Money and Essence magazines collaborated to analyze 1,500 institutions
- Vanderbilt University was named a top 25 university for African American students based on graduation rates, affordability and the earnings potential of graduates.
Essence magazine posted the list of top 50 colleges and universities for African Americans on its website April 11. To qualify for the list, an institution had to have at least 5 percent African American students in its population.
Vanderbilt was ranked No. 24 on the Essence-Money magazine list. African Americans constitute 8.4 percent of the undergraduate student body and 9.6 percent of the current first-year class.
Measuring
Money and Essence compared graduation rates of African American students at each institution. Black students overall have a graduation rate of 40.8 percent. Vanderbilts’s graduation rate for African American students is 89 percent.
Affordability was measured by figuring the average net price of a degree from each school, after subtracting its financial aid.
Earnings potential of graduates was calculated using a recent analysis by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce to identify colleges that produce relatively high earners, given the background of their student body.
This is the first year Money and Essence have published this list. For the complete list or more information, see the Essence magazine website or consult the April 15 print edition of Essence magazine.