Choices for a gay student...

College Search & Selection
21

<p>What are you looking for in a school? Because first of all, most schools at the quality you’re looking at are gay friendly. Secondly, I don’t think you should choose a school only because it’s the MOST gay friendly school there is, because there are others things that will affect how happy you are, and that matter more.</p>

<p>That said, I do think you should drop Notre Dame as it was voted one of the 12 least LGBT friendly schools. If you really like Vandy it should be fine, but if it’s an “on the fence’” school, I would switch.</p>

<p>What other things do you want so we can make good recommendations?</p>

22

<p>Well, I’m looking for a medium to large school, 5000+ undergrad students, and I would like there to be a graduate program at the school as well. I want a liberal school, with a campus, but in a city. I would like to major in Biology or Biochemistry. I want to be able to live on campus all four years. Also, I want a school with great undergraduate research. If there are schools with good sports then that would be a plus too. If you find anything, let me know! Thanks for your help.</p>

23

<p>Based on your last post and requirements/desires, I would definitely say look at Wake. I know we are in the south, but I have quite a number of gay friends on campus and most people are super accepting, despite the stereotype. :)</p>

24

<p>Check out WUSTL, Tufts, Brandeis, NYU, UMiami, Berkeley, USC, and UMichigan. I wasn’t really sure about you stats but these seem to match what you’re looking for, assuming there’s no maximum size limit.</p>

25

<p>The Advocate, a nationally respected LGBT publication, recently compiled its list of the “gayest cities in America,” reflecting a combination of LGBT population and various indicators of LGBT-friendliness (openly LGBT public officials, gay and gay-friendly religious congregation, officiants for same-sex weddings, etc). Here’s their 2012 list. Notice that it doesn’t entirely match the usual bi-coastal stereotype that some are promoting on this thread:</p>

<ol>
<li>Minneapolis</li>
<li>Santa Fe</li>
<li>Las Vegas</li>
<li>Orlando</li>
<li>Pittsburgh</li>
<li>Vancouver, WA (across the river from Portland, OR)</li>
<li>Atlanta</li>
<li>Washington, DC</li>
<li>Seattle</li>
<li>St. Louis</li>
<li>San Francisco</li>
<li>Cleveland</li>
<li>Denver</li>
<li>Oakland, CA</li>
<li>Miami</li>
</ol>

<p>There are 3 Midwestern cities on this list, including Minneapolis at the very top of the list; 4 if you count Pittsburgh which in many ways is more Midwestern than Northeastern (P’burgh is just a 2.5 hour drive from Cleveland, 6 from Philadelphia, and its economy is much more tied into the industrial Midwest). There are also 3 cities in the interior West (Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Denver), and 4 more in the Pacific West (Vancouver WA, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland). The Northeast has only 1 (DC), unless you give them Pittsburgh, then 2. The South has 3, but I’m not sure you can really count Orlando and Miami as Southern cities, and some might say the same about Atlanta.</p>

26

<p>NYU is definitely regarded as the most LGBTQ friendly school in the country. ALL of my professors have been pro-LGBTQ; I’ve never met a student here who isn’t. In fact, I’ve had professors here who refused to marry their significant others (in a heterosexual relationship) until same-sex marriage was legalized. NYU also just happens to be located in the Village, a huge plus. </p>

<p>Other LGBT friendly schools: Columbia, Stanford, UCB, UCLA and USC are all top-of-line as well. </p>

<p>In my experience, other generally good schools: Brown, Yale, Northwestern, Emory, UPenn. </p>

<p>According to CampusClimate: Duke, UNC-CH, WUStL, etc.</p>

<p>As far as those of you who saying that telling individuals to avoid the South is wrong… The South is predominantly Republican; many southern states offer little to no rights or protections to LGBTQ members; the majority of violent crimes against LGBTQ members occur in the South. </p>

<p>Yes, Universities in the south are usually much more liberal - they’re Universities. </p>

<p>But, I would not recommend an LGBTQ member going to a southern university over a northern one if they did not know the differences between the ingrained sociopolitical ideologies and norms. The fact of the matter is that it’s safer and generally just better to be an LGBTQ member in the Northeast or California on the whole. </p>

<p>For example, in North Carolina, the home of Duke and UNC-CH, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity IS legal; LGBTQ members are NOT protected under hate crime laws; And, best of all, North Carolina’s anti-sodomy laws are STILL on the books, even though they have been invalidated by Lawrence v. Texas (2003). </p>

<p>I apologize, but in accord with the facts, I would not recommend and LGBTQ member go to a university in the South unless they truly knew what the differences were and that’s what they truly wanted. I always recommend Northeastern and California schools over those located in the South.</p>

27

<p>nyu2013 with all due respect your data is highly questionable and your stereotyping is truly sad at best! </p>

<p>but, when some people choose to think that nyc is the center of the universe and never venture out of soho and the village , it is their loss not anyone elses!</p>

<p>ask tyler clemnti’s family about tolerance for lgbt students in the “north” on college campuses. and walk threw the wrong neighborhood in new york, boston, philadelphia openly lgbt and see how that works out.
p.s. going to many schools like usc, penn, or u of chicago gay or straight can just be dangerous off campus!</p>

28

<p>My data is questionable? How is it questionable? If you’re going to criticize something, at least make sure your criticisms are accurate – in this case, they are not. I happen to study LGBTQ related issues, especially concerning law; this is a subject I’m very familiar with and will conducting dissertation research in. </p>

<p>My stereotyping is sad? I haven’t stereotyped. I’ve stated a fact. There is, in fact, evidence which shows correlational evidence for anything I’ve said. Again, if you’re going to criticize something, at least make sure your criticisms are accurate – in this case, they are not. </p>

<p>As far as Tyler Clementi goes… Rutgers was considered to be one of the most LGBTQ accepting Universities in the US. Everyone’s concern after that was that if something such as that could happen at Rutgers, imagine what could happen at other places as well.</p>

29

<p>Is the South not predominantly Republican? No, it is. Is the Republican party less favorable on LGBTQ issues? Obviously. Are there less rights, privileges, laws, etc. associated with LGBTQ members in the south than other places, namely the northeast? Yes. </p>

<p>Does all of that collectively constitute a part of the sociopolitical body and ideology? Yes.</p>

<p>Care to tell me what, exactly, I’ve stated is incorrect?</p>

30

<p>

Why don’t you try telling that to the lesbian Democrat who happens to be the mayor of Houston? I think it’s fair to say that rural areas in the south may not be as progressive, but almost all of the major cities in the South actually voted Democrat.</p>

<p>

Going down the list of crimes on The Advocate website, the last hate crimes they reported have been in Nebraska, Baltimore, and Arizona, none of which are considered “the south”.</p>

<p>I really don’t think it’s fair to stereotype the whole south. Yes bad things happen in rural secluded areas, but in the areas that most colleges are in students can feel perfectly accepted. I can think of a few good colleges LGBT students should stay away from, but the majority of good colleges in the south should be perfectly welcoming, just look up reviews on CC on the LGBT life at these various schools. I know LGBT students who go to college in the south, and none of them have told me about any “hate crimes” against them.</p>

31

<p>I never said all of the south was republican. I said predominantly.</p>

<p>I never said crimes against LGBTQ members only happne in the south. I said the majority of violent crimes. </p>

<p>I never said there were not liberal areas in the south, I’m well aware that Universities in south can be liberal and that certain areas can as well.</p>

<p>Nothing I’ve stated is factually incorrect.</p>

32

<p>The south, in terms of LGBTQ individuals is predominantly, not as good as other places such as the northeast or california, this is not opinion, merely a statement of fact</p>

33

<p>I don’t think that the South is necessarily bad for LGBT people - but rather, if you’re trying to maximize the tolerance of your environment, as well as the vibrancy of the gay community in that environment, you’re better off in the Northeast or the West. There’s no point in pretending that the South isn’t quite as good in this respect. Part of this has to do with the higher religiosity of the South, but part of it has to do with cultural differences, which can’t simply be erased very easily (it’s like pretending that racism was erased once civil rights acts were passed). There’s a good reason why, based on objective metrics, the South has few universities/cities that make these lists of “best places for LGBT people.”</p>

<p>Only nit I have with NYU2013’s post: there are definitely many universities that are as good for LGBT people as NYU, with environments just as good/accepting. UC Santa Cruz, Berkeley and Stanford come to mind, and San Francisco >>> NYC. :p</p>

<p>(in all seriousness, both have a claim to the ‘gay capital’ in the US. The whole SF Bay Area is extremely liberal - when prop 8 was up to a vote, it lost by a huge margin in all the Bay Area counties, and Obama won in every county by similar margins - some voting more than 80% for him, and some cities voting more than 90% for him. But in NYC’s favor, they actually passed a gay marriage law. ;))</p>

34

<p>I agree with phantasmagoric that there are also other very excellent schools equal to NYU for LGBTQ student, NYU just has the reputation as being the ‘gay school’</p>

35

<p>I’m not going to argue that NYU most likely has the most gay students, but I don’t think that you should say that all gay students should go to an ultra liberal school if they want a good environment. ALL schools will have other gay students, ALL schools will have accepting students, and ALL schools will have ignorant students.
If you think about it, how would going to NYU vs. Tulane (random southern school about equal to NYU) change your experience? You’ll still have accepting friends at both and there will be other guys for you to date. The majority of the students at either school will still be liberal and for things like gay marriage, and even many Republicans now are accepting of gays in the community, and for gay rights (just not marriage).
I think a lot of what happens in the South is over exaggerated, you’re not going to get lynched. What’s the worst thing that could happen? The only thing I can think of is that if you are an extremely flamboyant gay someone on the street might call you a name or something. Personally I don’t think I would care that much. I know of an occasion at a southern school where there was a school sponsored debate by two people on marriage equality, and the anti-gay representative was booed at when he made an ignorant comment.</p>

36

<p>For people who are gender non-conforming, there are a great number of worse things that could happen to them than being called a name – and that doesn’t only apply to South. But for people who are gender non-comforming, I would <em>HIGHLY</em> recommend ‘ultra liberal schools’ and areas. </p>

<p>A recent publication titled “Queer (In)justice” highlights the problems that many LGBTQ members still face, particularly the TQ individuals within the legal framework and the violence still faced by all members of the LGBTQ community. </p>

<p>Most southern schools are quite liberal, yes – as most institutions of higher learning, particularly the top-ranked ones, are. But in terms of environment, for some students it can have a HUGE impact on their experience. </p>

<p>In terms of Tulane vs. NYU, which you gave as an example, can have a HUGE impact on the students life, particularly for TQ individuals. </p>

<p>For example, Tulane does not allow members of opposite sexes to resides in the same apartment; does not have gender identity non-discrimination policies. They do not allow students to change their gender on university documentation; they do not support hormone therapies, gender reassignment or sex reassignment under their health insurance policies; they do not offer gender identity housing. </p>

<p>On the other hand, NYU DOES offer all of these things to its students. The administrations at NYU is far more understanding and cooperative with LGBTQ issues than Tulane, and that’s evidenced by the more liberal policies at schools like NYU and other ‘ultra liberal’ institutions. </p>

<p>The surrounding area is also important; those schools with are considered to be very LGBTQ friendly typically also have excellent surrounding areas in terms of their liberalness.</p>

<p>I’m not saying ALL students have to go to what you call ‘ultra liberal schools’; I merely think that students should choose wisely and be aware of these differences; because, in fact, they are and can be important as they can and do impact the lives of students. </p>

<p>In many places in the South, including Louisiana, where Tulane is located, discrimination based on gender-identity AND sexual orientation is permissible. That could have an effect on the student’s ability to obtain internship, jobs, etc. </p>

<p>Finally, are you an LGBTQ individual? Have you lived in different places in the South and the Northeast? Can you attest from personal experience as to what these different environments are like?</p>

37

<p>OP, have you considered American University? They are very gay-friendly.</p>

38

<p>Nobody has mentioned Penn. Fits all of your requirements except maybe good sports but even they are pretty good.</p>

39

<p>I was just coming here to suggest Penn. If you’re competitive for schools like Northwestern it might be worth it to apply to Penn or even Yale - both very well known for being LGBT friendly. Feel free to PM if you have questions about Penn’s community/dating scene/whatever. We also have gender-neutral housing for incoming freshmen and upperclassmen…and I have two friends (a gay guy and a lesbian girl) who are living together next year.</p>

40

<p>

</p>

<p>As has been said - and I think NYU2013 would agree with this - sure, this is true. But if you want to maximize tolerance (and minimize intolerance), you’re better off in the Northeast or the West. Further, at an “ultra liberal university” (or even just a liberal one), the intolerance of LGBT people is reversed: expressing anti-LGBT views is not tolerated, similar to expressing racism, sexism, etc. For example, at Stanford you will face problems if you express such a belief - many will shun you or avoid you, some will actually engage you in a verbal argument, etc. To an LGBT student, it is heartening to see people who aren’t gay stand up for you because they feel strongly about it. I remember in the 2008 election, there was a prop 8 rally in which a few pro-prop 8 activists on the main school plaza were attempting to spread their message against an enormous sea of students who were protesting. When the Westboro Baptist Church held a protest on campus early in the morning, there were hundreds and hundreds of students who got up early just just sing and dance in order to draw attention away from them.</p>

<p>Again, this isn’t to say that such wouldn’t occur in the south, or that the opposite can’t happen in the Northeast or the West. Just that, in terms of likelihood/maximizing tolerance/minimizing intolerance, your best bet is Northeast/West.</p>

<p>NYU2013 also mentions accommodations that can be very nice if you’re LGBT. From community centers, to gender-neutral housing (e.g. at Stanford many dorms allow males and females to room together), to explicit anti-discrimination policies, all help to make a more comforting environment for LGBT people. You can go without them, I’m sure; but isn’t it nice to have them?</p>