Howard University, one of the nation’s top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), burst into the national news in July when it abruptly canceled enrollment for 500 freshmen, a fifth of the incoming class. The students had ostensibly missed the deadline for establishing they could cover the Washington, D.C. school’s $66,182 total annual cost of attendance. Isabella Williams, who graduated from Russell County High School in Alabama last May with a 4.3 grade point average and a raft of honors and scholarships, received one of those jarring notices. Howard was more than her dream school; it was a chance to reclaim her family’s legacy, she told Forbes. Her own mother had been forced to drop out of Howard for financial reasons, but an uncle later served as the university’s vice-provost. "I wasn't able to experience much of my family's culture as a child," she said, "so being able to be closer to them and kind of get the same education that they've had was really important to me.” She eventually got her enrollment reinstated (as did more than 200 other students) after her scholarship money was confirmed. Williams insists that she and some of the others who were disenrolled had documented their payment plans on time and were simply waiting for money from loans, scholarships and veterans benefits to be disbursed.By Asia Alexander,FellowLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices