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BestColleges and Campus Pride Announce the Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students Nationwide for 2019

  • 06/05/19

SEATTLE, WA – BestColleges, in partnership with Campus Pride, released its 2019 college rankings for LGBTQ students in recognition and celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month. The announcement features two separate rankings, the Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students and the Most LGBTQ-Friendly College in Every State, which help students of various gender and sexual identities find an inclusive and quality institution to begin their educational journey.

Historically, LGBTQ populations have been underserved in higher education environments. However, this has gradually changed in recent years with many college administrations spearheading efforts to create environments and policies that meet the needs of students with a wide range of gender and sexual identities. The Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students ranking recognizes those schools who have established the highest standards for inclusive, educational environments across the U.S. The ranking also serves as a resource and research guide for students searching for a college that best fits their lifestyle, academic needs, and career goals.

The LGBTQ-Friendly College state ranking evolved from the recognition that not all students have the opportunity or can afford to attend college out of state, but still deserve a safe and welcoming educational environment. With a college represented in all 50 states, the ranking list offers a guide for prospective LGBTQ students to identify schools that are culturally inclusive, affordable, and closer in proximity to their geographic location. Additionally, the schools featured on the list were personally vetted by Campus Pride using their knowledge of the LGBTQ education landscape.

“Campus Pride is proud to have helped hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ youth since 2007 find the best LGBTQ-friendly campuses. Today we continue our partnership with BestColleges to provide these rankings for LGBTQ Pride Month,” says Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “There is so much work to be done still within higher education, but this list shows we are indeed making positive progress.”

The rankings combine BestColleges’ traditional methodology of academic support and affordability data along with the Campus Pride Index score, which is a comprehensive national rating system that measures LGBTQ-friendly campus life. Campus Pride takes an exhaustive and multifaceted approach, considering eight LGBTQ inclusive factors to reach a measurement. The listing also includes descriptions of unique campus resources that provide support to students of various gender and sexual identities.

“We are incredibly excited to once again work with Campus Pride to bring prospective students this inclusive ranking and guide. By combining our data, we were able to build a list that truly reflects the best education options for LGBTQ students nationwide,” says Stephanie Snider, director of BestColleges.

Several prominent schools made this year’s Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students list, with the University of Washington ranked as the top college for LGBTQ students in the nation. Tufts University, Princeton University, MIT, and the University of Maryland-College Park round out the top five.

“We commend all the universities listed on these LGBTQ rankings for creating campus environments that allow students with a wide range of gender and sexual identities to feel safe and welcome,” adds Snider. “We hope to see more academic institutions make strides in creating inclusive educational environments in the future.”

You can view the 2019 Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students ranking here.

You can view the 2019 Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges By State ranking here.

2019 Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students (in alphabetical order):
Babson College
Columbia University in the City of New York
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Harvey Mudd College
Indiana University-Bloomington
Lehigh University
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
San Diego State University
The Ohio State University
The University of Texas at Dallas
Tufts University
University of California-Davis
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of Delaware
University of Maryland-College Park
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of Pennsylvania
University of Virginia
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Williams College

About BestColleges
BestColleges empowers students to make smarter educational decisions and find schools that best fit their needs through proprietary research, user-friendly guides, and hundreds of unique college rankings. As a trusted education advisor, they also provide a wide array of college planning, financial aid, and career resources to help students realize life goals and overcome educational challenges as they prepare for careers after college.

About Campus Pride
Campus Pride is the leading national educational organization for LGBTQ and ally college students, as well as campus groups building future leaders and safer, more LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. The organization provides resources and services to thousands of college students and nearly 1,400 campuses annually.

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