@valkyries, regarding posting #54, it’s not unreasonable to decide that an undergraduate focused university or LAC is a better first step -always IMHO
I just visited Ithaca college yesterday and it might be a good low match or safety. Great town, easy access to the outdoors, has a reputation for being laid back and liberal. It’s large for an LAC, with about 7000 students, so I think you are going to find plenty of LGBTQ students.
@Lindagaf Thanks! Yeah, Ithaca is pretty liberal so that makes sense.
Re #54, with respect to your stated first choice college, note that forfeiting too many of your core preferences, even for an excellent school such as Harvard, can lead to regret:
Agree with those who mentioned St. Lawrence, Hampshire and Smith.
@apple23 Thank you for sharing that. Ultimately, my choice may come down to finances, but in an ideal situation, hopefully I won’t have to sacrifice much!
If you are looking for schools high on the social justice scale, you can’t get much better than some of the Jesuit schools like Fordham, College of the Holy Cross, BC, Georgetown. The Jesuit motto is men and women for others, and as such all these schools have a commitment to community service and social justice, with a significant portion of the student body participating. For instance at Holy Cross, students are involved with soup kitchens, shelters for pregnant women, immigrant issues, underserved schools and even have a program called Holy Ballers where students play basketball with kids in juvenile detention. All the Jesuit schools will have similar programs. They just-may not meet your outdoorsy criteria, but for social justice they are tops.
@wisteria100 are Jesuit schools safe/accepting spaces for LGBTQ students? I’m not straight so this is sort of important for me.
I’ve heard some not so encouraging things about BC. I haven’t really looked into the others.
I’d say it probably isn’t the combo you are looking for.
@intparent The Jesuit schools? Yeah. I am generally trying to avoid religious affliated schools. On the bright side, this thread is full of other amazing options. (Have sort of fallen in love with Bates. Oops.)
@valkyries The Jesuit philosophy is extremely tolerant, so accepting of LGBTQ. Can’t speak for BC directly, but know that Holy Cross has an active LGBTQ group and also lists LGBTQ faculty who can be resources to students. That being said, the Jesuit schools are less likely to have activism in the form of protest, marches etc, but more in the form of vigils, conversation etc. And they will be sporty but not necessarily outdoorsy. But you shouldn’t clump Jesuit schools in the conservative Christian bucket, because while those schools may not be friendly environments for gays, Jesuit schools will be.
@valkyries, great to hear as Bates seems like a great fit!
Given financial aid is important and Bates isn’t need blind, you’ll want to find out early on if that impacts your acceptance, Here’s the list of U.S. institutions that are not need-blind for U.S. applicants and meet full demonstrated need.
Many reputable US institutions that once championed “need-blind” policies in the past have modified their policies due to rising tuition and financial aid costs, as well as less-than-ideal returns on endowments. This largely affects prestigious institutions with vulnerable resources that do not offer merit-based aid but base their financial aid entirely on need and promise to deliver 100% of financial need (composed mostly of grants). These stated institutions refer to themselves as “need-aware” or “need-sensitive,” policies that somewhat contradict their call to admit and provide education for all qualified candidates regardless of economic status but allow them to fully fund the needs of all accepted students.[23]
For instance, at Macalester College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College, at least 95% of students are admitted without their financial aid need being a factor (i.e., “need-blind”), but a slim percentage (1%–5%), generally students wait-listed or with borderline qualifications, are reviewed in modest consideration of the college’s projected financial resources. All of these aforementioned colleges grant all admitted students full financial aid packages meeting 100% need.[24] At Wesleyan University, attempted shifts to a “need-aware” admission policy have resulted in protests by the school’s student body.[25]
Bates College
Bryn Mawr College
Carleton College
Colby College
Colgate University
Colorado College
Connecticut College[26]
Franklin and Marshall College
Lafayette College[27]
Macalester College
Mount Holyoke College
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Reed College
Scripps College
Skidmore College[28]
Smith College
Thomas Aquinas College
Trinity College
Tufts University [29]
Union College (Schenectady, New York)
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesleyan University
@Chembiodad oh hm, thanks for this info.
I am a freshman at Swarthmore and I think it would be a great fit for you! The campus is an arboretum, so it’s gorgeous! There are tons of ways to get involved in social justice as well! (For example, a recent group organized to go into Philly and ask the local government to uphold the conditions of the Paris Climate agreement; phone banking; lots of ways to connect to and help younger students locally…). I have been really happy here so far, and if you are applying to schools like Bowdoin and Williams I think Swat would make a good addition to your list!
@EllaNoble thank you so much!! Definitely considering Swat