Study Reveals Most Affordable Public And Private HBCUs For 2021

Student Loan Hero, a Lending Tree Co. has released a 2021 study on the most affordable public and private historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

For its study, Student Loan Hero used the 2019-2020 data from the National Center for Education Statistics including annual tuition and fees as well as the percentage of students accepted into HBCUs.

According to the study, the most affordable public HBCUs for in-state undergrads is Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, where tuition is around $3,260 annually. The most affordable private HBCUs for in-state undergrads is Shorter College in Arkansas, where tuition for in-state undergrads is about $5,596 annually.

The University of the Virgin Islands, Fayetteville State University, Harris-Stowe State University, and Florida A&M University round out the top five of the most affordable HBCUs for in-state undergrads. For all five schools sport in-state tuition less than $6,000 a year.

However, for out of state students, only Elizabeth State costs less than $10,000 annually.

When it comes to the top five private HBCUs, Simmons College, Selma University, Southwestern Christian College, and Arkansas Baptist College follow Shorter. All five colleges have in-state and out-of-state tuition under $9,000 annually.

HBCUs received more than $250 million in donations last year as a bevy of companies and people including MacKenzie Scott, Sallie Mae, Tik-Tok, Adidas, and Cream of Nature donated millions to HBCUs. Apple donated $25 million in software equipment to HBCUs and actor Michael B. Jordan and NBA All-Star Chris Paul have also lined up events to showcase HBCU athletes.

Many of the donations came amid the Black Lives Matter protests last summer and the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Student Loan Hero also released its list for public 2-year HBCUs. Coahoma Community College, Southern University at Shreveport, Shelton State Community College, Trenholm State Community College, and Bishop State Community College make up the top five.