Many schools like to tout their diversity; meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures is one of the more important learning opportunities in college. However, only a few schools in the country have student bodies truly comprised of a thorough mixture of different ethnic groups and geographic origins. If you’re concerned about feeling like a minority in college, or you don’t want to be surrounded by a homogeneous student body, check out these schools:
1. Rutgers University - U.S. News and World Report and Forbes Magazine both named Rutgers University in New Jersey the most diverse school in the country. Their rankings take into account the number of students from each ethnic background, as well as the overall ratio; if a school is primarily one group, even if it’s a group traditionally considered a minority, the school does not count as diverse.
20% Asian, 11% Latino, 10% African American, 47% White, 5% Other
2. University of Houston - The University of Houston, in Houston, Texas, is one of the few highly diverse schools in the country not located on the East or West Coast. UH also has a large multiracial population.
14% African American, 19% Asian American, 25% Latino, 8% Multiracial, 31% White
3. City University of New York, City College - The student body at CUNY City College reflects the diverse population of New York City; six out of Forbes’s top ten most diverse schools are located in the greater New York Metropolitan area.
32% Asian, 15% African American, 28% Latino, 17% White
4. New Jersey Institute of Technology - The New Jersey Institute of Technology is the only school that ranks among the most ethnically diverse and also has one of the largest populations of international students. NJIT provides a truly diverse college experience in terms of both ethnic and geographic background. The major area in which NJIT’s diversity is lacking is gender; the male-to-female ratio is 4:1.
22% Asian, 10% African American, 20% Latino, 38% White, 3% Multiracial, 19% international students
5. Polytechnic Institute of New York University - The Polytechnic Institute is one of the eighteen schools and colleges within New York University, and is one of the most diverse schools within NYU. Much like NJIT, however, a primary area in which the Polytechnic University is lacking is gender; 80% of students are male.
37% Asian, 4% African American, 7% Latino, 32% White, 11% International, 27% Out of State
6. California State University, Long Beach - One of the many schools in the California State University system, the Long Beach campus is the most ethnically diverse.
7% African American, 26% Asian, 31% Latino, 27% White, 3% International
7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona - Cal Poly Pomona is one of only two polytechnics in the California State University system. Cal Poly Pomona is nearly as ethnically diverse as Cal State Long Beach, and has a higher population of international students.
4% African American, 30% Asian American, 25% White, 27% Latino, 9% Ethnicity unknown, 5% International
8. Illinois Institute of Technology 20% - This private university in Chicago has one of the largest proportions of international students, as well as a significant number of students from outside of Illinois.
Asian 7%, African American 4%, Latino 4%, White 35%, Race/ethnicity unknown 12%, International 20%, Out of State 47%
9. Carnegie Mellon University - Carnegie Mellon University, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is noteworthy because of its high percentage of both international and out-of-state students.
27% Asian, 6% African American, 4% Latino, 5% Multi-racial, 49% White, 9% Unknown, 16% International, 79% Out of State
10. Florida Institute of Technology - Located in Melbourne, Florida, FIT has both a fairly diverse student population, and a high percentage of international students.
16% African American, 3% Asian American, 6% Latino, 49% White, 11% Unknown, 16% International
