Been looking at supplements for D20. Some of them ask gender (OK, kind of makes sense so they can plan) and then a second question about sexual orientation. There is a pick list of choices. Why would they want to know this? I can’t think of a reason. It’s optional. Would you (your kid) answer it, why or why not? D20 is hetero but feels it’s nosy and isn’t going to answer.
I’m guessing for diversity? I don’t recall S17 having to answer that, until the housing app after acceptance. I doubt my D21 would care either way and would answer.
They ask a lot of nosy questions.
I thought it was strange that Smith didn’t admit males (at the time, none at all) but one of the first questions my daughter was asked was her ‘preferred pronoun.’
If a school gives a preference to male applicants, why not just apply as as neutral if you are female? Don’t state gender on the application.
If it’s optional, don’t answer.
I can. If one is an LGBTQ kid, the college can use the information to provide additional marketing material to the kid. Here’s our LGBTQ center. Here are our events. We welcome you. It’s all marketing, IMO. But it’s optional. Don’t answer the question if you don’t want to.
I doubt it. I’d posit that the colleges asking probably already have a higher concentration of LGBTQ kids than the surrounding area.
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It can also be useful information if a school has gender inclusive housing options.
I guess I’m less cynical than some others regarding the question. I assume it is to optionally give students a chance to express how they see themselves. Many applicants/students don’t see themselves as just male or female. By having a two part question, it gives applicants the opportunity, if they so desire, to represent themselves as they want to be represented. It also signals to applicants that the school will be sensitive to gender/sexuality issues just by asking.
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Housing options & to give notice to incoming students of special activities & clubs which may be of interest to them.
Haven’t dived too deeply into applications yet, but while signing up for tours and info sessions, we’ve seen “legal/birth sex” and “gender identity” as separate questions. Have not yet seen a question on sexual orientation.
They like gender diversity in some majors. And at some point, the non-binary folks felt limiting kids to only two choices wasn’t representative.
Not every decision a college mades is in a vacuum or for their own purposes or deceit or “the Y word” - yield.
I doubt the housing people are looking at the applications.
If you are going to provide resources for a particular demographic I would think you would want to have some sort of measure of that demographic so you can scale your resources appropriately.
I work in the technology sector of higher education. Just as the software systems were updated several years ago to allow reporting more than one race, software providers are updating the gender section so institutions can allow students (and faculty/staff) additional options in answering what has been a binary question.
My guess is for reporting purposes. I bet there are organizations / college guides that are beginning to expand their demographic reporting. So just as you can look to certain resources to find out what percentage of a school is female, so to are some places trying to report what percentage is LGBT.
Interesting answers.
I can see wanting to know AFTER a student is accepted/has enrolled, for purposes of having enough resources, notifying students about organizations pertaining to them, keeping demographic records etc. Still seems weirdly personal to ask this of people who are just applying.
What else will they start asking? “Do you have a drivers license?” “Do you use birth control?”“Do you smoke?” “Any illnesses run in your family”?
I agree with @doschicos that it’s probably about showing that they are a welcoming environment. If it’s Carnegie Mellon, it could be a reaction to a less-than-accepting student survey a few years back. If I can find it, I’ll post, but it’s 4-5 years old so they probably have something more current up.
She can just not answer. I doubt that many people who are out would find it weirdly personal, and if they did, they could just skip it like anyone else.
I think some don’t realize that expanding gender sensitivity is a very big deal to many people. It’s counter to this notion that we’ve already got male-female, what’s the big deal?
Did it ask about orientation or gender identity?
College applications routinely list multiple gender IDENTITY options (e.g., do you identify as male, female, trans, bigender, agender, etc.) in an effort to be inclusive, instead of just asking male vs. female. There is a big student-led movement in colleges and high schools now to be inclusive of all identities and not to assume male or female. So if colleges want to keep a balance of males and females by seeking that info from applicants, but simultaneously don’t want to offend or exclude the non-binary applicants, they include a gender question with a bunch of options.
However, I have never seen any application ask about ORIENTATION— meaning whom you like to date (e.g., are you heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, etc.). That would seem odd on a college application.
@TheGreyKing ORIENTATION! Choices like "straight/heterosexual, gay, lesbian, " there were more choices on the list but we didn’t read them thoroughly. At least 2 colleges, maybe 3 so far. D20 is not sexually active and felt uncomfortable about the whole thing. These were down in the supplements to the common app. Literally felt like they were asking “who do you have sex with?” I completely understand why they ask about IDENTITY. But I cannot see any reason why they’d even be curious about ORIENTATION. Once they know students’ genders why is the rest relevant? Especially for applicants, not enrolled students.
Just wondering about it. She’s happy to decline and move on.
Colleges have been reaching out to LGB applicants for nearly a decade, and it’s been several years since the first colleges started asking directly.
From “Outreach to Gay Applicants,” February 2010:
From “More College Applications Ask About Sexual Identity,” July 2013:
For queer students, many of whom have struggled to find acceptance, such a question may feel very welcoming. Campus climate was certainly something I considered carefully when I was applying to colleges.