<p>I was wondering if it will hurt and benefit me if I put that I am a homosexual on the Columbia application. I'm planning to put in my short answer that I want to go to the school because of its open-mindedness towards homosexuals, etc. Please reply.</p>
<p>It may help, and it definitely won't hurt you. (If it does, why would you want to go there anyway?)</p>
<p>Being gay/lesbian is no longer a stigma, at least in the elite colleges. I think most colleges will let you major in Gay and Lesbian Studies. The problem with your remark is that it doesn't say anything unique about Columbia. The comment could describe any school. I would try to expand more about the Columbia environment.</p>
<p>I would leave it out all together. The whole "I'm gay and want to attend college x because of the open-mindedness of the people" statement is trite, and probably won't help you that much, especially at top schools like Columbia.</p>
<p>There are thousands of "open-minded schools" (im gay too) - you need a better reason to go to a school than that</p>
<p>Would it be better to say that I want to come out of the closet at Columbia because it is a place where I dont have to fear repercussions, and where I can developed myself because it is in NYC, etc.</p>
<p>That's a weak reason. Sounds like you want to promote yourself as a "URM."</p>
<p>Most colleges are gay-friendly.</p>
<p>I'm not gay and I'm old, so perhaps my reaction might be similar to that of an old adcom. One, do people still say "come out of the closet?" Two, adcoms won't care about your sexual orientation. Wanting to be gay in a conducive environment is not a good reason to attend Columbia.</p>
<p>If this is about the "Why I Want to Attend ....." essay, I would find something very specific, concrete, and unique about Columbia on their website that relates to what you want to study. Then I might also say something about the Columbia environment and educational opportunities of being at Columbia and in NYC.</p>
<p>Leave it out. If you really want the school to know you're gay, on Part I where you fill in the activities you are planning on doing one of the options is "gay/lesbian." Just put that. I'm also gay and applying to Columbia.</p>
<p>
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One, do people still say "come out of the closet?"
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Haha, yeah. But it's usually shortened to "come out." I've never thought about that before.</p>
<p>I don't see how saying "I want to come out in New York" is a good reason to attend Columbia. Maybe "There's a lot of backlash where I live about gays and lesbians, and having visited the school and seeing the very active LGBT lifestyle such as the ___ club, the ____ major, etc, I feel students would be accepting of me. I'm also very interested in Biology, and Columbia has a major that..."</p>
<p>I don't think it should be the focus of a whole essay though.</p>
<p>No offense, but this site seems to have a lot of gays on it. Just an observation, nothing bad or good to say about it.</p>
<p>and if you love Columbia so much, why didnt you apply ED?</p>
<p>
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No offense, but this site seems to have a lot of gays on it.
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There are a good number of topics on related issues, but there are also a lot of reasons why this may be the case:
-More people will be open about their sexualities online than in real life where they would have to deal with family, friends, etc.
-Gay kids tend to have gay related questions about colleges and applying that aren't convered in college books or by GCs (meaning you see them more)
-Think about how many people on this site who you know are gay. Now think about how many people visit this site. I'm sure the percentage is very small.
-I sort of mentioned this, but here you can see when people are gay because it is typed out for you to read. At school and at home, it is not as easy to tell. Basically, you only know about people's sexualities more here.
-etc.
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and if you love Columbia so much, why didnt you apply ED?
[/quote]
There are tons of reasons. Maybe he didn't visit until last month. Maybe money is a factor in his decision. Maybe he simply doesn't want to enter into a binding contract. Maybe his application wasn't ready by the date. There are tons of reasons.</p>
<p>You are completely right corranged. I am terrified to reveal myself at this stage to my family because my family hates homosexuals. I believe if I go to Columbia, I can reveal myself in a open-minded community without any restrictions I might face. I also think I would be able to participate activities on campus that helps me define who I am. </p>
<p>I didn't apply ED because my parents wanted me to have other options. I live in California, and my parents tell me that I should choose a school close to home. Also, I wasn't able to finish my application early.</p>
<p>Fortunately, you can probably find what you want at a lot of other places besides Columbia if necessary. (Actually NYC can be overwhelming.) </p>
<p>What is being discussed in this thread, though, is how to make the best app. On the app it might be better to emphasize the environment or the academic opportunities that you are looking for as opposed to emphasizing the coming out part. First, Columbia's environment in this respect is nothing unique and so it really isn't a solid reason to want to go to Columbia. Second, it might sound better for your reason to have more to do with academic/learning opportunities. If being gay was still a big deal, you would sound courageous and someone who would add a new perspective to campus views. As it is, it sounds dangerous close to saying that you want to party. I'm not saying that you are saying that, but it might tend that way if you emphasize it in the app. I am not saying that you shouldn't mention it if you want, but put something else with it.</p>
<p>well a lot of schools r open to gays and homosexuals. I think yale has like the highest percentage of gay students.</p>
<p>
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I think yale has like the highest percentage of gay students.
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Where did that come from? It seems like a pretty difficult statistics to gather, and there are several schools that would come to mind as having very high lgbt populations.</p>
<p>I hope you're kidding....</p>
<p>it makes you look like a self-centered pig to put it in. i mean no one else puts that down in their short-answer..i am sorry but this doesnt make you special. arn't you always pushing on how you want to blend in and isn't society merging so this is no longer a "SPECIAL" trait - well you got it buddy - your not special and this is a very personal characteristic that has no place in a college application. Just by 2(00) cents.</p>
<p>imiracle,
I would bet that Yale has one of the largest gay populations of the Ivies, but it is absurd to think that it would have one of the largest populations among all schools, mainly because it is so selective and diverse. Among top tier universities I would bet that BostonU, Vassar, Macalester, and Wellesley have some of the highest gay populations, but it's a guess.</p>