Why do colleges ask sexual orientation?

I remember when registering my kids for Kindergarten there was a form asking all kinds of questions about their development, first words, when they walked, etc. So I started to fill out the forms and answered for the first kid. Problem was she was a micropreemie so the statistics weren’t going to helpful results as everything was off by months or almost a year - didn’t walk or talk or get teeth until 16-18 months old. But I answered. For the second child, the answer to almost every question was “I don’t know” because she was adopted at 2.5 years old so I didn’t know when she walked or talked and she had a full set of teeth when I first saw her.

I then decided not to answer questions I didn’t want to. When my adopted daughter was filling out the forms to register for high school, one of the first question was for name of mother, and the next was how was this person related to you. The choices were foster mother (no) bio mother (no) stepmother (no) or guardian (no). There was no option to fill in a different relationship, so she left it blank and no one ever questioned it.

I’d wouldn’t answer this question and find it very intrusive. “Legal sex?” Do they have a need to know that?

I think the question is an invasion of privacy.

Had that question been on my kids’ applications I would have told them not to answer it.

As it happened one of them was gay but not “out.” Why should the school know something that the student did not yet share with most classmates or teachers?

I would argue that being LGBT is about a lot more than “who you have sex with.”

But since I’m assuming this question was completely optional, I don’t really see the problem. It’s obviously not about outing people!

I think some people are just worried that it gives someone else an edge. It doesn’t.

If you think this question is just about “Who You Have Sex With” then you are kind of a Neanderthal.

So what if it give some kid an advantage. LGBTQA kids face a bunch of issues that straight folks don’t get.

I have no problem with kids telling schools information that they haven’t told their parents

If anyone thinks this give applicants any sort of an advantage, s/he needs to do a lot more research in what colleges are looking for in their applicants.

I am not convinced that every student even knows the answer to this question at the time that they are filling out their university applications.

One could say that about several of the questions on the Common App, including religious preference and career interest.

Is religion?

My son (who is gay) is happy that his school, UPenn, asks this question on the app.

They do it to get statistics that then help market the school to those identifying as lgbt. For instance, Penn lists on its diversity statistics that 10%of admitted students of class of xyz identify as lgbt. This made Penn much more attractive to him as a school than one that only has say 5% lgbt in his class. For my son it was important to have a thriving LGBT community at his college choice. He has heard from friends that while their schools are lgbt friendly, many feel the population size is very small and therefore they feel the school lacking in social aspects for them. They wish they would have known beforehand.

If you are uncomfortable of course you don’t have to answer, but for many who do identify as lgbt, having an idea of the lgbt population statistics is an important consideration when choosing a school.

However, a truthful answer to that question could be of concern to LGB students who have not otherwise disclosed that to LGB-hostile parents who may see the application.

Again, that’s why it is purely optional. No one is forced to give a response.

^
Additionally, it’s an issue that colleges have considered.

I think one problem is people do feel compelled to answer every question, or just get in a ‘check the box’ frame of mind and don’t think about it. I question everything but know a lot of people who put SSN on forms just because the form has a blank for that. Dentist offices ask for it all the time. My dentist doesn’t need my SSN.

Maybe the info is helpful to get stats for registered students, but applicants? How would it help to know the 10% of applicants are LBGTQ if only 3% are accepted or enroll? There are more opportunities to gather this information on housing applications and registration forms.

Marketing, for one reason. My kids have all gotten targeted marketing materials from colleges after they applied that clearly used info on the application.

I agree with marketing being a reason. Maybe the LBGTQ center wanted to reach out to prospective students.

I don’t really see the point of the religion question if you aren’t applying to religious schools, tbh. But I don’t think it’s a huge deal. Just answer, or don’t, and move on. It’s not going to count against you.