How do schools check whether you're actually LGBT?

As I understand, acknowledging that you're LGBT significantly benefits applications. The question is how do school know whether you're actually LGBT? Because otherwise, there is a strong incentive to check the box.

28 Comments
 

Wow I never new that being lgbt gives people benefits when applying to schools. I do not know how they would figure out if you are lying about being lesbian, gay, or bisexual but considering the majority of trans people take hrt and there is a whole processing of getting the medication i'm sure you could provide evidence that you are taking the medication or have completed psychotherapy stating that you want to transition.

 
Controversial

No one is going to know unless you have an interview and they ask you how your experiences as an LGBT person have affected you.

By your logic, why not just make up a sob story for your essay(s) about how one of your close relatives died in a tragic accident and you overcame it? Or how you overcame childhood cancer? Or how you helped those in need even if you didn't?

The answer is because its fundamentally dishonest and insulting to those people who have actually struggled through these things. Colleges want to bring together individuals with a wide range of experiences, including members of the LGBT community. LGBT individuals generally have very unique experiences that they draw from.

 

I disagree that LGBT applicants in the U.S. and Europe nowadays have ever struggled because of their sexual orientation. Tolerance for LGBT is established in the U.S. and Europe a long time ago, and LGBT people who are now in their 20s (which is the approximate age of the applicants) have never experienced anything worse than other people experience. For example, I bet that a lot of fat people, punks, metalheads, and so on are bullied more than LGBT. But I've never seen adcoms asking me whether I'm fat or a fan of GG Allin.

That is why I don't think that checking the LGBT box is as bad as making up stories about death and cancer.

 

I don't think checking that box helps you at all in admissions. LGBT doesn't fall within the minority or URM umbrella for rankings (at least I don't think so), and I've never seen a school publish the percent of LGBT students. The only real incentive for encouraging LGBT applicants is so that they have enough to claim they're an open and inviting community. Any of the top schools get way more than enough to satisfy that goal, so I would be surprised if it makes you stand out in the least.

I think the most likely reason they ask is so they 1) have some record that there is no systematic discrimination and 2) it gives them one more angle to pitch you on if you're a strong candidate. Same reason they ask if you're married or have children. (Cue the series of "How will business school check whether the random kid I bring with me to my interview is actually mine?" threads).

 

OP, reality is the community you'd be trying to pretend to be a part of is pretty small and they'd sniff out someone using this status as an easy layup pretty quickly. Unless you were very involved in the community, I doubt this plan would fly.

Pros, maybe it gives you a tiny edge. Cons, it nukes your app and you get black balled at every school with a LGBT group.

 
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