Ivy League Admission
The Ivy Coach College Admissions Blog

As Tanya Caldwell of “The Choice” blog on college admissions reports, University of California officials have proposed asking students their sexual orientation after they’ve been admitted. This is in the hope of being able to further identify the diversity within their incoming class and also to be able to reach out to these students so that they can feel at home at the university they attend.

Should a question on the Common App ask students if they identify as members of the LGBT community?

The universities that have led the charge to reach out to LGBT university applicants have been Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Elmhurst College in Illinois (a college, interestingly, affiliated with the United Church of Christ which supports gay marriage). The Common Application has denied requests to put a question on the application that asks students to identify their sexual orientation, although, according to Caldwell’s article on “The Choice,” the board of the Common App declared in 2011 that they might revisit the issue “later this decade.”

Do you think colleges should ask students their sexual orientation? Do you worry that it might put applicants in an uncomfortable position since they may not be out to their parents who are reviewing their applications? Where do you stand on the topic? Let us know your thoughts by posting below!

We’ve been very critical of Harvard University in the past for not doing as much as its Ivy League peers for LGBT students. As previously mentioned, the university doesn’t have an adequate campus resource center for current LGBT students. The university doesn’t rank anywhere near the top of the Campus Climate Index, a measure that quantifies the efforts of universities in the arena of LGBT equality. But something cool is happening right now with regard to Harvard’s efforts to embrace its LGBT students!

Harvard should grant posthumous degrees to students expelled in the 1920's for being gay.

It seems that students and faculty at Harvard are urging administrators to award posthumous degrees to seven Harvard students who were expelled decades ago for being gay or for being perceived as gay. On the eve of Lady Gaga’s visit to the Harvard campus to promote her “Born This Way” anti-bullying campaign, the group of students and faculty will hold a rally in order to sway administrators to grant these posthumous degrees.

Larry Summers, former president of Harvard, previously denounced the McCarthyist actions of the university to weed out LGBT students in decades past. According to “The Washington Post,” Summers called such tactics by Harvard, “abhorrent and an affront to the values of our university.” We couldn’t agree more. But more can always be done to demonstrate that the university does not condone the errors of its past, and we at The Ivy Coach think granting these posthumous degrees would be a really nice start. It would be a wonderful show of support to current LGBT Harvard students. Make it happen, Harvard administrators!

What makes athletes from the Ivy League different from athletes from, say, the ACC, Big East, or SCC? Well, for one, Ivy League athletes don’t earn scholarships. They also have to meet certain admissions criteria (see our post on the Ivy League Academic Index) and they tend to be student-athletes more so than athletes who happen to also go to school. One great example of such an athlete is Andrew Goldstein, a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he played goalie on the lacrosse team and earned two honorable mention All-American nods.

Ivy League athletes like Andrew Goldstein are true examples of student-athletes with an emphasis on the student.

Andrew Goldstein is regarded as the first male professional team sport athlete in North America to be openly gay during his playing career. Goldstein played for two seasons of Major League Lacrosse – first with the Boston Cannons and then with the Long Island Lizards. Goldstein was openly gay at Dartmouth as this SportsCenter piece points out, a piece we at The Ivy Coach happened to have a whole lot to do with.

Since leaving lacrosse, Goldstein has become an outspoken advocate of not saying “gay” in a derogatory way in locker rooms. He’s also become a biology professor at UCLA and made a notable publication in the prestigious “Science” magazine by leading a team of researchers that found the possible cell of origin for prostate cancer. Wow.

Now that is an Ivy League athlete for you! Want to read more? Check out this piece on ESPN about the Ivy League athlete or this one on the historic nature of Goldstein’s example as an openly gay athlete.

Remember back in August of this year when we applauded Elmhurst College, a small school outside of Chicago, for becoming the first college to directly ask students if they were members of the LGBT community on their application? Well, the results are in and, of those students who applied to Elmhurst College, 5% voluntarily noted that they were members of the LGBT community. Of the 109 applicants who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, 63 earned admission. Keep in mind that many students may have chosen to not self-identify as LGBT since their parents are hovering over their answers.

5% of students self-identified as members of the LGBT community on the application of the first college in America to directly ask.

And what percentage of applicants chose to answer the question of whether or not they’re members of the LGBT community? According to “Pink News,” between 85 to 90% of applicants! Does that surprise you? Also, according to “Pink News,” “A statement said: ‘Many admissions officers and secondary school counselors expressed concern regarding how this question might be perceived by students, even though it would be optional.’ But [Gary] Rold, [the Dean of Admission], said five other universities had approached Elmhurst College since the move, which may include Harvard, which announced it was considering such a move in November.”

One of the other universities leading the charge in appealing to gay college applicants is Dartmouth College, a school that asks indirectly on their application information that can pertain to the LGBT community (i.e., involvement in GSA). Do you think other colleges will soon follow the lead of colleges like Elmurst and Dartmouth? Let us know your thoughts on the matter by posting below! Do you think this is a question that should be asked or not? We want your opinions!

A couple of months ago, we were very critical of the Harvard University administration for not being among the national leaders in fighting for LGBT student rights. Harvard, unlike its Ivy League peers, doesn’t rank near the top of the Campus Climate Index. The university doesn’t even have an appropriate resource center for Harvard LGBT students.

Harvard LGBT students got support today from the Harvard Men's Wrestling team (photo from "Towleroad").

But Harvard LGBT students got a boost today from members of the Harvard Men’s Wrestling team. For National Coming Out Day, Harvard wrestlers wore t-shirts and pins in support of Harvard LGBT students. As reported by “Towleroad,” “Said team captain Walter Peppelman in a press release obtained by Towleroad: ‘The Harvard Wrestling family believes that it is important to send a message of hope, love, and acceptance to the Harvard community. Today is also an opportunity for us to begin to break down some of the negative stereotypes attached to our sport and to athletics in general. We want to show that the members of Harvard Wrestling love and respect individuals for who they are, regardless of their sexual orientation and pledge to do our best to make them feel at home at Harvard.’”

Wow. Go Harvard wrestlers. What a wonderful way to inspire your administration to get their act together like the rest of the Ivy League colleges. If you’ll remember, several years back, the Dartmouth Men’s Lacrosse team wore gay friendly t-shirts and pins as well on National Coming Out Day. They did that in support of their gay All-Americcan lacrosse goalie who ended up becoming the first male professional team sport athlete in North America to be openly gay during his playing career.

Michigan LGBT applicants: You should know that, should you be admitted, you have a university that supports you. The University of Michigan will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the first ever LGBT center on any American college campus. That center, the Spectrum Center, was founded in 1970 by the University of Michigan Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and the Radical Lesbians. There’s going to be a big celebration to mark the Spectrum Center’s fortieth anniversary this November.

LGBT applicants should know that the University of Michigan has been a pioneer in the gay rights movement on college campuses.

But that’s not all the University of Michigan has done for LGBT students. To give you an example of something else they’ve done, when Michigan faces San Diego State this Saturday on the gridiron, the university will be airing a PSA encouraging student-athletes to avoid using homophobic slurs. It’s a provocative PSA that we hope will curb hate speech directed at any individuals. And thousands of students, alumni, and fans from across the world will get to see it. University of Michigan, we salute you!

Check out the PSA here, Michigan LGBT applicants. And check out this post on Gay Friendly Colleges. “Newsweek” ranked the University of Michigan fifth this year on their gay-friendly campus rankings.

College admissions history has been made for LGBT students! A small college in suburban Chicago – Elmhurt College – this year became the first college to directly ask applicants if they are members of the LGBT community. Specifically, their question reads, “Would you consider yourself to be a member of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community?” And just so you know, little-known Elmurst College isn’t even nonsecular — the school is affiliated with the United Church of Christ!

For the first time in history, a college committed to diversity has come out and directly asked applicants if they're members of the LGBT community. We salute this school!

No other college has come out and asked college applicants about their sexual orientation directly, though Dartmouth College has led the way by asking about activities that might have an LGBT focus. And Elmurst has come out and said that they’re interested in knowing this information because they’re committed to diversity and thus want to attract students from a variety of backgrounds. To do so, they have to ask. We at The Ivy Coach salute Elmhurst College in Chicago, Illinois!

Check out our posts on Harvard and LGBT Students, Gay Friendly Colleges, and LGBT College Applicants.

We recently published a blog on gay friendly colleges. Harvard University was not among them. In fact, Harvard doesn’t rank as highly as its Ivy League peers on the LGBT Campus Climate Index (Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn, and Brown all score 5′s while Harvard scores a 4.5). They don’t rank on “The Advocate’s” list of gay friendly universities. They don’t even have a suitable resource center for LGBT students.

Harvard needs to step up its funding and resources for its LGBT students (photo from Wikipedia).

According to Brandon Miller of Change.org, Harvard only has a 380 square-foot room in the basement of a campus building for its LGBT students. Brandon Miller says his small apartment is nearly as big. Writes Miller, “That’s why a group of LGBT students at Harvard University are organizing. Harvard University, as it turns out, is the only Ivy League school without a university-funded resource center and staff person.” And how are they organizing? Well, students creatively recently took up 380 square feet of lawn to show just how much space they are allotted by the college.

Come on, Harvard. Check out our blog on resources for LGBT college applicants and write to Harvard administrators today in support of increasing funding for Harvard’s LGBT students.

The University of Pennsylvania has once again topped “Newsweek’s” rankings of gay friendly colleges. This marks the second straight year that Penn has earned this distinction. Five years ago, Penn also topped “The Advocate’s” ranking of LGBT friendly colleges and the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index regularly gives Penn strong numbers in this area as well.

The University of Pennsylvania once again has topped the rankings of gay friendly colleges.

And what other colleges excelled in this year’s “Newsweek” rankings for gay friendly colleges? Placing second is the University of California – Berkeley, followed by Oberlin College, New York University, University of Michigan, American University, Penn State University, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, Indiana University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Pomona College, Brown University, University of California – Santa Cruz, Swarthmore College, Duke University, Rice University, Harvey Mudd College, Cornell University, Tufts University, Northwestern University, University of Southern California, Georgetown University, and University of Chicago.

Check out our post on resources for LGBT college applicants and contact us today for help with the college admissions process!

Stanford University, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and Penn rank as some of the most gay-friendly colleges in the nation.

For LGBT college applicants, attending a university that is supportive of the LGBT community is often an important determinant in college selection. A gay college applicant may not want to attend a university that doesn’t have a GSA. Maybe they don’t want to go to a university like Pepperdine where Ken Starr, a gay rights foe active in the campaign supporting Proposition 8 in California, served as Dean of the Law School. If that’s the case, they should probably avoid Baylor University, too, because he’s now Baylor’s president.

So which universities should LGBT college applicants apply to if a gay-friendly campus is an important factor in their decision? Stanford University, Oberlin College, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Amherst College, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, Emory University, and USC all have 5 star rankings for LGBT-friendly campuses, according to the LGBT- Friendly Campus Climate Index.

At one of those 5-star rated gay-friendly campuses, Dartmouth College, we wanted to demonstrate an example of the school’s LGBT positive vibe by showing you how an athletic team rallied around a gay player. The player happened to be the team MVP, an All-American, the fist goalie to score a goal in an NCAA Tournament game in two decades (against powerhouse Syracuse nonetheless), and the first professional male team sport athlete in North America to be openly gay during his playing career. He was drafted by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse and later played for the Long Island Lizards. Did we mention that he has since been the lead author on a paper published in “Science” identifying the cell of origin for prostate cancer?