Affordable, gay-friendly colleges?

<p>Hi. I'm a sophomore, and haven't taken the SAT/ACT yet, so I can't give scores, but I can tell you that I currently hold a 4.0 GPA. I'm mainly looking for affordable, gay-friendly colleges. From there, I'll look at the academics and see if any interest me. I'm mainly looking for a) a lot of foreign languages and b) a teaching program. Okay, to be honest, there doesn't have to be "a lot" of foreign languages, just the common ones: Chinese, Spanish, German, ect. I want to teach English as a second language in Europe or Asia, and do some translation/interpretation freelancing on the side after college. I live in Oklahoma, so my choices are rather limited, and most of the unis are hardly gay friendly. My parents only make about 60k a year, so by affordable, I mean something that's 20k or less per year (tuition). Any help you could give me would be great.</p>

<p>Do you want a large school or small LAC???</p>

<p>Honestly speaking, I don’t know much about Liberal Arts Colleges, but upon reading the Wikipedia article, I would say that either or is fine with me. Thank you for taking the time to ask.</p>

<p>Here’s a pretty good list, but there are many, many other Gay friendly schools out there.</p>

<p>[Pam’s</a> House Blend:: Princeton Review ranks top gay-friendly colleges](<a href=“http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2450]Pam’s”>http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2450)</p>

<p>Some of these schools also have amazing financial aid and scholarship which you would qualify for too.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>

Define “gay-friendly.” Some people are looking for a large, active LGBT population on campus with student groups, LGBT center, etc. Others simply want a college where they can be out without it impacting their social lives. I’m in the former group and attended such a school; my best friend from high school is in the latter group and did well at a small Christian school in Arkansas. </p>

<p>If your scores are good enough, most of the top 50 or so LACs and universities would fit and should provide a reasonable amount of financial aid.</p>

<p>Here’s a list of accredited teaching programs:
[NCATE</a> - public - General Public](<a href=“http://www.ncate.org/public/listofaccredinst.asp?ch=1]NCATE”>http://www.ncate.org/public/listofaccredinst.asp?ch=1)</p>

<p>I would like a university that has an active LGBT population. That’s not to say that it has to seem as though all of Castro is there; I just mean that I want to be able to attend a meeting/club per se, and not feel as though I’m the only gay person there.</p>

<p>Here is a site that you may find helpful: [LGBT-Friendly</a> Campus Climate Index - National Assessment Tool](<a href=“http://www.campusclimateindex.org/]LGBT-Friendly”>http://www.campusclimateindex.org/).</p>

<p>I think that gay-friendliness can be difficult to determine from school websites, because almost every school has some sort of LGBTQ resource center, and a welcoming policy. It’s hard to figure out which schools really have active populations that they are proud of. One thing I have wondered about is large university vs. small LAC. Some of the schools with the best rep for gay-friendliness are very small LACs such as Vassar and Oberlin, but I would expect the potential socialization (dating) pool to be larger at a larger school.</p>

<p>Best wishes. If you end up compiling a list, come back and share it with us.</p>

<p>Also, I’m sorry if other people found it clear, but do you identify as male or female? Since “gay” is now a catch-all term, haha. Also, a lot of schools will give you financial aid, so don’t count out schools with 20k+ tuition. :D</p>

<p>I’m male by birth, and still identify as such. I’ve never had gender identity issues :)</p>

<p>Hahah sorry, just never want to assume. I would definitely suggest NYU, but if you feel like that might be too large of a school, Oberlin, Emerson, Sarah Lawrence, Swarthmore, Hampshire, and Haverford have active LGBT populations. UPenn and Tufts do as well. I hope this might have helped! Being at a college where you feel totally comfortable being out makes life so much easier, so good luck!</p>

<p>

Precisely. I usually don’t recommend LACs to LGBT applicants because there simply isn’t a critical mass. </p>

<p>ljuvlig- I meant to recommend this earlier, but see if your public library has a copy of the Advocate College Guide. It’s slightly outdated but an EXCELLENT resource. </p>

<p>[The</a> Advocate college guide for LGBT students (Book, 2006) [WorldCat.org]](<a href=“Oops, something went wrong | WorldCat.org”>The Advocate college guide for LGBT students | WorldCat.org)</p>