I think Elon is a good fit. The reported gpa is weighted-OP is on the low side, true, but there is a lot of interest in attracting URMs and the business school is great. It costs a bit less to begin with than most privates and if he chose to ED he would surely be admitted. Worth a look. Lots of Massachusetts kids there.
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Make sure that you apply to UMass - a branch you can get into, as a safety, both academic and financial.
Look up and read the two recent threads about B students applying to a lot of the schools people have mentioned for you. They got many acceptances, and a lot of merit money.
Donāt write about depression. Schools are overwhelmed with students with mental health issues, requiring on campus treatment. They donāt want to take any more, if they can help it. So writing about a mental health issue is literally the kiss of death for your application process. (Cue the needle in a haystack exception naysayers) The schools will look at your sophomore grades vs your other years, and realize that it was the pandemic. Write about something you love, something you want to do, something optimistic and engagins and forward focused. Everyone suffered during the pandemic, everyone lost, and many lost their lives. So unless you lost an essential worker parent to Covid, probably best not to mention it.
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I do like Elon, I am just a bit concerned about the scene in rural NC for a gay guy though. Maybe Iām just overreacting. And I read about the huge Greek life presence there. I obviously wouldnāt mind going to a school with frats and sororities, its just that when its unavoidable is when it turns me off. Do any of you have anymore information on that?
Neither my kid nor her friends went greek, and there was plenty to do. She did not find the greek presence overwhelming. As to the rest of your question, I do not know.
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Tulane, although a private university, gives preference to Louisiana residents, at least for EA/ED applicants.
You might want to look at Fordham or St Johns in NY.
How about Wheaton College in MA?
Iāve found 3 very likelies so far that I like: UMass Dartmouth, Merrimack, U of Puget Sound (thanks to Austen for this one.) Bonuses of each one: I stay in the region for the first two, while I get to go out of my comfort zone a bit for U of Puget Sound. I like the smaller size at the UMass compared to other UMasses.
For likelies Iām interested in U. of Redlands, Saint Anselm, Siena, Monmouth, Elon, Stonehill, Springfield, and Adelphi. I went out of my comfort zone a bit with these as I added more ones that I didnāt recognize but I researched and seem to have pretty good academics.
For toss-ups I like Geneva, Gonzaga, Fairfield, Wofford, Wagner, and College of New Jersey. These are mostly on the east coast and wouldnāt be as much as a change as Gonzaga would be.
Possibles - I like out of these Connecticut College & Union (NY), Providence just doesnāt interest me that much due to the diversity issues.
Based on other peopleās recommendations, what would you think about Hofstra, Ithaca, Fordham, Wheaton, and St Johns in NY? (You donāt have to answer all of these by the way, just the ones you think are realistic.)
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My sister went to Hofstra for business - class of 1998. At that time the school wasnāt used to people coming from out of state and with snail mail being the means of communication it was pretty funny getting the information too late to do anything about it. But the school cared and help her make it work. The school has a program for those with alternative learning needs and as such is pretty welcoming for students with a not so perfect transcript if this can be explained. They do take a holistic approach. My sister was hired by Ralph Lauren before she even graduated and began working in marketing for the outlet line. She has changed jobs and companies over the years but always had an upward trajectory and never been out of work. She never did get an MBA and so far has done fine without it. Certainly a school that you should take a look at.
All are realistic. Look at diversity.
Conn College would be a huge reach. But reaches are ok as long as you have the safety.
Hofstra estimates scholarship on their NPC. Itās regional and many supposedly go home many weekends. But thatās gonna happen at many regional schools.
If the Midwest would be a consideration you could add more 
Ooh I see, and yeah I get that part about Conn College, LAC can be very hard to get into.
Iām willing to look at options in the Midwest to be honest! Anything goes at this point. I have my preferred locations (West Coast, Northeast), but I am willing to see what is out there in the Midwest.
Letās focus on the areas you like. You mentioned Florida too and some choices were listed.
But schools like Bradley come to mind. But again itās regional. The Hofstra of Illinois.
I mostly like Mid-Atlantic and New England. Specific states would include PA, MA, CT, NY, NJ. And all of the West Coast (CA, WA, OR).
I will look into Bradley, Illinois sounds good to me personally.
Are you familiar with the Campus Pride Index? You can search via various parameters, or you can also look up a schoolās name directly. It doesnāt have all colleges in there, but it has more than 400. The ratings up to 5 stars. When you select a particular schoolās name (hereās the Elon page, for example) if you scroll down you will see check marks by the aspects of an LGBTQ-friendly campus (or no check marks, as the case may be). You can see what aspects are particularly important to you when you drill down on particular campuses of interest, or you might also use it as for the overall rating system (i.e. maybe avoid a 2* school but taking a closer look at schools with 4* on up).
I may be repetitive to what others have given but check out (if itās not been given)
UNC Asheville - Asheville has a large LGBTQ population. Beautiful area. I couldnāt find the school listed on campus pride - but thatās a rating service as @AustenNut previously reported - 0 to 5 stars.
Elon is - in the middle of nowhere - but 45 mins from Greensboro and Durham - and it rates amongst the best. But there is nothing thereā¦its why my daughter took it off the list after our visit. Itās neither suburban or urban.
Good luck.
Once again, this list is categorized based on my very fallible sense of what might be your chances of acceptance. It only contains the schools you have mentioned that you are interested in (and alphabetized by category). The Campus Pride Index (CPI) is indicated by the schools that I was able to locate. Iāve bolded the schools you added where you were wondering about your chances though please note that most of these did not have a GPA breakdown, thus itās based on overall acceptance rate and test scores. Iāve offered a few possible alternatives for U. Mass ā Dartmouth, if you wanted some other in-state options to consider.
Guaranteed
Extremely Likely (80-99%)
- Merrimack (MA)
- U. Mass ā Dartmouth: 3* CPI (what do you think of Bridgewater State or Worcester State, both 4.5* as possible alternatives?)
- U. of Puget Sound (WA): 4*
Likely (60-79%)
- Adelphi (NY): 4.5* CPI
- Elon (NC): 5* CPI
- Hofstra (NY); 5* CPI
- Ithaca (NY): 5* CPI
- Monmouth (NJ)
- Saint Anselm (NH)
- Siena (NY)
- Springfield (MA)
- St. Johnās (NY)
- Stonehill (MA)
- U. of Redlands (CA): 3.5*
- Wheaton (MA): 4.5* CPI
Toss-Up (40-59%)
- College of New Jersey
- Fairfield (CT)
- Geneva (PA )
- Gonzaga (WA): 4*
- Wagner (NY)
- Wofford (SC)
Possible (20-39%)
- Connecticut College: 4.5*
- Fordham (NY): 2.5*
- Union (NY): 4.5*
Less Likely (20% or less)
For the schools that have CPIs that concern you, I would look at their specific school profiles to see why theyāre scoring that way, and whether it makes a difference for you. Also, as this is an aspect of life that you want to make sure you are fully supported and comfortable, you may want to reach out to campus LGBTQ groups and speak with students about their thoughts on the campuses that youāre giving serious consideration to.
I have seen Wofford listed as a school for the LGBTQ community to avoid, not because of the school itself, but because of the community where it is located. If Wofford interests you, however, I would definitely reach out to people on the ground to see some real-life perspectives.
I donāt have much personal experience with most of these colleges. In addition to looking at their websites and such I would also do some searches by the universityās name here on CC and you might find a lot more texture to get a feeling about various campuses.
And Asheville, by the way, is in one of the prettiest areas of the country.
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Do you know anything about Clark University (MA)? I remember talking to my counselor yesterday and she had recommended I look at it.
The CPIs mostly look great except for UMass Dartmouth and Fordham. I am willing to compromise on this aspect though in deciding where to apply. And I do think that Worcester State is a good school that could be a good replacement for UMass Dartmouth, I was thinking about pros and cons of Dartmouth anyways and was gonna shelve it due to the campus not being very good.
I also like Asheville, the area is indeed quite beautiful in contrast to UMass Dartmouth.
Fine school - in Worcester. Itās a reach for you (in my opinion).
UNCA - Asheville is like 90K people, hub of the county and the liberal area of NCā¦easier admit for you.
You may also look at College of Charleston in SC.
I think Iāve assembled a nice list of safeties & targets. Iāll include Asheville and College of Charleston in that list. Iām going to keep on the lookout for some more safeties and targets then Iāll narrow it down to a good list. Iām not sure what to put for my reaches, I donāt want to throw away money applying to a school Iāll never get into (i.e Ivys), so Iād rather find a reasonable reach. Iāve got Fordham but Iāll probably put one or two more.
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For a big school consider Virginia Commonwealth University. Richmond is a very cool city. Very artsy, but VCU has all sorts of options for majors.
We are in NC. Elon is supposed to be very LGBTQ+ friendly, but I am not sure how they determine that. It doesnāt really have that vibe to me when I have been on campus, but I guess they have good support? UNC-Asheville definitely seems super gay friendly. If you are outdoorsy and interested in a very small school, check out Warren Wilson College, also near Asheville, super LGBTQ+ friendly. Also in NC UNC-Greensboro is LGBTQ+ friendly and super diverse. Great theatre program, too.