So today I went to a open house for a college I'm interested in. I plan on going to community college next year and then transferring elsewhere after that.

If I go to a private school, it's not going to be cheap. Nor will it be super easy for me to get in. Though my averages are in the 90s, my transcript and application wouldn't be anything special. I have no extra curriculars, and i havent taken much more than the bare minimum for graduation. My 10th and 11th grade years were mostly spent getting everything in my transition out of the way and securing my mental health, and this year I'm playing catch-up. Unless I do astounding in college next year, I may have some trouble getting into a prestigious school (and more specifically, the major I want).

I know if I write about my transition and how it's affected me in my application/scholarship essays, I'll probably have a much higher chance of getting in and getting scholarships. It would set me apart and it would show some qualities i have that I wouldn't be able to show i have without telling that story. At the school i just visited, I'd be basically guaranteed at least $3k per year because I'm an "under-represented population"

I'm just not sure if i should do that or not. It kinda feels wrong, like I'd be playing the "trans card" and exploiting my medical condition for profit. It also could out me and maybe backfire depending on where i choose to apply to. But on the other hand, I'd be able to show what I've learned from this experience and it would provide explanation for why I don't have the academic and extra curriculars that i would have probably had if i didn't have to transition. I don't know if that makes sense, but i don't know how to describe it.

I know it's ultimately my choice, but i was just wondering what you guys think about it.

If it helps then by all means.  If not, unless you are headed to a dorm then no.

We trans people are disadvantaged enough in so many areas of life that we should be more than justified in "playing the trans card" if it helps us every once in a while.

Why do you think that there is favoritism or preferential treatment toward minorities in situations like this? Affirmative action policies and attitudes exist out of compassion, and they are not unfair. If the struggles and disadvantages of minorities are so much greater than those of non-minorities, then minorities are already not competing on a level playing field. Think about competitive cycling: If you ignore the doping scandals, unfair advantages still exist when teams with wealthy sponsors can afford to use state-of-the-art equipment, while the less-well-funded competitors cannot; yet in the end, the sport is supposed to be about who are the best athletes.

Being in a wheelchair, I often find that my disability comes with strange perks. I can stand with a friend who is smoking, directly under a no smoking sign, and they won't get in trouble. I can jaywalk with impunity. People instinctively trust me, even when I'm lying. I look at it as the universe balancing itself out, and I never hesitate to take advantage where my ethics will allow. Life is too hard not to turn disadvantages into advantages.

$3K a year is just a drop in the bucket if you are talking about a private college/university.

I considered using the fact that I'm female on all my paperwork and still have my birthname to my advantage when applying for an apprenticeship, which I felt awful about because I would of been basically lying just to try and improve my chances of getting a job (I've realised that I need to follow my heart, be realistic, and ditch the Engineering route entirely so I'm not going for the apprenticeship anyway).

With the way the economy is at the moment you need to grab any chance you have of doing well in the world.  Some advice that was given to me was to check how accepting they are of trans people first somehow, set up an email account under a different name or call them up with a fake name or something just to enquire about it.  You don't want to out yourself to somewhere that's not accepting.

I recently had the same decision to make and decided to "out" myself on my application in my personal statement. Colleges and universities like to see what it is about you that separates you from the others. I initially emailed the person in charge of the LGBT club on campus to ask for their opinion. I'm living stealth at my current community college and probably plan to live stealth when I transfer to the college I'm applying to. I am willing to be a part of the LGBT club on campus in order to be of assistance for others and in case I may need it but nobody would really know about it because there are members of the club that are not out to the public and the club is considered a safe zone.

Personally, I am taking advantage of being trans because you could potentially get even more money just for your experiences and college s look for students who have overcome adversity or something like that. You may feel that you aren't being fair for your scholarship or college applications but if you do get in and you do get the scholarships, I think you will be happy that you did what you did.

I would do it.

If you're trying to get into a prestigious school, they get applications upon applications with people just saying the same old boring story about "my experiences in X extracurricular will make me stand apart.... and I am sooo awesome with a 4.0 GPA." Really, how many essays do they get to read about someone who is trans? Probably very little. It'll be memorable and it will add to their diversity points. Prestigious schools LOVE that.

Also, by being a minority, it will trigger any affirmative action program they use in their application process, which will make it easier for you to fight against all those kids who's parents have been getting them ready for this since they were born. And, even though $3K isn't a lot, it's better than nothing. You need every penny to keep down your student loan debt.

I played the trans card in my college applications. I played it hard.

It was and still is something that has had a pervasive effect on my life and how I react to the things around me. It is, at this point, an inextricable factor in my life and while I'm currently fairly comfortable at my stage of transition, I still perceive things in a way that a cis male would not. I am undoubtedly more openly empathetic and aware of the cis privilege than the average male. Some fellow punched me in the chest jokingly in my chem class the other day and I was very alarmed. That would not have happened if I had never had anything but a male experience.
And while those events are minor, my experience during the climax of my dysphoria was horrible. I felt broken and confused and there agony I experienced and conquered was a triumph that certainly not everyone will experience. Though I'm generally stealth now, I will not deny the strength of what my past self did and I have a viewpoint that is, statistically speaking, a unique one that not many will have. If I have this rare thing to offer and I can benefit from it, why not? Besides, what's the harm of it if it is a relevant factor in my life, one that I went through great means to tame and still have yet to fully subdue?