Fair enough! You definitely should go somewhere you feel comfortable. Although, one could argue that Florida overall is way more politically conservative than NY.
One thing to consider is that pretty much EVERY college community (aside from ultra-conservative ones like BYU or Liberty University) is going to be more liberal than the surrounding area.
While Alabama overall IS definitely conservative, the Huntsville area attracts a pretty wide range of people from all different ethnic groups.
I 100% agree that you need to feel comfortable with where you’re going to be spending your college years. If Alabama’s not it, then Alabama’s not it. But I just got back a couple of days ago from a trip to Huntsville. From what I experienced of the town, it was much more of an upper middle class type of suburb (Whole Foods, etc). Huntsville has a very educated populace, far more than the state of Alabama as a whole. And typically, higher education levels tend to correlate with being more accepting of others’ differences.
I want to make it clear that I’m not advocating for UA-Huntsville. I simply want to dispel any possible misconceptions about the area (not that I’m an expert, but it was definitely not hillbilly hicksville). Perhaps a picture (and article) might help…
I looked at this article and looked at political demographics for the area. It seems that Huntsville is politically moderate, and much more liberal than the rest of the state. I’ll definitely consider it because of its programs available. Definitely worth looking into more!
OP:
1 of the colleges on the links that @tsbna44 mentioned above was Univ of Arizona, which has a really great SALT Center (https://salt.arizona.edu/) for disabled students. U of A also has a really good physics program. And the university does a lot of research through the Steward Observatory at the top of Mt Lemmon (1 hr’s drive from campus).
Although Arizona is a reddish-purple state, Tucson is very liberal and there’s a very active LGBT community on and around campus.
However, it’s definitely farther away from NY than FL is for sure.
If you ever consider graduate school down the road, you should consider New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech), which has a REALLY excellent physics program. It doesn’t have any of your other nice-to-have’s, though, for undergrad…it’s a small town with not much to do (Socorro, NM) and it’s about an hour’s drive from Albuquerque. But if you’re serious about physics and astronomy, then that’s a school that would be worth considering.
Huntsville does not have a Hillel or Jewish population on campus. U of Alabama does - but it’s a huge SEC School and with that come sports and Greek life. Most aren’t Greek but they’re a healthy dose. But check out Randall Research Scholars. They have excellent programs.
I do agree Huntsville would be a wonderful city to study in. It’s modern, growing and it’s NASA part 2 - most every aero company is near there. Florida Tech in Melbourne would be similar - also few Jews. Lots of international.
Take rank on liberal/conservative with a grain of salt. Most kids are not politically minded. They are study/party minded. Even at an American or UVM (#1 and #2 liberal on niche), you’ll find plenty of conservative. My kid goes to Bama. I don’t even know if he could name the VP. You have to seek it out. So at most places I would take that with a grain of salt.
A few things about Bama. Cheap. Huge Hillel-estimated 1k Jews. Huge OOS pop -60% or so with many from the NE. They buy kids in with high merit.
There’s a website called campus pride. Google it plus a school name. You can find out by theyr ratings whether a school is considered lgbtq friendly. As an example , Bama is strong: 4.5 of 5. UAH not rated but has a pride parade. W&M is a 4 as is U of Miami. You can look up any school of interest. Like niche it’s a starting point but dig deeper on schools that interest you.
A state may or may not be ok (beyond the school) but don’t dismiss a school without further research. I bet few Jews realize a ton go to schools like Kansas, Oregon, and Bama for example.
However, in their choice of universities in the area, there is still considerable segregation. The Huntsville metro area has both UAH (71% White) and AAMU (90% Black).
I know there are plenty of jews at these schools. To be completely honest, most of the jewish kids from NE that go to those big party schools like Bama are American jews which is a little different to Middle-Eastern jews. A lot of them are very involved with sports and partying in high school and go on to do that in college. Many of them are not academically oriented but come from money and good schools so they are able to thrive at good schools. The jewish people I know at those schools are all blonde and have blue eyes. They are also not very involved with culture. It’s not being jewish in particular that makes me feel unsafe in certain places, it’s also the fact that I look ‘exotic.’ Irregardless of my autism and adhd I’ve always been categorized as different for my interests and my odd communication patterns. All of this combined with my sexual orientation just makes me feel a little uncomfortable in a lot of places to be honest, however I handle it well so I can thrive still. I just don’t want to be in a place where it’s too much.
Jewish kids at Bama and other schools like it often rush. Greek life is not for me when it’s huge at the school. Me and my parents both agree I don’t belong at a school where people feel Greek life is the main path to socialization.
No question. Not trying to push you there. Just trying to point out some places might surprise you .ie places in conservative zones - like a Rice for example.
I think the initial list you had was good. And it seems like you have a good sense of what you want and where to go.
I was just adding onto your trepidation when another mentioned Huntsville.
One thing to know - you’ll be an adult. So be yourself and be proud of it. Don’t let others make you feel any less and hopefully in college no one will. Yea there’s immaturity but it’s an older crowd from HS.
You should also take a look at this thread…similar question about physics.
It sounds like some of your main criteria so far are:
physics major. Option to take astronomy/astrophysics classes a plus.
anywhere east of (and including) Texas or Midwest
not in a conservative state, but Florida ok.
large enough LGBT+ community where you’d feel comfortable. For example, if it’s a larger school, would that equate to, maybe, the dorms having an LGBT living learning community floor? Or gender-fluid housing options? just keep in mind that a smaller college might not have that as an LLC option)
schools where Greek life isn’t a big thing.
good supports for your ASD & ADHD - lots of variety here, so research at each school of what’s available will be helpful + having a solid understanding of what you need will be important. On a related note, if you’ll need access to psychiatric and/or mental health professionals while at college, then, speaking from a mom’s perspective, if you were my kid, I’d be telling you to consider the locally available access to those services…and consider whether the physical & mental healthcare options in and around the college will be “in network” for your medical insurance plan.
accepting of LGBT+, races, ethnicities, etc. On this topic, 1 person’s opinion can vary a lot from the next person, so I’d recommend that you for sure go on a tour of wherever you are seriously thinking of attending.
Is an on campus Hillel organization part of your ‘must have’ or ‘nice to have’ list? Also, how would you define “accepting of races, ethnicities, etc.” For example, would that mean “X% of students are not Caucasian”? Or it might mean “X% of students are international”? Or something else?
Having a jewish organization isn’t a must but it’s definitely nice. By accepting of other races I mean that friend groups are not established by race and hate speech and crime are not rampant. Hate speech is unavoidable to some extent but I heard some schools are worse than others.
gender fluid housing is definitely not something I need. It would be nice if there was an LGBTQ+ organization on campus. Definitely a school where it’s not looked at as weird or bad if someone expresses their gender identity or sexuality.
I don’t need a lot of accommodations. It’s mostly the environment. I want to be in an environment where ND people feel safe and accepted.
As far as mental health goes- If I’m in state my current psychiatrist can still see me via phone. If not, I can see someone in whatever state my college is in. I’m thankful that our insurance will cover that. I have a psychiatrist that I see once every 6-8 weeks.
I’m not necessarily against a conservative state per-se. Precise location is important. I would be open to schools in conservative states depending on the student body and overall fit. For example, you could classify SC or NC as conservative, but I would be fine in either of those states as long as it’s in an area that is more moderate. Alabama as a whole has a reputation for being very conservative, and with less big cities like Texas, it can be hard to find an area that is moderate.
These lists from Princeton Review might be interesting for you to look at.
@merc81 shared one of these, I believe, but here’s the opposite vantage point as well.
From some of the colleges on the “good” lists that might be of interest include William & Mary (VA), Agnes Scott (women’s college in Atlanta), College of Wooster (OH), St. Bonaventure (NY), and Wesleyan (CT). Agnes Scott is part of a consortium where students are able to take classes at other Atlanta-area universities, like Georgia Tech, Emory, and Spelman.
It’s interesting to me - how these lists are sourced - and I don’t know which is right or which isn’t - but my kid knows several who go to UTK from HS and seem to be having good experiences.
Campus Pride is an index - better or not than Princeton Review - I don’t know - but it gives UTK a 4 star of 5 rating. Just curious as to the methods/mechanisms they use to define these because you wouldn’t think in some cases they could be polar opposites.
Bama a 4.5 star.
Auburn and LSU (noted as low on the other list) are 2.5 star which is low - but it’s rated. Many schools aren’t. UNC, for example, isn’t. Not sure why - i.e. if that means it’s not considered strong (I bring up because I’m sure most would assume it is).
For comparison - using the campus pride index
Duke is a 4 star,
Syracuse 4 star,
Rochester 5 star,
Hofstra 5 star,
SUNY B 3.5 star
William & Mary 4,
UVA 4.5
Pitt 5 star
This article shows the “top 30” from 2016. I listed a 2nd that says it shows top 30 but has less but from 2021. These are from campus pride - just for comparison. Surprising to me is schools like Washington State, Southern Illinois U. I know these aren’t schools for OP - but perhaps there’s a nugget of others schools in the articles. What I do think these articles and Princeton Review and others show is - you have to find your school and then dig including talking to student ambassadors or LGBTQ on campus. I don’t think you can truly assess anything from different webguides.
Regarding LGBTQ acceptance, while college age people are generally more accepting than the general adult population, note that acceptance varies for different subgroups. For example, T woman tend to face considerably more hostility than other groups under the acronym. Within LGB, men probably face more hostility than women.
This can matter in terms of personal experience as well as how you may observe things if you are an active ally to those in other LGBTQ groups.
The Princeton Review rating is based on “how strongly students agree that their fellow students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression”. The Campus Pride Index is based on mostly on the school administration’s policies and actions on things that may be of importance to LGBTQ students (see example here listing the criteria). For obvious reasons, these measures can diverge significantly.
Thanks for the explanation - I was a bit time crunched to look up.
What’s scary then is - well people are people regardless of where they are- as OP even mentioned issues in New York - and unfortunately that is true of anywhere.
I do wonder how real these things are though -
Often times groups cluster separately - it doesn’t mean there’s prejudice or avoidance - it’s just some kids cluster with similar groupings - like happens in every day life.
I haven’t read all the responses, but I would definitely check out Vassar and hopefully visit since it is close to you. It has a strong physics department, a very welcoming and pro LGBTQ environment, and there are lots of activities and events to do on campus (plus NYC is a train ride away).
“It’s not being jewish in particular that makes me feel unsafe in certain places, it’s also the fact that I look ‘exotic.’ Irregardless of my autism and adhd I’ve always been categorized as different for my interests and my odd communication patterns. All of this combined with my sexual orientation just makes me feel a little uncomfortable in a lot of places to be honest, however I handle it well so I can thrive still. I just don’t want to be in a place where it’s too much.”
As I read this comment, it occurs to me that a campus where you’d stand out the least might be a campus with a high percentage of international students because on such a campus, your exotic looks would just be attributed to being an international student and other people on campus wouldn’t give you a second look. Once other students get to know you and you get to know them, it won’t matter. I think these campuses might also be campuses where students learn to be more accepting of differences and where a culture of acceptance has evolved over decades. After all, on these campuses you are studying with others who are literally from all over the world. No one could thrive on such a campus and maintain a hatred of others who are different.
Here’s a list of East Coast colleges with a relatively high percent of international students (reported in parentheses) and which have a major in astrophysics or similar:
Mount Holyoke (28%)
University of Rochester (27%)
NYU (24%)
Carnegie-Mellon (22%)
Boston University (21%)
Bryn Mawr (19%)
Franklin & Marshall (17%)
Columbia (17%)
RPI (16%)
Swarthmore (15%)
Smith (15%)
University of Pennsylvania (12%)
@Bill_Marsh’s suggestion is a good one. Another is to look at schools with a racially diverse population. For instance:
Agnes Scott is 6% Asian, 33% Black, 15% Hispanic, 33% White, 7% 2 or more races, 3% unknown, and 3% international. With such a mix of students, I doubt that OP would seem overly “exotic.” There are other similarly diverse schools, if that’s what OP is looking for.
You definitely should go somewhere you feel comfortable. Although, one could argue that Florida overall is way more politically conservative than NY.
I find the most diverse places the most inclusive, which may seem ironic to some.