Comparing colleges based on diversity
About this video
The speaker encourages students to look at the demographics of a college's student population, since feeling that 'everybody is different from me' can make the transition to college frightening. Students should also find out how much a college invests in supporting students from different backgrounds, through diversity offices, academic resources and recruitment, because a supportive environment helps you succeed.
You'll be able to
- explain why a college's demographics matter when choosing a school.
- name signs that show how committed a college is to supporting diverse students.
Key words
- demographics
- Information about the makeup of a group, such as students' backgrounds.
- diversity office
- A college office that supports students from different backgrounds.
- recruit
- To actively look for and encourage people to apply.
Transcript
- Many colleges now, if not all, have information and what they call the demographics of the student population. And that's important for you to look at, because that's one of the kind of scary transitioning to college is, "Gee, everybody is different from me."
And that can be frightening. And you need that support of other students who share your background. And you also want to know as much as you can find out is how much the university or the college is putting resources into supporting students from different backgrounds.
So look into that. Find out if there's a diversity office. So find out if there are other academic resources there. Find out how do they recruit students from different backgrounds. That all will give you indicators of how serious and committed the college is about supporting students from different backgrounds.
And that becomes very, very important. You want to succeed when you go to college, and one thing that will help you succeed is being in an environment that supports you, who you are and your background.
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