“The Black Family Guide to College is essential reading for anyone who works with Black students considering college. The authors share invaluable insight into the complex and necessary concerns that Black families must consider when exploring higher education, lived experiences shared by too few in college admissions.”
Marie Bigham, Founder ACCEPT: Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today
“I appreciate that Fields and Herndon-Brown consider the intersection of race and the value of the HBCU. This book is a must read for Black students and families navigating the admissions process. I now feel more prepared for my own 3 children to begin the process.”
Erin Rose, Parent
“To find a book on the college admission process that is genuine, professional, and realistic is amazing. For that same book to be helpful for students, parents, school counselors, counselor educators and grad students is a rarity. To have that book amplify the Black student experience is powerful and needed.”
Katherine Mathews, Professional School Counselor at Northside College Preparatory High School.
“Game changer and long overdue”
Angel B. Pérez, PhD Chief Executive Officer National Association for College Admission Counseling
“Essential reading for anyone who works with Black students considering college”
Marie Bigham, Founder ACCEPT: Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace Today
“A unique, refreshing, much-needed resource from two admissions insiders”
Rick Clark, Executive Director of Undergraduate Admission – Georgia Tech
Finding the right college is a challenge for everyone. However, Black families face additional questions and concerns that are not frequently addressed considering cultural contexts and x-factors.
In the best-selling book The Black Family’s Guide to College Admission: A Conversation about Education, Parenting, and Race, veteran admissions experts Timothy L. Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown, share provocative insights and aim to demystify this complex process and answer important questions about where to apply and how to get in.
The book is authored by admission experts who are also parents, who discuss specific concerns for Black families surrounding the college admissions process. They highlight how the current social justice movement amplifies the distinct dynamics that exist between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly White Institutions and what may be best for Black students now. Fields and Herndon-Brown pull from decades of experience to offer the savvy advice Black families need. Having worked on both sides of the desk–as school counselors and as college admissions gatekeepers—they are well-equipped to give parents, students, and school counselors the information and inspiration to successfully research and navigate the admission journey.
The higher education landscape is constantly evolving, and admissions criteria has evolved with it. Fields and Herndon-Brown cover everything from athletic recruitment and artistic talents to financial aid and step-by-step instructions for how to get through the college search and application processes. A list of the best colleges for Black students, a glossary of terms, a list of notable Black college graduates, a suggested reading list, and FAQs round out the guide. Ultimately, The Black Family’s Guide to College Admission is the definitive resource to begin the complex conversation of understanding the choices that Black families have as they go through the college admissions process and its intersection of education, parenting, and race.
Timothy Fields (Atlanta, GA ) is a graduate of Morehouse College and Senior Associate Dean of Admission at Emory University. Shereem Herndon-Brown (Washington, DC) is a graduate of Wesleyan University and is the founder of Strategic Admissions Advice, an educational consulting company specializing in college counseling curriculum creation for charter schools and school districts, online essay courses, and personalized college advice coaching.
