How to Choose a College
Going to College
Official Rules and Policies
GLBT Organizations, Offices and Resource Centers
Students Speak for Themselves
GLBT Studies, Faculty, and Staff
Other Places on Campus
Beyond the School
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 New York University spend quite a lot of time in Manhattan), 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 to 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. Large cities tend to have more opportunities than small towns, but as the old proverb goes, it’s quality not quantity. Another place to look for information on the social climate of a certain town is the political affiliations of the majority of residents who 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 chose to attend school there. The choice of whether you prefer an urban or rural environment is one that only you can make.
