Best lesbian college in USA for exchange?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I want to go to america for exchange, but I’m not sure which college I want to apply for out of this list - [Exchange</a> Partners : Melbourne Global Mobility : The University of Melbourne](<a href=“http://www.mobility.unimelb.edu.au/outbound/exchange/partners/partners6.html#USA]Exchange”>http://www.mobility.unimelb.edu.au/outbound/exchange/partners/partners6.html#USA)</p>

<p>NYU and University of California’s out of the question since my grades aren’t high enough.
So I guess I’m thinking of University of Texas at Austin, Connecticut, or Cornell?</p>

<p>I don’t know much about the reputation of any of these colleges,
but ideally I’m looking for a college with a relatively big friendly lipstick lesbian community, one where I can get drunk and party hard, but also get high and relax and enjoy nature if I wanted to.</p>

<p>I’m also open to colleges in other countries that’d fit my criteria :)</p>

<p>Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts/opinions!</p>

2

<p>You say UC is out of the question, but are all the campuses the same in difficulty? </p>

<p>UC Santa Cruz is in general one of the easiest UCs to get into (the only one that’s easier is UC Merced, which opened in 2005), but I’m not sure whether that applies to this exchange program. It is one of the best schools in the country for LGBT students; I was really surprised at how many students identify as LGBT there. I have a few friends there who joke about how much the gender makeup of their friend group has changed over the years (because of their transgender friends). :stuck_out_tongue: One of my friends, who’s not a lesbian, showed me a group pic of her friends and no joke, only one of them wasn’t lesbian. Of course, this isn’t the norm, but my perception is that UCSC is amazing if you’re an LGBT student. It’s also well-known for its 420 culture and for its natural setting (gorgeous campus).</p>

<p>If the selectivity varies by UC campus, you should definitely look into UCSC.</p>

3

<p>Most of them would be fine, I think. Barnard, Michigan, and UNC are probably the most notable, with Minnesota, UVA, and Washington being decent options as well. I would choose any of these over U Conn, assuming your grades are good enough. Penn is very gay-friendly but likely exceeds your grades. I’ve heard GWU is okay, but I know only an ally there, so I can’t say for sure. </p>

<p>UT Austin has a thriving LGB population, yes. Students at Cornell complained when I visited about the relatively small number of out gay students on campus; there may be more out lesbians, but I would look into that.</p>

<p>

I think many of the artsy or hippie-ish colleges have higher than average numbers of LGB students. My sister attends UNC Asheville, and my gaydar pings deafeningly anytime I set foot on campus.</p>

4

<p>@phantasmagoric
All the UC campuses are the same difficulty sadly.
I was devasted to hear about that since I was actually planning for Santa Cruz and San Diego for ages :frowning:
UCSC sounds like it would’ve been perfect! sigh…</p>

<p>@warblersrule
I think Michigan and UT Austin are the only ones that I’d almost definitely get into with my current marks.
Which one would you recommend out of the two in terms of how friendly the students generally are? Or I guess which college would be best to explore the inner gay in me haha</p>

<p>You guys are so helpful- thanks heaps!</p>

5

<p>That’s sad to know, but as warblersrule said, there are lots of schools in the country that are great for LGBT. That said, there are some that are less “friendly” toward it, even if they are on the whole friendly. To that end, there are two rules of thumb to guide you: 1) if it’s a religious university, it’s probably not going to be as friendly toward LGBT people (might not be “unfriendly” but usually not as friendly as others), and 2) if it’s in the South, there’s a good chance that it might not be, as the Northeast and the West tend to be the more liberal and LGBT-friendly places. This again doesn’t mean that places in the South are unfriendly (though many are), just that they tend to be less so toward LGBT people.</p>

<p>And of course there are plenty of colleges that break away from this - some in the South are perfectly friendly, and some in the Northeast or West are unfriendly. If you’re trying to maximize that, it’s less likely to be in the South or at a religious school. You also mention pot and partying, and the former is much less likely to be common at a religious or southern school; the latter is less common at a religious school, unsurprisingly. (Princeton Review does [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.glueamerica.org/2011/08/princeton-review-ranks-top-15-most-lgbt.html]surveys[/url”&gt;http://www.glueamerica.org/2011/08/princeton-review-ranks-top-15-most-lgbt.html]surveys[/url</a>] of schools to see which are the most/least friendly toward LGBT, and unsurprisingly many religious/southern schools dominate the ‘least’ list, while Northeast/West schools dominate the ‘most’ list.)</p>

<p>I can’t speak to UT-Austin, so I’ll defer to the above, as it may be great for LGBT. I personally would prefer UConn to UNC, UVA, or UT, simply because the area is likely to be more LGBT-friendly - if you go off campus, you’re more likely not to encounter homophobia in the Northeast than in the South. When I looked at the other options, my first instinct was that Barnard is great for it. But I have no reason to believe that - other than the fact that it’s women’s college, is in NYC, and is one of the Seven Sisters (at least two of which I’ve heard are great if you’re lesbian).</p>

<p>That said, you would definitely find what you’re looking for at Michigan, since my perception is that it’s pretty liberal. I’d have reservations about Boston College, Vanderbilt, and Georgetown, but I could be wrong on those. And though some may get mad at me for this, but I’d also have reservations about Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill. Even if they themselves are LGBT-friendly, I’m guessing the areas around them are less so. (Granted, I’ve only spent time in the Winston-Salem and Greensboro areas of NC.) The rest of the options should be at least decent.</p>

<p>(I’m a gay male, by the way, so these are just my perceptions of where I’d go/not go if I wanted a friendly environment.)</p>

6

<p>I think I’ve shortlisted it down to Michigan and Conneticut now.</p>

<p>I’m kinda shy in the way that I’m not one of those people who can just go up to a stranger and have a conversation with them, but I’m okay if it’s in class or if I’m approached first.
Would you have any ideas about which college has more interactive classes, or more student events/parties I could meet people at?</p>

<p>I’m a fairly lipstick lesbian, and most people are completely stumped when I tell them, so I guess homophobia isn’t too much of an issue for me.
And the pot smoking was something I’d do to cope if I got homesick or sad anything, rather than a social thing, so as long as I could get my hands on some then that’s fine :P</p>

<p>Actually, after giving it some thought I think an important factor would be which college I could most easily make friends at; and maybe which has a more welcoming gay community since that’s the main reason I’m going on exchange. The partying would follow after I made friends haha- so I guess a “party reputation” doesn’t affect my decision much.</p>

<p>Or say that I didn’t meet any other lesbians in college, would it be easier to meet other gays and lesbians outside of college in Michigan or in Conneticut?</p>

7

<p>UT probably has more gays than Mich. and Conn.</p>

<p>And I know Texas and the south aren’t known for being gay friendly… but Austin is a pretty flamboyant place</p>

<p>And it is so so so so so so easy to get weed at UT-Austin… lots of pot culture… live music capital of the country</p>

8

<p>Have you checked out Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts? - Northampton is known as the friendliest place in America for LGBQ. Smith is an excellent school. There are also 4 other colleges and universities all very close by, so the cultural/entertainment offerings are plentiful.</p>

9

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<p>This is incorrect. The GPA you need to be a competitive applicant for say Berkeley or UCLA is far higher than it is for say SC or especially Merced. They aren’t even in the same league. Compare the average stats of the incoming classes for each of the UC campuses. That tells the story.</p>

10

<p>

You won’t encounter homophobia off-campus at U Conn because there’s nothing there. Literally. Have you ever been to Storrs? I really can’t imagine picking it over Austin, Charlottesville, or Chapel Hill, some of the best college towns in the country. You have Hartford relatively close, I suppose, but still.</p>

<p>As I said before, I’d easily take UT over U Conn. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the south, but I’m amused by the fear many gay people in San Fran, NYC, etc. have of other parts of the country. </p>

<p>

Agreed.</p>

<p>

Strongly disagree. I have written about this before, as have others.

</p>

<p>Along the lines of the last post, keep in mind that [Raleigh[/url</a>] was ranked one of the top 10 cities with the most college graduates, and the Triangle area has a very high number of PhDs per capita. Durham was ranked [url=<a href=“http://www.portfolio.com/graphics/BrainiestBastions.pdf]#4”>http://www.portfolio.com/graphics/BrainiestBastions.pdf]#4</a> for brainpower](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>The MOST Educated Cities In America (PHOTOS) | HuffPost College), behind only Boulder, Ann Arbor, and DC. These are educated, liberal people. </p>

<p>I personally miss living in the south – you get a wonderfully cohesive and supportive LGBT community that is not at all present in large cities, or at least here in LA. </p>

<p>I agree with wavylays94; while Texas isn’t very gay-friendly, Austin itself definitely is. It’s a liberal, self-proclaimed weird city with lots to do. (I would’ve loved to have attended UT Austin for graduate school, but sadly they weren’t accepting applications that year.)</p>

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<p>

Not an option for the OP. Check the linked list in the original post.</p>

<p>

The OP is looking to study abroad in the US, not apply as a freshman. It would not surprise me at all if the GPA requirements are indeed the same for all UC campuses. Everyone and their mother overseas wants to study in either NYC or California, and frequently they don’t even provide students the chance to pick between UC campuses - you just apply to the UCs and hope you get a good campus (or one at all).</p>

12

<p>Do you have anything that is NOT in the snowbelt? Michigan, Cornell, and U Conn have very long dark winter. If you are already expecting to need access to illegal drugs in order to cope with homesickness, you do not want to add on the threat of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Look for an option that is several degrees closer to the equator.</p>

13

<p>here in Washington Sate (Olympia is The Evergreen State College - a top 40 Liberal Arts College according to the publication called: Colleges That Change Lives…This campus is extremely LGBT friendly - and offers a worthy experience academically as well</p>

<p>I hope all works out well</p>

<p>Good luck and enjoy!</p>

14

<p>The way my college sends students to UC is that they accept around 5 students, and THEN they allocate them to a campus- it’s stupid, I know :(</p>

<p>I’ve only ever been to New York City in america so I have no idea what the states/colleges are like.</p>

<p>In terms of weather, I guess I’ll have to put up with it since Michigan, Conneticut and Texas are the only colleges that are pretty much guaranteed with my current grades haha</p>

<p>I have to put down 3 preferences, and I was going to put UC first just in case I get lucky, but after hearing what everyone has to say about other colleges, I don’t think I’m that bothered about not being able going to UC :slight_smile:
I’m probably gonna put Conneticut last, but I’m not sure whether I should put Michigan or Texas as my first preference?</p>

<p>I like the sound of Austin being a weird city. And the pot culture is also quite a nice bonus since I’m kind of over alcohol.
I read on another site that Michigan has a tight policy on weed and alcohol- is that true??
I guess is all comes down to which college has friendlier students and a gay community that I could more easily become a part of?
When I went to Canada I was overwhelmed by how friendly and laid back everyone was- just like the stereotypical Canadian. Am I right in saying that Austin’s kiiiind of like that? Just more hippy-ish?</p>

<p>It sounds like Austin is a better choice, but does Michigan have a larger gay community since they’re supposedly more liberal? Hmm, there doesn’t seem to be much about Michigan that makes it win over Austin haha</p>

15

<p>I don’t really think Michigan is more liberal than UT…
I don’t know how much you know about the states, but UT is 80-90 degrees until november, when it drops to about 40-50 degrees until march… so the climate is really nice and warm…</p>

<p>Michigan on the other hand is the opposite… it’s going to be much, much colder than Austin.</p>

<p>The simple difference in climate makes a huge difference in lifestyle.</p>

<p>UT is more well known for its “eccentricity” (liberal-ness) and pot culture than for anything else…</p>

<p>Of course, I’ve been to Austin countless times, and actually almost went to UT, yet I don’t know a whole whole lot about Michigan… so I may be wrong in my comparisons?</p>

16

<p>I’ve been in Melbourne in the dead of winter, and I spent seven winters at Cornell which has winters that are comparable to those at U Mich and U Conn. Autumn in those locations is colder than winter in Melbourne. Do think about whether you truly desire that winter experience. Yes there are all kinds of snow sports to participate in, but you would need an entire winter wardrobe even if you were there only for one month of winter.</p>

<p>Austin is famous for its lively music and cultural scene. The winter may not be any colder than Melbourne. Check it out at <a href=“http://www.weather.com%5B/url%5D”>www.weather.com</a> At approx. 30 degrees N latitude, it has longer winter days than Melbourne (at about 37 degrees S), and sure beats Ithaca, Storrs, or Ann Arbor (all approx 42 degrees N).</p>

17

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<p>Sure, the theoretical minimum GPA is the same for all UC campuses and isn’t all that high. But the theoretical minimum and what it actually takes to get admitted are miles apart for most UC campuses, especially the high-end ones. Theoretical minimum is the same; the actual minimum varies widely by campus.</p>

<p>My guess is the the only campus where you be assured of getting in with the theoretical minimum stats would be Merced.</p>

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<p>Every year, US News & World Report comes out with a list of rankings that universities scan with more than just a passing interest. And every year, Ohio State finds itself favorably positioned among those rankings: 18th this year among all public universities and first in the state of Ohio.</p>

<p>Now Ohio State can add another top-tier rating to its pedigree: A five-star ranking from Campus Pride, a non-profit organization that advocates for safer, more hospitable campuses for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community. Out of 230 institutions surveyed, Ohio State was one of 19 to receive the group’s highest rating…</p>

<p>Source: [Ohio</a> State rated one of nation?s top gay-friendly campuses : onCampus](<a href=“http://oncampus.osu.edu/2010/09/ohio-state-rated-one-of-nation’s-top-gay-friendly-campuses/]Ohio”>http://oncampus.osu.edu/2010/09/ohio-state-rated-one-of-nation’s-top-gay-friendly-campuses/)</p>

<p>Scholarship for International Student</p>

<p>International Undergraduate Scholarship Click this image to close additional text.</p>

<pre><code>Award amount
$5,000 ($20,000 four–year value)

Criteria
The Ohio State University is committed to enrolling a diverse and talented student population. The International Undergraduate Scholarship is offered on a competitive basis to qualified full-time, Columbus campus international freshmen (students who have not attended university since graduating from high school/secondary school) who are required to pay the nonresident tuition surcharge. Those considered have ACT composite scores of 28 or higher or combined SAT Critical Reading and Math scores of 1260 or higher, and are applying for autumn semester.

Notes:

* This award is renewable annually for a maximum of eight semesters (or the equivalent) of full-time undergraduate enrollment, provided the recipient continues to pay the nonresident tuition surcharge, maintains a 2.5 or higher grade point average (earned by no later than the end of the second year), and makes satisfactory academic progress.

</code></pre>

<p>Source: [Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Gay Street - Downtown Columbus</p>

<p><a href=“Downtown Columbus - YouTube”>Downtown Columbus - YouTube](<a href=“Merit-based scholarships - The Ohio State University”>Merit-based scholarships - The Ohio State University)</a></p>

<p>Best of Luck & Go Bucks! :)</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>I have to disagree. I’ve spent some time at both. UT is liberal by Texas standards, which is to say pretty middle-of-the-road by Northern standards. Michigan is pretty ultraliberal by Northern standards. Michigan is more liberal.</p>

<p>The University of Michigan was the first college in the U.S. to establish a LGBT programs office, and Ann Arbor was the first community in the country to establish a gay rights law (1972) and the first to elect an openly gay public official (Kathy Kozachenko, elected to Ann Arbor City Council in January, 1974, 10 months before Elaine Noble was elected to the Massachusetts legislature and three years before Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors). </p>

<p>Campus Pride rates the University of Michigan 5 stars out of 5 in its “campus climate index” (i.e., LGBT-friendly), one of only 34 colleges and universities to earn that rank. UConn rates 4.5 stars, UT-Austin 4 stars, The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students (2007) also named Michigan one of the top 20 choices for LGBT students; neither UT-Austin nor UConn made that list. Newsweek in 2010 named Michigan #5 most gay-friendly college or university, topped only by Penn, UC-Berkeley, Oberlin, and NYU; neither UConn nor UT Austin made their top 25.</p>

<p>Ann Arbor is also frequently favorably reviewed among top LGBT-friendly towns and in LGBT travel magazines and websites. As one of those websites notes, it’s not always obvious to visitors just how gay-friendly Ann Arbor is because by now it’s just so deeply imprinted into the city’s DNA that to local people it’s just no big deal.</p>

20

<p>UT-Austin is NOT easy to get into if you’re not from in-state (it’s not even easy these days if you’re in-state - it looks as if my nephew, a bright kid, isn’t going to make it). Your grades have to be pretty decent. They consider class rank very seriously (but if your school doesn’t rank, they don’t hold it against you).</p>