Tuskegee University
Old Administration Building, Suite 101
Tuskegee, AL 36088
(334) 727-8500
Web Site: www.tusk.edu
 

College Ranking:

This school, the only one designed a National His-
toric Landmark by the U.S. Congress, was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881. It’s the home of the legendary "Tuskegee Airman," and its one of only two colleges today funded by NASA to develop a techno-
logy to grow food in space during future space missions.

This liberal arts and science college, talks about "building the values that strengthen America," while providing "educational programs of exceptional qual- ity." Tuskegee’s high rank, strength and reputation, is based on the continued impact and contributions of its graduates nationwide.

Tuskegee is the #1 producer of African-American aerospace science engineers in the nation.

Tuskegee has graduated more Black Generals than any other historically Black college.

If you’re interested in becoming a vet, it’s the place to go. This is the only Black institution to offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. It has graduated over 70% of the vets of color in this country.

In a recent U.S. News and World Report ranking, Tuskegee was placed in the "first tier" of southern universities. In Black Enterprise’s list of the "top 50 Colleges for African-Americans (1999)," Tuskegee was honored as the #8 selection.

 
The Campus:

Tuskegee is located in Macon County, Alabama, about 40 miles from Montgomery, the Capitol. In 1882, Dr. Washington purchased an abandoned 100-acre plan-
tation that’s now the nucleus of the present campus, covering more than 5,000 acres. The central location has over 150 buildings, including the various col-
leges and residence halls.

Most of the structures are either of modern or his-
toric architecture, generally surrounded by lawns and trees. There’s Band Cottage, the oldest building on campus (1889); the Old Administrative Building (which students build themselves); Tompkins Hall; the Daniel "Chappie" James Convocation Arena, which is dedicated to the first African-American Four-Star General, himself a graduate of Tuskegee. The Kellogg Conference Center has 108 lodging suites, a 300-seat amphitheater, 20 meeting rooms, and a fitness center. "The Oaks," is the former home of Dr. Wash-
ington (1899), and a visitors' favorite. Another centerpiece on campus is the Booker T. Washington Monument.

TU comprises five colleges: the College of Business, Organization, and Management; the College of Liberal Arts and Education; the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences; the College of Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Sciences; and the College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health. The colleges offer a total of 41 degrees in various majors.*

The residence halls are said to be "living and learning" environments. For our women, there’s the Charles E. White, Frederick Douglas, Olivia David-
son, and other halls. Male residences include James Hall, Sage, and other living locations. In the larger settings you’ll find kitchens, utility rooms, washers and dryers, and study areas with Internet access.

TU usually places about 2,000 students (about 67%
of the student body) in these residence halls, or apartments. For higher-achieving students, there are "Honor Houses."

In the University Chapel you’ll find the "Singing Glass Windows," which have "Negro lyrics from spirituals" inscribed. In the George Washington Carver Museum you can see "Black Wings," which chronicles the training of the Tuskegee Airmen.

*TU also offers masters, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and Ph.D. degrees.
 

Getting In:

Tuskegee accepts about 64% of the students who apply, with about 66% of the enrollees having grad-
uated in the top 25% of their high school graduating classes. The school is generally looking for stu-
dents who have taken the college preparatory route. For example, for engineering majors--the largest entering group—-the admission team would like to see a transcript that includes courses like physics, trigonometry, chemistry, and computer science.

Most students who apply take the ACT, although SAT scores are also acceptable. The average ACT score is about 21, and the SAT is in the 900-plus range.

Although a complete application review is the rule
--there’s a close look at your essay, for example--
Tuskegee’s finding is that students who have scored composite scores of least 1000 and ACT’s of 24 with a GPA of a least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) tend "to be more successful in completing their freshman level courses than those who score lower."

Note that the average GPA of entering students is about 2.7. In a recent year, approximately 3,460 students applied and 2,220 were accepted. 95% are African Americans.

Families are encouraged to visit the campus.
 

Academic Reality:

Although about 71% of the students—-nearly 90% from public schools--are from out of state, most are from the South. These students are from over 40 states and 34 foreign countries.

The most popular majors are engineering (18%), biology (8%), business and computer science (each about 5%). Beyond their majors, students must com-
plete a core curriculum including courses in the humanities, political science, English, math, his-
tory, and natural sciences.

There’s a wide range of courses, with "intensity" and "stress" levels varying from pleasant to very difficult. In the Department of Sociology, for example, you might begin with Introduction to Sociology, go to Race and Culture, and eventually take Statistics and have to think about "probabil-
ity," and "empirical problems." Many of the courses require hard study.

About 500 bachelor degrees are awarded annually. About a quarter of the graduates are in professional or graduate schools. For example, Tuskegee students who have selected medicine as their career goal have gone on to pursue their MD’s at medical schools like Howard, the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Case Western Reserve, Morehouse, and Meharry.

On Career Day hundreds of recruiters appear on campus, including representatives from IBM, Ford Motor, General Electric, Polaroid, Dow Chemical, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T. Internships and Cooperative Educational opportunities are available.

Ralph Ellison, the award winning novelist, is a Tuskegee alumnus. The television and movie en-
tertainer, Keenan Ivory Wayons, is also a graduate.

 

Campus Life:

At TU you’ll find over 100 clubs and organizations. There are Honor Societies, Student Government, the Campus Digest (the student newspaper), a drama club, a concert band and other ensembles, City/State clubs, religious groups, and the Tuskegee University Choir that’s performed at the White House and Radio City Music Hall. All the national sororities and fraternities, including Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha, are represented on campus. About 10% of the students are members of Greeks.

Important events on campus include Founder’s Day, the annual Homecoming Parade (with Miss Tuskegee), the MTU Spring Pageant, the Campus All-Star Chal-
lenge Tournament (debating), and Convocation/
Graduation.

The Intramural Sports Program, provides students (about 10%) an opportunity to participate in org-
anized athletics: volleyball, tennis, slow-pitch softball, tag football.

The Golden Tigers (school nickname) have basketball, football, and other competing teams. The basketball team, for example, plays Morehouse, Alabama A&M, Savannah State, and Clark Atlanta. The court here is located at the 5,000 seat James Center Arena. Behind Warren Logan Hall (where you’ll find the gymnasium and swimming pool) is the 10,000-seat football stadium and baseball fields. When the shouting begins the marching band will begin its "steps."

 

Financial Aid deadline: As soon as possible after January 1st.

Tuskegee requires the CSS profile and FAFSA.

Application deadline: April 15th. Applications will be considered up to four weeks before registration.

Early Decision: March 15th.
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