Is it correct of me to hide many of my conservative beliefs due to fear of being denied admission from a predominately liberal higher education system? So far, I have not mentioned any of my political beliefs because I do not want to risk my opportunities, even if it just at one of my schools.
There’s no need to mention your political beliefs no matter what they are, no matter what the school, unless, perhaps, you are defined by your political beliefs and activities, where it could be unavoidable.
I’ve never seen liberals hide their political view. They always proudly display their ideals as the universal truth.
You don’t have to mention your political beliefs, but you don’t have to hide it either. If a school rejects you because you are a conservative, it’s good news – you don’t want to attend that school anyway.
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“They always proudly display their ideals as the universal truth.”
Aaaaaand in one quick sentence, @bogeyorpar proudly shows how conservatives do what s/he’s accusing liberals of doing.
IMHO, do not hide your political beliefs, if that’s what defines you. Be who you are and be proud. But you will also need to be strong strong strong. Expect push-back, just as a liberal might encounter if deciding to attend, say, Liberty. For a liberal to go to Liberty or Bob Jones or Notre Dame and perhaps wear t-shirts saying they believe that a woman has a right to choose what happens to her own body and use birth control, that might attract negative attention there. She would need to be prepared to calmly back up her assertions as by wearing such a t-shirt she’s drawing out the portion of the crowd who will argue with her, in all probability. It’s provocative in that context. The reverse scenario is the same.
That being said, many of the so-called “liberal” schools welcome people with different opinions onto the campus. You might get a strong hearing at Admissions simply because they are looking to welcome people with different views. Articles have been written lately about how Adcoms are looking to diversify student body with various lines of thought and in other ways, such as socioeconomics. Most of these schools have long-existing clubs for conservative view points, for example. That might be one way to figure out whether you will feel comfortable on any given campus, by looking at the list of clubs. Remember that some of the clubs of a school, if a consortium school, may be shared with another school. For example, if you’re interested in Haverford, then look also at the club opportunities at Swarthmore and UPenn as they are part of the same consortia. (There are several constortia for these schools – the BiCo, the TriCo and the Quaker)
Vassar, for another example, is considered a bastion of liberalism, but also has had, at least in the past, a conservative club that even produced a conservative publication. Harvard and Dartmouth–you’ll find conservative views at these schools, and many other schools that are supposedly so liberal as to crush conservative thought.
What I caution you about is whether you will feel comfortable in any chosen environment. At a decent university, be expected to defend your views, whatever they are, to the other students and the professors–because that is how you will learn. In addition, in today’s climate, being known as the person who wears their politics on his/her sleeve on virtually any campus, will spark heated debate. The air is charged for debate.
Have the courage of your own convictions, I say. Be prepared to back up assertions with calm, cool facts and statistics especially if the other side gets heated. Think: Jackie Robinson. Think: the Obamas for eight years and counting, how they’ve graciously handled the constant conservative criticism, lies, and ugly memes during their time in office: calmly backing up their opinions with grace and data.
Always be gracious, no matter how ugly people are to you. Best of luck to you.
I think it’s exaggerated that higher education is dominated mostly by liberal leaning people. There are many colleges with plenty of conservative students. You may not want to apply to Reed or Bard, but as mentioned by someone else, a very liberal person might not want to apply to Liberty or Bob Jones. I guarantee that there are conservatives at every top school in the country, and a whole lot more schools too. I am wondering why this topic has come up quite often in the last year.
I also think your politics are not necessarily the best topic for an essay. I assume that’s what you mean by hiding? Your essay should convey your personality, not your politics, unless that’s who you are. If you volunteer for a Republican politician, you should say so. If you are a member of a conservative club, say so. I agree that your app might even be considered more strongly if a college is interested in admitting diverse students of all kinds.
I do know someone who got rejected as transfer student, despite impeccable grades. They listed their summer job as working for a GOP campaign. Probably did not help.
LOL! No it is not, you’re an underrepresented minority at just the institutions that you are worried about. They want you to attend.
@AdamD I wouldn’t mention politics unless maybe you are a political science major.
Might be funny to learn…but liberal students are not peppering their applications with “Go Hillary” buttons and Rainbow typefaces.
How might a college tell my daughter is a liberal? Hmmm, maybe onlyt the references to wanting a diverse campus? Or that she started a club to discuss issues of cultural/gender/religious diversity at her HS? Sadly, in this day and age, I guess that would brand you a “liberal” and not just a good human being.
I do know that if you type “Black Lives Matter” over and over again as part of your essay, Stanford views that as a positive.
Good luck, @AdamD, you’ll have more support than you realize.
I don’t think being politically conservative would hurt you at all (assuming you are not involved with some kind of offensive fringe group). Colleges look for diversity in all aspects of of their student body. And if your conservative viewpoint does hurt you at one outlier school – well that probably isn’t the right place for you anyway.
That said, neither of my kids mentioned politics in their college applications. But if it is a big part of who you are, a big part of your ECs then it is fine to put in.
There was absolutely nothing that was in any of my daughter’s college applications that would have indicated her political views.