Even before reading the following, I had shared with family, friends, and colleagues that I was fairly certain of the catalyst for Howard’s decision to cancel enrollment for 500 students: “On CNN, Wayne Frederick, Howard’s interim (and former) president, explained the thinking behind the disenrollment letters. While the school is in “high demand,” he said, its graduation rate (most recently 69%) has been declining because it has allowed too many students to start without a viable financial plan in place to complete their degrees.” 

Bottom line, it was a business decision.

Moreover, every year, I see requests from moms in a private Facebook group I’m a member of who are desperately trying to raise the funds to register their daughters for their first semester at Spelman College. And no matter how much these stories pull at my heartstrings, I’ve chosen not to donate. Why? I have little faith that the moms have looked past the first semester, let alone considered the cost of attendance for four years.

With this said, effective July 1st, the maximum Parent PLUS Loan Amount for 4 years is $65K, with a maximum per-year loan amount of $20K. Twenty thousand is not enough to cover the one-semester costs to attend Howard University or Spelman College, as well as many other schools on this Forbes list.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/asia-alexander/2026/08/01/top-hbcus-20-historically-black-colleges-universities-that-set-grads-up-for-success/