from the academic department named Lashawn Harde greeted us.
Lashawn’s presentation focused on the business information about the college, while Miles told us many facts about Morehouse including its history and impeccable record of attracting and influencing young men from all over the world. These men include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Sr., Seth Mann, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and so many others. Morehouse is the No. 1 institution whether all male or not for producing the most black male Rhodes Scholars. The U.S. News & World Report ranks Morehouse as No. 3 among the nation's HBCUs and as a Tier 1 National Liberal Arts College.
Morehouse was founded February 14, 1867, to teach freed slaves to read and write, just two years after the civil war had ended. Right next door to this HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) is Spelman College for the ladies. Spellman is seen as the unofficial sister school to Morehouse.
Miles talked to us about the academic requirements and offerings at Morehouse. Their average GPA and SAT scores for admissions are 3.6 and 1170 respectively. There are presently 2,175 students enrolled. They have seven sports clubs and over 200 learning abroad programs you can participate in upon acceptance. For academic year 2018-2019, undergraduate tuition & fees at Morehouse College is $27,576. On campus housing and other expenses can amount to more than $18,000 a year. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that students do not have to pay for books at the bookstore. All books are free for freshman!
There are many people who believe in the mission of Morehouse and they give generously to the institution. Denzel Washington paid for the lights on the football field to see his son play. Ray Charles donated $1 million in 2001 to support the school’s performing arts program.
Some things that we found especially interesting about Morehouse were that it is the only all-male HBCU school, and there are 150 hand painted portraits in the auditorium of people that have had an impact on the school itself. Morehouse is a powerful platform from which a Black man can start a life and career in business. Forbes magazine annually ranks Morehouse among its "America's Top Colleges and in 2015 ranked Morehouse No. 5 for "Most Entrepreneurial College”.
As we entered the auditorium, Miles conveyed something that caught our attention. There are 2,001 seats with one of the seats symbolically reserved for a brother who wants to attend and graduate from Morehouse. We loved that!
We think that Morehouse College is an amazing school. We would definitely recommend it to other young men, and we are thankful to have had the opportunity to experience this.
There were so many interesting facts and exciting opportunities that Morehouse has to offer that I'm considering joining Morehouse after graduation from high school. We will see how everything works out. But for anyone who is interested in an HBCU and is a male, you’ll want to consider joining Morehouse College.
