LGBTQ+ College Student Resource Center

Q. What are some of the issues that prospective LGBTQ+ students should be thinking about when choosing a college or program?

There are several things we would encourage LGBT students to think about when they go to college. Location is one. Do they want to go away from home? Are they staying at home? Geographic region matters. Online students can study from anywhere, so it probably matters less to them. But for students going to brick-and-mortar institutions, it matters. Urban areas are often more LGBT-friendly than rural areas, so that is one of the subjects we would encourage students to consider.

I would also encourage an LGBT student to determine the extent to which there is a community on campus. For some LGBT students, being part of a community is really important. Some institutions don't have a community at all, and others have a really thriving and robust community.

For some students, the level of outness is an issue. Some students may not be out to their families. So, the question is do they want to be out at college, and what will that mean? How will that affect their experience? Often, we have first-year students who are not out at home but who come to campus and are really celebrated and able to be out. Then at winter break, they want to go home and come out to their families. And we often want to have a conversation about how that might affect their relationships or funding to go to school. So that might be something to think more about.

We would also encourage students to take a look at the resources available to LGBT students. The number of LGBT centers on campuses is about 200-250, compared to thousands of institutions. And sometimes it's not just about having a center — it's about the school's policies or housing options. For example, if a student's family insists that they either attend a school nearby or opt for an online program, the lack of on-campus resources might be a good reason to choose the online option.

Q. Have you had students that come into your office and tell you that they are thinking about an online program?

I don't see a whole lot of prospective students. Most of the students we interact with here are already enrolled. I think we have a number of students who do a combination of online and in-class courses, or who move from taking classes on campus to an exclusively online term. And that could be for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's finances; sometimes they just have other things going on in their lives.

One thing in particular specifically impacts transgender people. Sometimes when they are going through their transition, they don't want to be on campus and transitioning at the same time. Online education offers the opportunity to transition while still going to school.

Q. If a prospective LGBTQ+ student came to you and asked about choosing a college or program, what would be your single best piece of advice?

I would say to the person, "Find a place where you can be you, and decide which things are the most important to you." For some people, a big thriving community with a lot of social opportunities is important. For others, activism might be more important. Other folks just want to go to school, and being out and being visible is not the most important thing to them. I would just really encourage the student to look into those schools where they feel like they can be themselves and are able to meet their goals.