Interracial Friendships in the Transition to College: Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together Once They Leave the Nest?

  • Whites reported far fewer interracial friendships in the precollege friendships networks than did any other group.
  • White students were least likely to report cross racial/ethnic friendships in their college residence halls.
  • Black students were most likely to report interracial tension in college residence halls.
  • Whites (42%) and Latinos (44%) were more likely than other racial groups to join fraternities and sororities during their freshman year.
  • The proportion of interracial friendships in Whites’ friendship networks in the first year of college remains lower than that of students of other racial groups.
  • More than half the Black and Asian students and one-third of Latino students joined cultural/ethnic organizations, compared to less than 4% of Whites.
  • Whites form more interracial friendships during their freshman year, accounting for 16.2% of their friendships, while Blacks experience a loss in the amount of interracial friendships during this year (39.9% to 31.1%).
  • Asian, Latino, and Other-race students maintain their precollege levels of interracial friendships.
  • Students in more racially heterogeneous classrooms do not have a significantly higher proportion of interracial friendships.
  • The proportion of students’ interracial friendships prior to college had the largest impact on the propotion of interracial friendships in the first year of college.
  • Students with a different-race roomate have a higher proportion of interracial friendships than those with a same-race roommate.
  • Students without a roommate have more interracial friendships than those with same-race roommate.
  • White students who do not join Greek organizations develop more interracial friendships.
  • Students who join ethnic/cultural clubs have lower proportions of interracial friendships than do students who do not.
  • Not nationally representative of all college freshmen.