College is a time when young people are finding out who they are. They're exploring new interests, forging career paths, and finding their place in the world. For some college students, this also means discovering new information about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. As society progresses, LGBTQIA+* youth are becoming more comfortable declaring their true identities at an earlier age. However, they may still see college as a place where they can enjoy more freedom of expression. Or maybe they want to deepen their involvement in the LGBTQ community – perhaps take on a leadership role.
Unfortunately, not all colleges are created equal when it comes to protecting the rights of queer students. Fortunately, there are also plenty of schools that go above and beyond expectations to foster a environment that is safe, supportive, and active in its commitment to the queer community. Keep reading for more information about the 25 that define "LGBTQ-friendly" at its very best!
The 25 Best Value LGBTQ Friendly Colleges Methodology
What makes a college "LGBTQ-friendly"? One could easily come up with dozens of factors to consider, from administrative policies and campus safety ratings to academic programs and student life activities. Still others might point to student survey results, campus resources, or outreach programs as equally important considerations.
So rather than try to build our own all-inclusive ranking from the ground up, we conducted a meta-analysis of other top rankings of universities for LGBTQ students. In doing so, we took care to select sources with unique methodologies.
LGBTQ Colleges Rankings and Ranking Factors
The Princeton Review: a ranking that relies on surveys asking students how strongly they agree or disagree with the statement, "Students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression."
College Choice: a dual-purpose ranking that combines factors like LGBTQ policy inclusion, resources and services, healthcare and counseling with traditional "top college" metrics like retention rate, average graduate salary, and academic reputation.
Taken together, the scores that each college received from the websites above accounted for 50% of our total ranking. So where did the other 50% come from?
Location and Affordability
Municipality Equality Index: a report by The Human Rights Campaign that scored 137 U.S. municipalities** on their LGBTQ-friendliness, using factors like relationship recognition, employment practices, and city services and programs.
Net Price: a measure of affordability calculated by the National Center for Education Statistics that assesses both tuition rates and fees, other expenses (e.g. cost of living), and average financial aid packages.
After a lot of collating and calculating, we determined our final selection of the 25 best value colleges for LGBTQ students. Our ranking includes a little of everything, from campus-wide culture and outreach programs/activities to academic excellence, community support, and affordability.
*Throughout this article we use various forms of the queer acronym, including LGBT, LGBTQ/+, and LGBTQIA/+. While our use of acronyms may vary (as do those of the numerous centers, programs, and organizations we reference) our commitment to inclusivity is as consistent and strong as the queer spectrum is wide.**Some of the colleges we considered are not located in one of the municipalities included in the report. In those cases, we used the score of the closest available city, or (if enough data was available) the average score of two nearby cities.
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Thanks for reading our ranking of the 25 top LGBTQ friendly colleges!
Sources:
College Navigator
Princeton Review LGBTQ Friendly Colleges
College Choice Best LGBT Friendly Colleges and Universities
Governing.com – LGBT Equality Map
