Penn LGBT Class of 2017

Wharton15
Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:40:25 +0000

Penn is one of the LGBT-friendliest institutions around. We have eight undergraduate-run LGBT groups and an umbrella group to oversee them all, actually, so there’s something for everyone. The groups vary in nature, from professional to social to activist. There’s even a pretty sweet LGBT center that’s a converted townhouse.

Even if you’re not involved in an official capacity, you’ll find an unusual degree of acceptance here. At least half the frats have openly gay brothers, and there are tons of open parties thrown by groups or the community. You can choose to be immersed in the community, be totally unassociated, or somewhere in between–few people, if any, will give you a hard time no matter where you fall.

It is true that someone from the LGBT community will reach out to you if you’re flagged as LGBT–coming out on your app, if it’s natural for you, is viewed as a positive to Penn Admissions. That’s echoed, at least in Wharton, on the professional side–if you’re wondering whether being out will be a hindrance here, take a look at the OUBC conference (outforbusiness.com), hosted at J.P. Morgan and attended by 200 top LGBT kids, 25 from Penn alone.