LGBT Friendly School with Merit Scholarships?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi all!

I’ve been lurking around on these forums for a while, and now that I’m about a quarter of the way through my junior year, the College Search Process is in full swing and mildly terrifying. I’ve looked at a lot of schools recently, but I need suggestions for schools that are less reach-y financially speaking, and you all seem to know a lot more than I do about this process. Here’s the situation:

  1. We can afford to pay ~25k per year, but will not receive any need-based aid. We've already run the NPCs for a couple schools that meet full need and didn't get aid, which is why I'm looking for schools with large merit scholarships. My stats aren't really up to par with the typical poster on here, though. That being said, I'm going to split the schools I've already looked at into two categories: admissions reach/match/safety and financial reach/match/safety
  2. As a bisexual, transgender kid, having a strong LGBT community (and activist community, really) is very important to me. (Think Brown or Oberlin.) I come from a pretty liberal town, but I'm pretty much the only trans kid around, so I'm looking for a place where that doesn't hold true. I've found that the presence of gender neutral housing and/or all-gender restrooms are good signs.
  3. I'm looking for a school that isn't too large. Anywhere from 100-10000 students (total population, not just undergrads) is fine with me. I'd prefer a school where a Greek life isn't present or doesn't dominate social life. I have no issue with parties on the weekends, though.
  4. I'll most likely end up studying English, political science, or sociology.

Without further ado, here are my stats!

GPA: 3.88UW (upward trend: 3.76 freshman year and 4.0 sophomore year)
Rank: N/A

SAT: 2250 (730 CR, 770 M, 750 W w 10 Essay) I’ll most likely retake in January.
SATII: Literature 740 (took it cold June of sophomore year, will retake along with US History and maybe Spanish)
AP Courses (none offered before junior year): APUSH, AP Language. I’ve also taken 10 honors courses (not counting electives)
Senior Year Courseload (projected): AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Spanish, Creative Writing Honors, and either AP Bio or AP Stats

Awards: Poetry Out Loud (regional finalist, hoping to make the state level this year)
Other than that, I’ve submitted writing to a few competitions, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

Activities/ECs:
Theater (heavy involvement): actor (1 play, 2 student-directed one acts), tech crew (4 plays, running crew for 1)
Gender Equality Club: likely position holder next year
GSA: same as Gender Equality
Writers Workshop Club: (currently in the process of founding)
Teen PEP: selective sex-education group comprised of ~60 juniors. We present to the middle school and high school. I’m currently working on updating the homophobia outreach.

Work experience:
Babysitting weekly sophomore year
Tutoring a seventh grader in math this year (I doubt either of these count.)
I’ve also done cancer research at Columbia’s Medical Center (100 hrs), but I don’t know if that matters because I’m not really looking to go into the sciences. I thought I might be interested in research as a career, but after my summer work I realized that it really isn’t for me.

Here are the schools I’ve looked at so far: (note that I’m basing my financial assessment on the likelihood of receiving large merit scholarships from each school)

-Oberlin (admissions low reach/reach, financial high reach)
-Grinnell (admissions reach, financial high reach)
-Kenyon (admissions reach, financial high reach)
-Clark (admissions low match, financial high match/low reach?)
-Sarah Lawrence (admissions low match/safety, financial ??)
-TCNJ (safety, in-state)

I know most of the schools on my list are pretty small, but I do like midsize schools (I visited Brown recently and loved it.) I just haven’t found any that I would really like and can afford.

Are there any other schools I should look into where it might be a little easier to get large merit scholarships? How about schools that would be a financial reach but are still a possibility?

Thank you so much for reading through all this!

2

University of Vermont is worth a look. St. Lawrence University and Lafayette also offer merit but whether they fit socially I cannot say.

UVM seems to be very generous with out of state students because it has a huge out of state student body. Burlington where it is located is very liberal and student friendly, and its beauty is unparalleled.

3

You could be a really great candidate for a large merit scholarship at Emerson College. It is an extremely LGBT friendly school and if you apply for the honors program you can have a merit scholarship that pays for half of the tuition and is renewable all four years. It would be a really good safety school for you and your extracurriculars look like you would really enjoy it. The school also isn’t very large and you have the chance to explore Boston. The only thing is that it is a very arts oriented school and doesn’t have the exact majors you are looking for, but it does have a Writing, Literature and Publishing Major.

4

Goucher would be another choice along the same lines as Clark. Wesleyan would be another top LAC that would work.

5

If you want the friendliest college, go to Penn State. There number #1 in LGBT

6

That is an interesting ask. Hmmm. I would think Looking at city based schools like Temple, Tulane, BU etc which all have good merit would also provide enough diversity where you can find your tribe and be happy!

7

My oldest child is at Oberlin and is trans. They were one of the few to receive a $12000 merit scholarship in addition to $2000 per year for being NMF. It’s not very generous with merit.

8

Oberlin would be so great if you can get enough $ from them…

9

I have a close friend whose child is transgender and was quite comfortable and happy at UVM.

Eckerd College, very liberal, no Greek life, you would be eligible for approx. $19,000 in merit aid. Take a look at the “Online Current” the student newspaper.

10

@TurnerT I’m looking to UVM right now and it seems like I would fit in there! I’m not sure if 17k/yr in merit’ll be enough, but it’s definitely an option.

@isaf33 I know of Emerson because a close friend of mine is considering it, but I don’t think it has what I want academically.

@happy1 I’m looking at Goucher, but I don’t think Wesleyan offers any merit money.

@NASA2014 Penn State might be a little overwhelmingly large for me. That’s also the reason why I’m hesitant about applying to Rutgers.

@HRSMom I’m worried that those schools may be too large as well, except for maybe Tulane. I worry about the social fit there, though.

@GamerGal27 Thank you for letting me know! I’m planning on visiting, but I won’t get my hopes up or anything.

@ECmotherx2 Good to know. I’ll also look at Eckerd!

Thank you all!

11

@fallenchemist Any advice re Tulane for this prospective student?

https://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/intercultural/lgbtq/

Take a look at their Office for Gender & Sexual Diversity…

12

Someone mentioned Temple. It may have an automatic full tuition scholarship for your stats.

Penn State is probably too expensive with very little chance of sufficient merit money.

13

First, why on earth are you retaking a 2250?

Lewis and Clark College (1/2 and full tuition scholarships available)

14

@ucbalumnus I’m afraid it might be a little too large for my liking. Thank you, though.

@“Erin’s Dad” I’m retaking it because I think it’s worth going for a higher superscore. I’m not obsessing over getting to 2400, and if my second try doesn’t improve it’s not the end of the world. I just think I can raise my CR and W scores by a little bit.

Thank you for the suggestion! I’ve heard good things about Portland, as well.

15

@HRSMom That link is really helpful! Thank you!

16

Check out the New College of Florida. With the $15K OOS scholarship, the total cost of tuition + room/board would be around $24K. The merit scholarship is a bit higher if you’re a National Merit Finalist.

Trans students often have to scope out colleges more carefully than LGB students. Here’s some resources:

https://www.campuspride.org/tpc/
http://www.collegeequalityindex.org/list-colleges-gender-neutral-housing
http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2012/08/15/top-10-trans-friendly-colleges-and-universities

17

New College of FL would fit your requirements nicely, and your chances for admission are excellent. If they retain the same policies they’ve had for the past few years, there is an automatic scholarship of $15k for out-of-state students. They are a public college, and so their tuition is relatively low in the first place. The $15k brings the cost down below $30k. We live in NJ, and it costs roughly the same as Rutgers would. It is very LGBT-friendly and progressive, with a quirky, nerdy feel. It’s been nicknamed “Bikini Bennington,” for example. Sarasota, on the surface, seems like a mecca for wealthy old white people, but NCF and nearby Ringling College of Art & Design (RCAD) bring some creative, youthful energy, and there’s a local arts scene.

18

@warblersrule @woogzmama Thank you so much for the suggestion! New College sounds like a great fit!

19

Also regarding the suggestion of Penn State… I go there and my reaction to us being named one of the most LGBT-friendly schools was “How??” And then I read the indignant FB comments from students and alumni and again asked, “HOW??”

Take that as you will, I guess. Maybe the administration is but some very vocal students are not.

20

I don’t recommend Emerson. IMO, they shouldn’t be considered one of the most LGBT friendly schools; they’re good if you’re a white gay man, but from what I have heard, they’re not that great for anyone else. And their merit aid is poor. Honestly, the Princeton Review’s list shouldn’t even be considered as accurate – they listed Smith as one of the top ten during the time when the whole issue with them not admitting trans women was going on.

This is going to be a bit of a different recommendation, but I would maybe look at other, more easily measurable characteristics first (size, location, major availability, etc) and then look at factors relating to LGBTQ friendliness. I’m not trying to say that shouldn’t be an important part of your search, but you can often find a supportive environment in places that aren’t as known for their liberal climates as Brown or Oberlin. I have two trans friends at Catholic colleges, and both love their respective institutions (despite one not ever being Catholic). Campus Pride is a great resource, but it’s limited; the procedure for getting on there is very long and apparently a pain in the butt to do. So I think a lot of schools that aren’t instantly thought of as LGBTQ-friendly tend to get overlooked, even though students there might be very happy.

And just to toss out a few factors of things to look at, gender neutral bathrooms, as you said, is a big one. Another would be looking at the housing policies, and seeing if they allow you to do what you’re most comfortable with (whether that be a single, rooming with someone of your gender, or rooming with someone of a different gender; I know people who have done all of those things). You should also reach out to LGBTQ groups on campus to gauge the climate, as well as seeing if they have just a general GSA-type group, or if they have trans-specific ones.

As a general disclaimer, I’m cis, but I’ve worked with GSA groups on a statewide level, and I know a lot of trans people who have gone through the college process. My advice is based on what I’ve seen work for them.

(all that being said, UMass Amherst is very, very trans friendly; I know they’re much larger than you want, but if that’s negotiable, you should really consider them.)