On the Tulane Common App aplication, it asks you to mark your sexuality. Do people who aren’t straight have higher chance of getting accepted?
No. God please…the admissions are turning into a disgusting mess. Mark who you are - your achievements, experiences, and your involvement in EC will show in your application if it’s an important part of who you are. If you’re just thinking of putting this down on a whim, don’t, because it won’t really help.
If sexuality was any kind of hook at all, there would be a lot of applicants fibbing in order to take advantage. AO’s really don’t care. Answer the question honestly.
That question is offensive to me. One’s sexuality is none of anyone else’s business and if universities are trying to fill quotas based on criteria that have absolutely nothing to do with education, I sincerely wish they fail and lose enrollment. It’s like asking what color your hair is, if you are skinny or fat, tall or short, it has NOTHING to do with educational qualification. Ok, rant over.
Although they say “it won’t work against you”, they don’t make the complimentary “it won’t work for you” claim. Combining this omission with the part at the end about “new diversity initiatives”, it looks like marking you were “pansexual”, or whatever, might give you a small tip.
@rofikicafe I agree this question is wrong on many levels.
I think colleges can provide services and promote them without knowing each student’s sexual identity. They might mean well, but I don’t think that information needs to be part of a student’s permanent record. I’d be concerned that a student could accidentally be outed and since not all parents take that news well it could lead to unfortunate consequences. Most students are totally dependent on parents for aid. Things may not go well if a student starts receiving information from the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity.
@austinmshauri Between closeted gay students afraid of being outed and anxious straight students looking for a “tip”, there’s probably a lot of lying going on with that question set.
This is the link from post #4: http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2016/08/sexual-identities.html
The mod warning was about posting copyrighted content.
I have a less cynical view on why they are asking that question. Put yourselves in the shoes of an LGBTQ student looking for colleges. Some (not all) will base their decision in part on how LGBT-inclusive the campus is. They might be interested in stats where college ABC has 15% identifying at LGBTQ, whereas college XYZ only has < 1% identifying as LGBTQ. We all know some colleges are a lot more conservative than others, so fitting in is a legitimate concern for many and the more information a college can provide to them, the better. By asking the question, Tulane is able to provide a metric, “we have xx% of students who identify as LGBTQ”.
Secondarily, they can target their emails to this group (gender friendly housing, LGBTQ clubs, etc.) to this group, just like they have targeted campaigns to Honors College, Multi-Cultural and other other groups.
I can’t prove it, but I believe their intentions are good – Tulane wants to make sure the students they admit are feel welcome and comfortable in what will be their new home for the next four years. I don’t think they are asking the question to try to get their LGBTQ numbers up.
@AH1310 No doubt. The problem is asking this question during admissions. Better to send out a follow-up questionnaire after enrollment. Otherwise you get “false positives”, per the OP, and "false negatives, per post #5.
@damon30. I agree, asking the question during admissions implies it’s part of the admission process. Tulane uses that admissions data for marketing though, because there are only two opportunities to capture a student’s information – during admissions, and then during enrollment. Admissions is too early, and enrollment is too late, if you’re trying to convince and admitted student to enroll.
Perhaps some additional context will help in understanding the question and potential motivation(s). Director of Admissions, Jeff Schiffman, is openly gay as are several other admissions staffers. Jeff’s most recent blog post: http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2019/03/queer-in-admission.html
I really think the inclusion of this question speaks to an open and accepting Tulane community with a desire to ensure that they have at least some data to help in building a comfortable environment with the support infrastructure for students of all backgrounds, sexuality included. The question has been a part of the application since 2016, is optional, responses are confidential and do not impact the admissions decision.
@pishicaca Confidential to who? From your article link above, I think there is a good amount of evidence that the OP surmise is correct.
@damon30 Regarding confidentiality, I can only take them at their word. From the post you linked to in post # 7 above:
"The question is totally optional. Whether you affiliate as one of the categories or as straight, it is completely and totally optional if you’d like to answer the question.
The question is completely confidential. The students who chose to disclose this information will receive information only from our Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity if they enroll at Tulane.
Your answer will not be a part of the admission decision. No matter what you select, it won’t work against you in any form in the application process. I know, that goes without saying, but wanted to make sure that was clear.
This is something that our new Vice President of Enrollment, Satya Dattagupta, is very much in support of. "Supporting students is my priority, " Satya said. “The question is optional. Answers will be kept private and secure and will not be used in the admissions selection process or for a discriminatory purpose. They will be used to connect incoming students with resources and communities on Tulane’s campus should they seek it.”: "
To address the OP’s question, sexual orientation and gender identity have absolutely no impact on Tulane’s admission decision. The language on the Common App reads “Your answer will be kept private and will not be used in the admission process. Responses to this question are shared with Tulane’s Office for Gender & Sexual Diversity to connect enrolling students with campus resources.”
Just for clarification - I wasn’t asking the question because I was thinking about marking the question in as a different sexuality than I identify. I identify as bisexual. I have since I was I Fifth grade. I just thought it was weird that the question was there and was wondering if it had any sway in the admissions decision.
I honestly think it’s just for emailing purposes. I marked my sexuality on the application, and I’ve only gotten emails about the LGBT+ community at Tulane. I highly doubt if it had any effect on my application. However, if say, you’re the pres. of your school’s GSA and very active in your local LGBT+ community, then it would be considered a hook and have some effect on your app. 
I think a better question would have been “Would you like information on Tulane’s LGBTQ initiatives?”
No sway. Not going to tip admissions decisions. It came about on the CA because of pressure from numerous rights groups.
And someone should find the actual wording. I believe it is:
" If you would like the opportunity, we invite you to share more about your gender identity below"
Then there’s an open text box where they can go beyond the “Male” or “Female” that was checked on the registration page.
Try to know what matters to your targets.
Sexuality is a yawner in admissions these days. I don’t think it makes a difference in how you mark it.