I loved attending an HBCU, but now I'm still struggling with student loan debt 20 years later. I don't want the same for my kids.

The author graduated from an HBCU.

Courtesy of Chantel Henry Since I was a kid, I wanted to attend a HBCU, so I applied to Clark Atlanta University.

I loved being around other Black students and professionals, but I was racking up debt.

The school set me up for success, but I don't want my kids to attend a HBCU.

Since I was 11, I dreamed of attending a historically Black college or university .

That dream started at Morgan State University in Baltimore, where I spent two weeks each summer in a program focused on leadership and academics.

For a preteen growing up in Baltimore City , Morgan felt like another world.

I had seen drug deals outside my front door and heard gunshots while playing hide and seek with friends.

My mother refused to let our neighborhood define what I thought was possible for my life.

At Morgan, I saw Black students carrying backpacks and briefcases, preparing for careers and building futures.

They looked like the life my mother kept telling me I could have.

But it's not the life I think my kids need.

I applied to one college When college application season came, I applied to one school: Clark Atlanta University.

My guidance counselor warned me to give myself more options.