I graduate in May and I really want to go to college, but I don't want to go another year of school a boy. I plan to move to a different state and go to school, but is it possible for people to not know Im mtf? What steps I need to take?
well you have to pass and change your transcripts and name and gender legally .. kinda simple stuff.. i did it and went to college and passed and then told a few teachers i use to know when i was dressing as a male who i was. they were very supportive to me.
Hmm...I would have to say "not really."
The reason is because the Administration will know. Your high school transcripts will have your previous name on them. The only way to avoid that is to get your name legally change and then go to the state as well as contacting your state board of education and have your name changed on your previous grading records.
Also, the same would be true with your SATs and ACTs examinations....unless you have your name changed legally before you took the exams.
In terms of social interaction, this can be challenging as well because the majority of girls who attend college are late teens to early twenties. This is the age where girls can clock the most passable female. Don't ask me how they know specifically but some will know. All it takes is one girl finding out and then....well... colleges are not well known for their ability to quench a rumour.
I consider myself as very passable. In any environment, I really have no issues when it comes to passing and i go to a graduate school and work in the mall. There are some customers who are girls that age that clocks me about once a month (they give me a stare like "are you really a ..."
It'll be very difficult to go stealth in a college.
However, with that said, colleges are def much more accepting of transgender people and, depending on the college, you shouldn't have many issues.
There is a difference between certain school administrators knowing and the student body knowing...but there are valid points raised related to records. Who would need to be contacted to make corrections is very dependent on where you went to high school...not every State would require that ANY State agencies be notified for correction. In my case, I simply had to go through my old district which then directed me to the last school that I had attended since they had what remained of the record.
Much of the key to making the corrections, however, rests with getting the name legally changed, and if you do not graduate until May, that suggests you are under the age of 18...which means your parents would have to be on board with the application before the Court.
There are schools that will change your records once your legal name change is approved by the courts. That would mean you'd have to graduate, get your name change done, get the school to make the changes on your records, and then apply to the colleges you wanted to attend.
Of course you'd have to be able to pass perfectly. Younger people are more aware there's trans people in society and pick up on that more often then their older counterparts. This means ZERO signs of facial hair, a typical female voice, female mannerisms, and an overall female appearance, and that includes bone structure. That's a tall order for anyone who has never taken gender altering hormones.
But if you start off like this, you'll have a better chance.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.universalexports.net%2FGraphics%2Ftula%2Fboy.jpg&hash=f34dd9a8ad55fe4a53c003521e5d5fc4ce53b4a4)
Carolyn Cossey, pre-transition
also, don't forget the issue of obtaining reference forms from prior teachers and employers. If you just recently got your name changed, you will have to get references from professionals who never knew you were transitioning (unless you presented female in high school).
This is exactly how my school admin found out.
Quote from: Julie Marie on August 16, 2011, 09:24:42 AM
There are schools that will change your records once your legal name change is approved by the courts. That would mean you'd have to graduate, get your name change done, get the school to make the changes on your records, and then apply to the colleges you wanted to attend.
Of course you'd have to be able to pass perfectly. Younger people are more aware there's trans people in society and pick up on that more often then their older counterparts. This means ZERO signs of facial hair, a typical female voice, female mannerisms, and an overall female appearance, and that includes bone structure. That's a tall order for anyone who has never taken gender altering hormones.
But if you start off like this, you 'll have a better chance.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.universalexports.net%2FGraphics%2Ftula%2Fboy.jpg&hash=f34dd9a8ad55fe4a53c003521e5d5fc4ce53b4a4)
Carolyn Cossey, pre-transition
I pass sometimes even with stumbles, which shocks me overtime lol... Nd yes, I'm hormones, yes I have the female voice, always have, nd yes I appear like a female.
It all depends on your attitude. You should have your legal issues in order and register appropriately. As far as getting by in your classes, it will be your attitude that will pull you through.
steps you need to take:
1. find a therapist, preferably someone with experience with TG or someone with a Ph. D. credential
2. Map out your transition with goals and dates
3. pick a traditional feminine name and plan to petition your local courts for a legal change of name. a letter from your therapist regarding your intentions for your name change will greatly help the courts see you're not doing so to defraud creditors or the law (police).
4. after a legal change of name, seek to have your HS transcripts, SAT's etc, reflect your new legal name
I would consider that to be first and foremost since it is your name that professors, administrators, etc will see first......if the name (masculine) doesnt fit with what they see in you, they will know.
after that, consult with your family doc and find an endocrinologist to commence estrogen and anti-androgens........after that, it primarily depends on you (mannerisms, appearance, dress style, etc)
hope this helps
well i am hoping i can i don't think i will ever pass or even if i do i won't see. it would be nice but recently i lost faith in life so don't really care but yea it can be done with legal changes and a good pass :)
I'd expect it can be done. I did a course a couple of years ago in aromatherapy and massage (yes it's not going to uni but....) i just didn't tell anyone not even the teachers. Being pre-op it made some of the practical massage sessions awkward and answering questions about my menstrual cycle in practice consultations was um....akwardd lol.
I think though that if you can get through that undetected then it should be doable.
Quote from: Julie Marie on August 16, 2011, 09:24:42 AM
There are schools that will change your records once your legal name change is approved by the courts. That would mean you'd have to graduate, get your name change done, get the school to make the changes on your records, and then apply to the colleges you wanted to attend.
Of course you'd have to be able to pass perfectly. Younger people are more aware there's trans people in society and pick up on that more often then their older counterparts. This means ZERO signs of facial hair, a typical female voice, female mannerisms, and an overall female appearance, and that includes bone structure. That's a tall order for anyone who has never taken gender altering hormones.
But if you start off like this, you'll have a better chance.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.universalexports.net%2FGraphics%2Ftula%2Fboy.jpg&hash=f34dd9a8ad55fe4a53c003521e5d5fc4ce53b4a4)
Carolyn Cossey, pre-transition
I'm glad you posted that pic of Caroline Cossey which I haven't seen for a long time. Here's a picture of me when I was the same age (see pic of me taken in 1975 also pre transition).
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi362.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Foo61%2Fmarishamuso%2FKim1975.jpg&hash=0a1ab27e423b5f837236643ea762dd3dd93a12de)
Now back on topic. I also have a friend in her 40's who started college a year or so ago. She originally started her transition in the early 1990's and seems to cope quite well with college life.
Here in australia it is possible, I am enrolled in university (college) with a local uni, they have changed all of my details to female, prior to me changing my name legally, I have Id, and my name is female on all class transcripts and documentation, the only restriction is that my final qualification will have my legal name and gender on it if I have not changed anything by that time (its a four year degree, so beginning my medical transition now, I should have my recognition certificate by then and with luck (and money) surgery before the end of my degree) so with the exception of a couple of administrative people knowing that I am trans, no one should know unless I tell them.
~Sarah