Hey! I’m 17 and I’m planning on getting a legal name change as soon as possible due to being a trans guy. Will this make college applications more difficult/cause any kind of problems with paperwork or whatever? Should I wait until I’m enrolled to change It?
Thanks!
It’s really your choice since it’s a legal name change. If you do before applying to college, but after the name change has been approved, it’s going to be more work for you because you will need to ensure that your HS records, standardized test records, etc, all reflect the new name.
It gets more complicated, although not insurmountably so, if the name change becomes finalized after you’ve submitted some applications.
But whatever you do, I would suggest waiting until the name change is finalized before using your new name on documents for college. Good luck.