Black students haven’t always had the chance to go to college. There was a time when the creation of HBCU’s sent shock-waves all over the country because for once brown students would be able to attend college and get the education they had fought for. Fast forward years and years later, there are hundreds of HBCU’s and thousands of colleges and universities all over the world for all students to receive their education.

At the top sits the coveted Ivy League institutions like Harvard, Yale, Brown and so forth. Those schools are reserved for students at the top of their class, who earned the highest accolades, the cream of the crop. This year a record number of black students admitted into Harvard University, a ivy league school, illuminates the heights blacks have reached.

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reports that “Harvard University accepted 2,023 students from its pool of 34,295 applicants for the Class of 2018. Of the accepted students, 11.9 percent are African Americans, a record for the university. Harvard typically receives a Black student yield of about 70 percent. Therefore, we can estimate that there will be about 165-170 Black students in this fall’s entering class.”

While this is an amazing feat, there is still a long way to go. That percentage does not nearly compare to the representation of other races through out Harvard, however this is a big start. Congratulations to the many students accepted in to college this year! Good luck and we look forward to all that you will accomplish.