Our Host - XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Xavier University of Louisiana is proud to host the NOLA Back 2 School Fest. Xavier was founded on the principle that everyone deserves an education, and it strives to prepare its students to assume roles of leadership and service globally. Nearly 90 percent of the students who attend Xavier require some form of financial assistance, so the institution understands the importance of having the resources necessary to succeed. Having been on the receiving end of the generosity of so many friends and supporters, including Shell, it is now Xavier’s honor and privilege to give back.

The nation’s only historically Black and Catholic University, Xavier has embraced a special mission to serve the African American and Native American communities from its founding; however, its doors have always been open to qualified students of every race and creed. Today, 77 percent of its enrollment is African American and 11 percent is Catholic.

Academically, Xavier enjoys a well-deserved national reputation. Xavier is known as the top producer of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school. Consistently among the top three HBCUs in the country, recently, Xavier has been nationally recognized as the most successful HBCU in terms of social mobility by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). It was also found in a report presented by OnlineU, a college research resource website, that Xavier offers the highest financial payoff for Black graduates. Furthermore, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce named Xavier the highest-ranking HBCU regarding students’ return on investment. These are but a few of the recent accolades received by the university.

Xavier’s national prominence is not the result of churning through large numbers of students – far from it. A moderate enrollment ((approximately 3,600 in fall 2021) feeds a “quality not quantity” approach that lends itself to a low faculty/student ratio (13.4 to 1) and encourages close faculty-student interaction and enhances opportunities to work with a mentor in collaborative classroom projects, high-level undergraduate research, and service-learning activities.

When you’re ready for college, we hope you will consider Xavier University of Louisiana!