I'm a sophomore in high school, and I'm trying to get all my college stuff in order, so I know what classes to take and where I'm applying. I really have my eyes set on studying psychology at NYU. The website says that NYU as a whole is very LGBTQ friendly, but do any of you have experience with NYU? Like, which residence hall is the most trans-friendly? And also, the site says that they'll try to put you in the dorm of the gender you identify as, with people who register on the same basis or something. Does that mean other trans people?
Sorry for the very specific questions, but all of a sudden it just kind of hit me that I'll probably start visiting colleges over the summer and next year, and I'll be applying next year, and not only am I stressed about college, but I'm stressed about being trans at college, and... yeah. Kinda freaking out about it =/
Is there a reason you'd be applying next year and not the year after? You're graduating in 2013, right? Or are you doing an accelerated high school program?
It seems like universities are changing and improving their policies for trans housing and inclusion very rapidly now, so if you wouldn't be attending until Fall 2013, your options for which schools will be trans friendly may expand. It seems a bit premature to freak out about it now.
Yeah, I graduate in 2013. Most people at my school start applying for colleges between the middle and end on their junior year. There's a senior in my AP Government class who's had his spot at UCLA since this school year began.
I just want to make sure I don't end up going to a transphobic school, so I'm looking up different schools I want to go to, making sure that housing is based on gender identity, etc.
I'll bet that NYU is more 'trans-blah' then 'transphobic'. It's NYC, it's been open and visible there for decades now, and people are pretty much long past caring. I bet most of their LGBT stuff is more social and political activism than support anymore, the 'support' phase has come and gone now. It's been at least 20 years since anyone in the Village has cared about trans stuff.
So I'm a transwoman, and this isn't about your trans identity in your dorms or anything, but I figured i'd throw some beta your way on AP courses and college and stuff.
Basically AP classes don't really pay off that well. Here in Washington (the state) we have a program called Running start, which straight up allows you to go to community college and graduate with an AA as well as your highschool diploma. This option is the ->-bleeped-<-.
Knock out stats, basic english, and core science while you're in highschool, but don't go overboard. Community college and AP classes are fun, but those first few years of university, though pricey, are really REALLY fun. Explore. I went in thinking I was going to be a laywer. Like CERTAIN i was going to be a doctor of the jurisprudence. Then I became a geologist, and NOW I'm getting my EMT certification, and planning on a PA or MD.
So yeah, give yourself a little time to figure that shiz out!
There are at least 50 colleges in the US that offer some type of gender neutral housing. You might want to look into some of them. Here's a short list that I found. (http://gaylife.about.com/od/gayteens/a/genderneutral.htm (http://gaylife.about.com/od/gayteens/a/genderneutral.htm))
Bennington College
Beloit College
Brandeis University
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
Clark University
Colorado College
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
The Evergreen State College
Green Mountain College
Grinnell College
Hampshire College
Harvard University (only offered to students who identify as transgender)
Haverford College
Humboldt State University
Lawrence University
Lewis & Clark College
Northeastern University
Oberlin College
Pitzer College
San Diego State University
Sarah Lawrence College
Southern Oregon University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
University of California-Riverside
University of Chicago
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern Maine
Wesleyan University