The aim of this qualitative study is to examine the perceived impacts that negative stereotypes and/or labels have on the self-efficacy of students who choose to attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This research will give insight into students' perceptions of negative stereotypes and the influences that these perceptions have on their college experiences. The findings included six themes that were identified across all three focus groups: (a) tradition/culture, (b) family atmosphere, (c) scholarship/resources, (d) challenges/barriers, (e) cultural setbacks, and (f) people who look like me. Additionally, each individual focus group session yielded between 1-2 themes, which were unique to the attributes of its participants. Several limitations were identified as part of this study, which related to the approach in which the focus groups were facilitated, the limited number of follow-up interviews, and use of purposive sampling for data collection. Although this technique is widely used in qualitative research, it has been noted that the range of variation that this sampling method yields in the beginning of the data gathering process is strikingly unclear. The implications of this research take into account Bandura's (1993) proposition that self-beliefs of efficacy are a significant contributor to the ways that persons motivate themselves and plan courses of actions based on these beliefs. As such, the current study found that the participants were motivated to make an ardent decision to attend an HBCU, and that their specific self-beliefs of efficacy were fostered throughout the time of their attendance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]