Be sure to check the Princeton Review college rankings before you go back to school.
As we’re all likely aware, either from our own pre-college experiences, or from those of our LGBTQI friends and family, choosing a college can be a fraught decision-making process for LGBTQI students.
There are extra considerations for queer students to take into account: not only are they looking for schools of the right size, that offer their desired academic fields, in the right locations, at the right price, but they are also seeking acceptance, and a healthy, comfortable and safe LGBTQI community.
This may even be extra challenging for students trying to figure this out on their own—for those who haven’t come out yet to their parents, and therefore might find it hard to explain why they keep asking about “Rainbow Societies” and emphasizing going out.
For 26 years, The Princeton Review has been helping students find their dream schools through their rankings of schools in various categories. The 2018 edition of The Best 382 Colleges was just published (August 1, 2017), and includes 62 ranking lists based on our surveys of 137,000 college students who rated their schools.
You can see the lists at www.princetonreview.com/best382.
The category we are most concerned with is LGBTQ-Friendly schools.
The top five schools named as the best in this regard were:
1. Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
2. College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME)
3. Emerson College (Boston, MA)
4. Warren Wilson College (Ashville, NC)
5. Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
The full list can be found here: http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=lgbtq-friendly
The top five least LGBTQ friendly schools are listed as:
1. College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, MO)
2. Auburn University (Auburn, AL)
3. Gordon College (Wenham, MA)
4. Brigham Young University – UT (Provo. UT)
5. University of Tennessee – Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
The full list can be found here: https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=lgbtq-unfriendly
If you or any of your friends and family are deciding on colleges, or about to head off for the year, it might be a good idea to direct them to these lists, so that they can prepare accordingly.
And best of luck to all you wonderful LGBTQI college students out there for the year ahead! We’re here with you, every step of the way.