Although we have many resources available for GLBT students, we also recognize that choosing a college is a very personal decision, so we've included an impartial article on choosing an GLBT-friendly college.
Making the transition from a high school environment to a college environment is a challenge for everyone, and there are many factors that will influence your decision. Money, location, school size, and academic reputation are some of the factors that a high school junior or senior would traditionally consider when looking over his or her college choices. There are many books and other resources available on which colleges fit particular students. But there is very little, if any, information available on what colleges are a good match for a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT) student, and which colleges only serve to make the GLBT student more isolated. The more comfortable you feel in college, the better you will do, and the more enjoyable your college years will be.
There are no particular types of colleges that are GLBT friendly (or not). Some small rural colleges are GLBT friendly, and some large urban universities aren't friendly. Some GLBT friendly schools are expensive, and some are not as expensive. Determining whether a school is GLBT friendly is something that takes time, and there is no correct or widely accepted rating system such as the US-News and World Report College Rankings that takes the 'gay friendly' factor into account. What we have compiled here are some of the factors you can possibly use to determine whether a school is really GLBT friendly.
One of the first things to look at is the school's non-discrimination policy, which can be found in the college or university brochure, website, or printed on other materials from that the school has sent you. If you can't find this policy or statement on any of the materials from a certain college, you might e-mail or call the college to ask if they have one. Click here to view the Boston College non-discrimination policy.
When looking over these policies, take note of the protected classes. U.S. Law mandates race, color, religion, and national origin and the inclusion of these classes is simply showing that the college or university is abiding by the law. You should look for sexual orientation to be included in these policies. If this is not included, this could be an indicator that the school’s policy isn't as 'gay friendly' as other schools.
If you fail to find the policy on printed materials, or through the Internet, then ask the student coordinator of the GLBT group on campus, or the director of the office where the policy is printed. If the school has a non-discrimination policy, but does not appear to have any GLBT student groups, resource centers, or the like, then you'll have to look at other aspects of the school to determine the GLBT climate of the school before you visit (or attend). This is something that you should determine for yourself, and this policy should not be used as a litmus test of sorts when applying to colleges; it's just another thing to look at.
Another policy to look for in a college or university is whether they provide domestic partner benefits or marriage benefits for faculty, staff, and other full-time employees of the college or university. These are benefits that are similar to the medical, financial, and insurance benefits a legally married heterosexual spouse of an employee would be entitled to. Since a school can be very GLBT friendly, and still not have domestic benefits, this is a less accurate indicator of whether a college is friendly to GLBT students or not. At some schools, these benefits have implications regarding married student housing, and also in terms of medical coverage for a student's partner, should the student opt to use the school's medical program. If a school has these benefits, it will be reflected in the diversity of faculty the school has. GLBT faculties are more likely to have a positive work environment with these policies in place, and having a content faculty and staff translates into a better experience for students. To find out whether a school has domestic partner benefits, you can ask almost any faculty member (since they are the ones who would benefit from such a policy), or you can ask the head of the GLBT student group or GLBT resource center at the school. Boston College gives full marriage benefits to it all married same-sex couples and employees. One last GLBT positive policy a school may have could be found in the school's anti-harassment material. Most of the time, colleges and universities have a policy that prohibits harassment because of race, ethnicity, national origin, and the like. If this policy includes sexual orientation, this could be another indicator that the school cares about its GLBT students. Click here to view Boston College’s Harassment Policy.
There are still a very few schools that have certain policies that either prohibit 'homosexual conduct' in there policies. These schools are a dying breed of social institutions, as more and more people realize that it's in everyone's best interests to be open and welcoming towards GLBT students. In the rare event that you encounter a school with a discriminatory policy, this should be cause for alarm. If the school you are looking at has a policy of discrimination against gays (they may very well phrase it differently), unless there is something else that only that school can offer, look elsewhere for your college education.
Beyond things that are written in books, or domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff, some colleges and universities have some sort of recognized organization, office, or resource center that is dedicated to GLBT students, or has a broader 'diversity' office or center which has a staff member who works either part-time or full-time on GLBT issues on campus. Often separate from this is a student created and/or student run organization composed of GLBT students and straight students that support them. These student organizations may plan and execute events on campus, hold support group meetings for GLBT students, have socials, and/or may serve as groups that foster political activism. You can find these groups by looking through the directory of student organizations. Two of the several student run organizations that serve the student population of Boston College are called Allies and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Community (LGBC). If you find the contact information for the school funded staff member, or the resource center, they can help you find out information about the student-run association, and visa versa. Click here to see a listing of BC's GLBT clubs.
As one might imagine, the larger the school, the larger the student organization will be, and the more funding will be available for GLBT student resources (hopefully). Small GLBT friendly schools often have a simple student run organization and maybe a single staff member who dedicates some of his or her time to issues surrounding GLBT youth. Larger GLBT friendly universities, sometimes with thousands of students, often have several student-run organizations that are centered on GLBT life. You should also inquire whether the school financially supports the student organization. You shouldn't expect a very small GLBT friendly college to have a community center designated solely for GLBT students, but you should expect a school to have at least one student-run GLBT organization on-campus. If a school doesn't have any organization at all, this might be an indicator that the school, not necessarily the students, isn’t friendly to GLBT students. BC’s office for GLBT student organizations is located in 21 Campanella Way, Suite 254D, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.
Another possible indicator of whether a school is GLBT friendly or not is whether the school has a designated committee or group of faculty/staff that serve on a board or school commission about sexual orientation. There are several ways to find out if a school has such a commission. First, you could ask one of the staff in the school's admission office, as they generally know who is who on campus. You could also inquire about such a commission by asking the head of the GLBT student group. You could ask a student at the school who is GLBT or gay friendly, or lastly, you could ask for a list of all faculty and staff groups and look over it and see if you find anything with sexual orientation, gay, etc. in the title of that group or commission. Boston College has a support group chaired by the Dean of Students which you can visit here. If a school doesn't have a student-led group, a resource center, or any sort of commission, you can look to other factors to find out if the school is cool with GLBT students.
Another way to find out what the climate of a school is like for GLBT students is to simply go out there and talk to the students themselves. There are many ways to do this. If you are already out and don't mind getting your feet wet, ask a random student. Ask them if there are any GLBT students at that particular school and see how they respond to that question. If they go on and on about their best gay friend and all his or her good times together, then you've obviously found out that there is at least one GLBT person at the school. If they say 'yes', but are either offended or confused, don't take this the wrong way. Almost every school has at least a select few students who haven't been exposed to any GLBT people growing up, or come from conservative backgrounds, or are conservative themselves, and you may have just asked the wrong person. Ask several different people at different places on campus. There might be areas on campus commonly frequented by GLBT students. These are all things you can possibly find out by putting a foot out there and asking people.
If asking random people questions isn't your idea of a cool afternoon, then look for GLBT people in places you already know they might be, such as the weekly meeting of a student-run GLBT group. You might consider calling or e-mailing the head of a GLBT student-run group and ask to talk to some people. Once you do find a GLBT student to talk to, don't be afraid to ask questions about GLBT life on campus, policies on harassment, what experiences they have. Many GLBT students at some schools would be thrilled that you are truly interested in coming to their college (everyone loves to brag). Remember that the only dumb question is the one you didn't ask. The more honestly you ask, the more honest your answers can be. You could end up going to this school for years, so you have a right to know what GLBT life at that school is like.
Just as you want to find other students who are GLBT, it can be very affirming to find and talk to faculty and staff at a school that are GLBT. Every school has GLBT faculty, it's just a matter of whether they make their sexual orientation public, or, like many in the academic world, keep their sexuality a secret for a whole variety of reasons. You can find faculty and/or staff who are out several ways. If the school has a commission on sexual orientation, or a related topic such as a 'diversity committee', contact the faculties that serve on that commission or committee. If a faculty member serves on a school commission for GLBT students, then they are obviously at least somewhat friendly towards GLBT students, so that would be a good place to start. To get in touch with members of the BC GLBT Faculty organization you can contact them via their website.
You can also go to the student group or resource center (if applicable) and ask if they have any lists of GLBT-friendly faculty. Since these lists are often confidential, they may not be comfortable revealing information from that list without talking to you first. One advantage of talking to GLBT and gay-friendly faculty is that they often have been within one school community for many years, and can speak to a 'gay history' of the school.
If being GLBT is something that you want to make an active part of your college education, there are some schools that offer courses in gay and lesbian studies (sometimes called queer studies, thought, or theory). BC has several GLBT themed courses. For more information, click here. To find out whether a school offers these courses, simply go over the school's course guide, and look for classes that have gay in the title of the class, or address GLBT issues. While each school has a unique way of organizing and cataloging classes, the question becomes how much support the school gives to students who wish to pursue study in gay studies. If gay studies are of little or no interest to you, then this may be of any direct consequence to you, but the fact that the school has gay studies could be an indicator that the school is gay friendly.
While it is important to seek out what resources the school has for GLBT students, what the social climate is like for GLBT students, and other information explicitly for gay students, you should also look at the places that every college student experiences, regardless of sexual orientation, such as the dining hall, dormitories, library and study spaces.
Another good place to look for information about GLBT happenings at a particular school is in their student newspaper. Simply search the newspapers website for words, like “gay” or “GLBT”, to see what’s going on at a particular school, how students react, what students think, and more. A school’s student newspaper always the most recent indication of what is taking shape. Here is the link to BC’s student-newspaper The Heights.
Another place to inquire within a school is the training that is required to be a Resident Assistant in the dorms. You can find out about this from the GLBT student group, the GLBT resource center on campus, or the Office of Residence Life. Students who are Resident Assistants are all trained over the course of one week to over one month, depending on the school. It is reasonable to expect that all Resident Assistants have some minimal training in issues facing GLBT students.
So far we have discussed many different aspects of how to determine whether or not a school is GLBT-friendly. One of the greatest features of a school may be its location, be it urban, suburban, or rural. You should first look for a college in the setting you want. There are both urban and rural areas that are gay-friendly, which in turn means the town or city might be more welcoming to GLBT students coming there for college. After you finish your exploration of the school itself, venture into the town or city where students from the school go and spend time in when they are not on campus. You can find this information out from reading the school's printed material, talking to students, or talking to a representative from the school's office of admissions.
Sometimes this information may be obvious (i.e. students from Boston College spend quite a lot of time in Boston), other times students may travel via car or public transportation to socialize in places that can be many miles away from the school's physical campus.
Look at the places students go and socialize off-campus as if you were looking to move somewhere, because you will have two homes when you go away to college: the school's campus, and the towns and cities that students from that school go and socialize in. We've discussed the first 'home' quite a bit, and the second home is one that is a very personal decision. Some people like living in the city, where some people like living in the country. While some colleges may be friendly to GLBT students and others deny they have GLBT students, information about gay life in most cities and towns has been well-documented in books, magazines, and the Yellow Pages.
When you go and look at what the school offers in terms of off-campus social opportunities, keep in mind the things you enjoy doing now. If you enjoy drinking coffee in a non-Starbucks coffeehouse, look for those. You should also do research on the Internet to see what venues (bookstores, restaurants, nightclubs, and neighborhoods) near the college are places that cater to a GLBT audience. Another place to look for information on the social climate of a certain town is the political affiliations of the majority of residents that live there. If most of the people in that town are very socially conservative, then realize those affiliations will work their ways into the social fabric of that town or city. Likewise, if the town has ordinances requiring all employers to have domestic partner benefits, it would be reasonable to assume that a majority of the town supports gay citizens, which you would be one of, if you choose to attend school there. The choice of whether you prefer an urban or rural environment is one that only you can make. The segment of Boston which is considered a GLBT neighborhood is called ‘The South End’.
The college decision, regardless of your sexual orientation, is never been an easy one. Choosing a college can be daunting simply because there are so many different schools out there. You probably didn't have a choice as to what high school you went to, and even if you did, the choice was probably limited to under a dozen schools. There are thousands of colleges and universities in this country, and even more if you choose to study outside the United States. Does everyone always make the right choice? No, but if you make a mistake and want to go somewhere else, almost every school accepts students for transfer admission, which is when students who are already in a college apply to another college. Many times students who transfer colleges start their new college as a sophomore or junior.
What we have compiled here about finding a GLBT friendly school should help you in your college quest, but always trust yourself over anyone else. If a certain college or university doesn't appeal to you, for whatever reason, don't go there. There are so many colleges and universities out there so be sure not to settle for a place you don't want to attend. You really can have a great college experience, whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or even straight.
If you are interested in applying to Boston College, here are some of the links which you can use to learn more about the university and how to apply.
Click here to visit the Office of Admission at Boston College