College diverse or university is an exciting and beneficial place to be a student....

College diverse or university is an exciting and beneficial place to be a student. Students who have classmates, professors, and mentors from different backgrounds are exposed to new viewpoints and perspectives. As a result, they are more likely to become open-minded and global thinkers. Diversity enriches discussions inside and outside the classroom and can prepare students to embrace a multicultural world upon graduation. Minority college diversity is beneficial for all students.

The diversity is often used when talking about the presence of people on a campus that differ in terms of race, culture, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and ability. It also means the presence of people with diverse opinions, political views, and academic passions. However, a true, comprehensive definition of diversity should also include ways in which a diverse population engages with and explores its differences. College bound students who believe that studying with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important will want to consider student-body college diversity when choosing a school. To identify colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own, U.S. News factors in the total proportion of minority college students, leaving out international students, and the overall mix of groups. The data are drawn from each institution's 2012-2013 school year student body. The categories use in calculations are Black or African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, White (non-Hispanic) and multiracial. Students who did not identify themselves as members of any of those demographic groups were classified as whites who are non-Hispanic for the purpose of these calculations. Our formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. The closer a school's number is to 1.0, the more diverse is the student population. College diversity has become a major issue and fact of campus life for many colleges and universities. One of the minority recruitment requirements of a good college diversity speaker is that the person should have had lots of experience working with people from very diverse backgrounds including ethnicities, sexual orientations and handicapped individuals. A speaker of a visible minority would be interesting as well since that person can relate experiences from a minority point of view to audiences.

For many students, the degree to which a campus is diverse will determine how much they feel they “fit” with the school. During your college enrollment search, you may wish to evaluate the diversity of each school you consider. As you do so, remember that your analysis will have a personal slant. Just as only you are the expert on whether a campus is right for you, how diverse a campus feels is determined by whom you are and your own ideals for a future community.