Am I right to want to go to an LGBT friendly university?

I think it is absolutely reasonable to want to go to a university where you are comfortable being yourself. University is such a great opportunity to explore who you are and find like-minded people. I would imagine most if not all Scottish unis would have an LGBT Society so you could look for information/Facebook groups etc. for them, see how active they are and find contacts to ask your questions about the general uni/city environment.

 

University was my time to come to terms with many things and come out. 100% fair to want an LGBT friendly uni.

 

1000% yes

 

I would suggest checking out university clubs and society's to see if they have healthy LGBT representation. Perhaps you could also check if the university has taken part in local Pride events.

 

You should be able to get in touch with somebody through the university LGBT society (email the student union if you can't find contact details online) and then you can ask them about their experiences. You may want to consider the LGBT-friendliness of the city/town/area the university is in too.

 

For sure! You deserve to be comfortable and out at school. My school is gay friendly and if it wasn't I wouldn't being going there.

 

I would just see if they have a GSA honestly. A school that has no GSA can mean one of two things. Either it's a very small school with a very small LGB population, or they aren't accepting. You also will have good luck finding schools that are in more urban liberal areas. Art schools tend to be good for this too.

 

I made sure to choose and LGBT friendly university to attend. Only good things have come from it. It makes a big difference to have social support and to not be afraid to be yourself. Completely justified to want that.

 

In my personal experience, being at a LGBT+ friendly school has opened so many doors for me. The school is even helping me with my "escape plan" if things go south with my homophobic parents. I know that I'm safe at school. And that's one of the most important things you could have at a school. If you don't feel safe in a school, you aren't learning. And you'd be paying the school for a lacking education as a result.

 

Sure if you're forced into uni, might as well attend a welcoming place which will be much less stressful.

Edit--grammar

 

This. Seriusly, it makes a world's difference when you know your school has your back.

At our uni, we have a department just for LGBT students. It was hell to make, but at the end we got out own budget to spend on programming just for LGBT students. It was an amazing experience and I would be a completely different person if I had gone to a school that was less accepting.

From the USA so hard to ask, but you should have an academic advisor that you can talk to. Ask them and they should be able to give you an answer. If they don't straight up say "Oh, of course! Here are all these resources just for you" then keep looking. At this point, any serious university that is LGBT friendly should be able to easily answer the question.

 

yar. cos I go to a not friendly one and it sucks. theres no society no nothing its a bit...empty feeling

 

That’s very reasonable, I’m a college student myself and the last thing I want to do is go to a place where I’m not going to be accepted for who I am, especially if I have a choice in the matter.

 

Honestly, for me, LGBT-friendliness is a deciding factor. As said above, the environment of a university (or school, too) makes a huge difference. At my old, not-so-accepting middle school, things kind of sucked, and I felt isolated and like kind of an outcast. At the accepting high school I go to, things are much better. We even have an active GSA here, which is pretty cool. And the university I want to attend is known for being LGBT-friendly. On the tour there, I saw all kinds of LGBT support posters in the residence halls, and I even saw a group of guys with a giant rainbow flag doing some kind of event (there were info tables of some sort. I think it was a fitness or health thing? Anyway) outside one of the residence halls. So it's not only LGBT-friendly, it has a very open, active LGBT community, which is seriously cool. I've been extremely picky in my search for the right college (in general but also ofc in terms of LGBT-friendliness), and it's totally worth it; I'm pretty sure I've found the right one for me. You've got to go somewhere you'll be happy, healthy, and accepted.

 

That is absolutely not a bad thing to want. You SHOULD be able to go to a uni that accepts you for who you are. I wouldn't want to go to one that doesn't.

 

The uni I go to is totally LGBT friendly, it's important to make sure they are because otherwise you could end up feeling uncomfortable, and that's the last thing you want. One way to check could be to look it up on the university website, most have sections about equality and diversity, and some even have specific people there to deal with LGBT matters. Most of the info is readily available on the websites and if not a quick google search should let you know quickly.

 

Hi