Hi! I went to a queer leadership conference (True Colors!) and I was talking to a Cornell prof- he said that being gay helps a lot with Cornell admissions but how on earth to I tell Cornell that I’m gay? Do I write it into my essays? I don’t see anything about sexuality on the common app
This is probably a dumb question, so I felt better asking it on CC then at my tour or with my admissions counselor haha
Please do not tell Cornell that you are gay as a ploy to get in. I hope this isn’t gonna be the new “hook”.
I’m not using it as my only ploy to get in, obviously there are other merits to me as a student. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and get every edge I can on my peers? This is a forum dedicated to doing the most to get into top colleges, why on earth are you surprised that I’m using my identity to get me farther in life…
If you’re going to use sexual orientation as leverage, I’d suggest to incorporate it into the Common App essay or Cornell’s Writing Supplements.
eg. dramatized story of when you came out, life as being openly gay, etc.
Other CCers are going to decry me for even making this comment but:
If I were in your position, I’d write about the cultural/societal aspects that [negatively] affect your life from being openly gay.
Isn’t there a question that’s like “There may be some story that is so central to your identity…”? That’d be the place.
From my experience it seems like questions about sexual orientation came up a lot on the common app at least for the additional questions from specific colleges. You should definitely talk about it. I’m assuming coming out would be a pretty eventful moment and it seems like there would almost always be some big obstacles to being openly gay in high school. I agree that it could likely meet the main common all essay prompt. Sexual orientation seems like it should definitely be part of admissions if race is. I’m sure in rare cases both are manipulated but I don’t think it’s all that common.
Also thinking of situating my essay around this. I have a few topics, but i’m not 100% sure if being gay is a hook because i have another intriguing essay topic I could write about
Why is being gay so intriguing if it’s normal?
@albert69 That’s what I’m asking the OP. What prof told you this, because it’s actually interesting on whether it turns out to be just something as simple as male/female or an actual hook
@princetonboii you should definitely chose whatever you can write the best eds essay about. If Cornell doesn’t ask anywhere though I would at least mention it where you have space for additional information.
@albert69 I don’t think it’s “so intriguing” to colleges but it’s a form of diversity and most colleges strive to be diverse and accepting places where students have their eyes opened to all kind of people and their points of view. I don’t know any statistics but I’m pretty sure a small population of the US identifies as gay so it would make sense that a admissions would see it as a positive to enroll a fee gay students. Not saying it will be a large factor but I get why it could help a bit.
If it turns out to be a hook, there will be a lot of “coming outs” in junior year…
^Literally summed up what I was about to post but 20x better haha.
Lol, thanks @princetonboii.
I don’t see how that’s any different than checking you are Native American based on 1/32 Native American blood that you just learned about from ancestory.com. I mean you can blatantly lie and say you are black if you want but that’s really low and pretending to have a different sexual identity would be the same. Also pretending to be gay in high school would be way too difficult when you could just write lies down on the commonapp. I doubt it would feel any more honest to a person.
Post 11 was for @jmbakh .
@Gatortristan Oh, oops. Sorry
Lol @albert69 what you said is also sadly true if it is a hook or any type of advantage.
@CaliCash as an URM who got into Northwestern with a 1970 I don’t think you have the right to call people out on using hooks they are born with to get into prestigious colleges.
I think the prof is overestimating. It’s not as if it’s been difficult to attract LGBT applicants nor are they an unusual presence on campus. Tons of LGBT people were the norm at my Ivy 30 years ago. Certainly colleges use it in their marketing outreach but to think that it confers an “advantage” is over-reach, IMHO.
To be frank, I’m not sure even if the gay identity essay isn’t in the same category as the mission trip to help the poor brown kids as well. I’m not saying avoid it as a topic per se – but don’t expect it to surprise or intrigue any reader. It’s been done – a lot.
@dvgbhs I understand that. But I am uncomfortable with people using their sexuality to get into a school, especially when anyone can say that just to get in. I cannot change my race and my race is not the reason I got in. I fully believe that I would’ve gotten in if I were white. Contrary to the common CC notion, college admissions is not only about your SAT scores.
Disclosing your sexuality seems like a ploy to get in. It’s nobodies business but your own. It’s not like the OP said “How can I show how my sexuality has impacted my life? It’s really central to who I am and I would like to share that story to help Cornell get to know me as a person.” The OP is basically saying “All I really care about is getting into Cornell. Will disclosing my sexuality help me get in?”
There are people out there whose lives have been dramatically changed and have faced significant hardship because of their sexuality. To reduce homosexuality down to a means for college admissions is disgusting.
It’s no different than a poster coming on here saying “I’m 1/64th black. Can I put ‘African- American’ on the Common App?”