Gay Friendly School List Needed

[RedSox10]

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Add Umass (they only take OOS for MD/PhD so you're in luck), Tufts, and BU. Mass is very gay friendly, and those schools have numbers on par with your current stats.

 

[NickNaylor]

Examples?

I'm not insinuating you're lying or exaggerating. I'm curious what kinds of things you've witnessed on the Southside.

Let's start with the fact that the city is one of the most statistically segregated cities in the country. I think Washington DC is the only city more segregated.

Hyde Park - a very nice neighborhood by most people's standards - gets a terrible rap, and I suspect it's because it's predominantly black. Churches on the north side wouldn't think of expanding to the south side. Those are a few minor things I can think of. I'm sure I could come up with more if I were to sit and think on it.

 

[NickNaylor]

This thread took a hilarious turn since I posted earlier...

The Deep South =/= New England =/= Pacific NorthWest =/= Midwest, etc., etc., etc.

I agree with the sentiment to live north of the Mason-Dixon line on the coasts if you want the most acceptance. It's not about not getting openly harassed or mocked. It's about two men being able to walk down the street lovingly holding hands. Or two women feeling comfortable kissing on a park bench. Most of the country is tolerant of gay people, but not all of it is accepting.

Very few people posting on this forum have spent several years as an adult living in every part of this country. Yes, the media exaggerates the issues present in the South (hint: they do that everywhere), but that doesn't mean there isn't a grain of truth. Defend the south all you want, NickNaylor, but you can't convince me rural Georgia is as accepting as NYc ;-).

That's not at all what I was trying to do. I was trying to counter the prevailing opinion that the south is filled with a bunch of *****s incapable of tolerance or acceptance. I will grant you that many places are likely more accepting, but Sheriff Joe isn't going to throw gay men in jail for holding hands or kissing.

 

[ERgamma]

Hi all,

Sorry for this catchy title. I justwant to get more inputs. I am a gay man, but I am here for general suggestionfor school list based on all of my stats not just my sexual orientation. I am aTexas resident, so Balyor should be my top choice considering its incredible lowcost and excellent MSTP program. However, I am really tired of being in thecloset and living in a harassed environment. I am not ready to come out tomy parents yet. My step-father is a fundamentalist. Trust me, he will nevertalk to me again if I tell him about my sexual orientation. Since I want to doMD/PhD, I feel I will have some major mental break down if I live in Texas foranother eight years (I am serious). Please give me some suggestions about schoollist and application.

Basic Information:

Goal: MD/PhD,interested in computational biology or bioengineering or HIV related topic

Undergraduate Major: Chemical Engineering Major in a top engineering school in Texas

GPA: 3.9 (NoA+ in our school)

MCAT: 34(P12 V10 B12)

EC:

200+ hours' communityservice and clinical volunteering: Local hospital, nursing home, AIDS clinics.Since I am in the closet, I can't get involved in something likePride Alliance, so I am very involved in AIDS related organizations.

100+ hours'shadowing: private clinic, AIDS clinic, ER

Research: I really enjoy research. Working 15 hours/week in two different labs since myfreshman year, independent projects related to HIV infection and elderlyosteoporosis. I had several conference poster presentations and onesecond-author publication. Both of my mentors know me personally and like me,though one of my mentors is very skeptical about sexual orientation issue, and fortunatelyI did not tell him I am gay. This is one of the reasons I do not want to stayin Texas any more.

Working experience: Did research at NIH last summer. I will do an engineering intern ina big pharmaceutical company this summer. Tutor of college introduction scienceand calculus classes.

Leadership: Officers in AIDS service organization and Asian culture club. Resident Advisorof a resident hall for two years.

Award: Fulbright Scholar (I will do research aboard for a year before I go to medicalschool), some research awards from the school, one school outstandingleadership award

Recommendation Letter: Three Research Mentors (two of them are my science/engineeringprofessors), one letter from resident hall director, one letter from mysociology professors (we have talked about AIDS and LGBT related issues with him forseveral times, and he seems to like me), one letter from a volunteercoordinator. Most of them should be very strong.

Weakness:

I am an Asian…

I am not very artistic and not terribly good at writing (I know, I am the shame of bothgay and Asian), but I will put a lot of efforts into my PS.

I get a little bit nervous when I do interviews according to my previous job interviewexperience.

Current School List:

Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UCSF, Columbia,Cornell, NYU, Mount Sinai (Thank you NY! So many good schools!), Tufts, UWSeattle

Lower ranking school needed!

Questions (Please help):

1) My MCAT is a little bit low considering my current school list, should I retake itin July or August? (Urgent question, I need to sign up now if it is necessary)

2) Wha tshould I add into my current school list? I feel most of them can reject me. Should I apply for Baylorjust in case? I would love to go if they are not in Texas 🙂\). Some schools inmy mind, but not sure: UPenn (same sex marriage is not granted in Penn), UCSD,Duke (NC just passed anti same sex marriage law, so very unlikely I will gothere), Northwestern, U Chicago, U of Rochester, U of Maryland.

3) I feel it is too risky to mention my sexual orientation in my primary application. Can I mention my sexual orientation in my secondaryapplication especially for diversity questions? I want to say my sexualorientation and family situation helped me understand the suffering of patientsbesides their pain and diseases. And my personal experience as a gay maninspired me to be doctors to help the people who are suffering.

4) Should I bring up my sexual orientation during the interview? (If they asked I will behonest, but I don't think it's legal for them to ask ;p).

I found this website by AMSA (American Medical Student Association) very useful when I was picking out schools.

http://www.amsa.org/gender/programreviews.cfm


I agree that med school is stressful enough, without having to stress out about concealing your identity all over again.

Good luck!!

 

[wolfie77]

Let's start with the fact that the city is one of the most statistically segregated cities in the country. I think Washington DC is the only city more segregated.

Hyde Park - a very nice neighborhood by most people's standards - gets a terrible rap, and I suspect it's because it's predominantly black. Churches on the north side wouldn't think of expanding to the south side. Those are a few minor things I can think of. I'm sure I could come up with more if I were to sit and think on it.

Okay, you're talking about the structural/institutional stuff. Yes, Chicago has a long ways to go in that respect. The North/South divide is unbelievable in this city. And LOTS of Northsiders wouldn't dream of going anywhere south of Cermak. Haha.

Also, I agree with you 100% about Hyde Park. Beautiful place to live but people are spooked by their prejudices.

 

[deleted103644]

That's not at all what I was trying to do. I was trying to counter the prevailing opinion that the south is filled with a bunch of *****s incapable of tolerance or acceptance. I will grant you that many places are likely more accepting, but Sheriff Joe isn't going to throw gay men in jail for holding hands or kissing.

That was all anyone was ever saying.

 

[NightGod]

Let's start with the fact that the city is one of the most statistically segregated cities in the country. I think Washington DC is the only city more segregated.

Hyde Park - a very nice neighborhood by most people's standards - gets a terrible rap, and I suspect it's because it's predominantly black. Churches on the north side wouldn't think of expanding to the south side. Those are a few minor things I can think of. I'm sure I could come up with more if I were to sit and think on it.

Unfortunately, I'd have to agree with this. Different racial profiles do tend to stick to "their neighborhood" in Chicago. There's also certain areas where you just don't wear certain colors of clothing unless you enjoy confrontation.

 

[235788]

Wow this thread took a political spin.


Well even here in ohio you get a good mix of the pro/anti-gay protestors. People are generally pretty cool though.

 

[NickNaylor]

Unfortunately, I'd have to agree with this. Different racial profiles do tend to stick to "their neighborhood" in Chicago. There's also certain areas where you just don't wear certain colors of clothing unless you enjoy confrontation.

But it's more pernicious than that, though. In Dallas, for example, there are some areas that you simply don't go to if you can avoid it. While there is some segregation, I don't think it would be correct to say that a particular race is found almost exclusively in those areas. Instead, it's generally the poor without regard to race - at least that's been my experience.

In Chicago, on the other hand, the segregation is more blatant: there's nothing like Engelwood outside of the black-dominated south that I know of. That's not to say, by the way, that there aren't other races living on the south side. I'm sure there are. However, the correlation between race and poverty/crime seems to be significantly stronger in Chicago than in Dallas based on my experience.

 

[class92006]

Brown is fine.

Dartmouth, doesn't really matter what your orientation is since all you'd have available would be livestock anyway.

 

[class92006]

I found this website by AMSA (American Medical Student Association) very useful when I was picking out schools.

http://www.amsa.org/gender/programreviews.cfm


I agree that med school is stressful enough, without having to stress out about concealing your identity all over again.

Good luck!!

Very interesting site though it's still growing. I will contribute some after this application cycle.

 

[J-Rad]

University of Iowa. Iowa City is very gay friendly, as is the university. It's also a good research institution. I always got the vibe that the students liked being there (I didn't go there for med school). Iowa, as a whole, is actually a nice place to live, IC especially so. Gay marriage is legal there.

 

[NightGod]

But it's more pernicious than that, though. In Dallas, for example, there are some areas that you simply don't go to if you can avoid it. While there is some segregation, I don't think it would be correct to say that a particular race is found almost exclusively in those areas. Instead, it's generally the poor without regard to race - at least that's been my experience.

In Chicago, on the other hand, the segregation is more blatant: there's nothing like Engelwood outside of the black-dominated south that I know of. That's not to say, by the way, that there aren't other races living on the south side. I'm sure there are. However, the correlation between race and poverty/crime seems to be significantly stronger in Chicago than in Dallas based on my experience.

Pretty fair assessment. Some areas have improved since, say, the 80s and 90s, but I agree that there does seem to be a more open racial divide when it comes to neighborhoods in Chicago than you see in most cities. Outside of that, however, the "places you just don't go" thing seems to apply in Chicago as well as it does in every city. Ironically, downtown is probably the safest place to be at 3 in the morning-there's just no one around except for a few homeless people and they're probably the most respectful homeless population I've ever come across.

 

[LisaFrank]

Anyhow, to get back to the OP, in my experience from when I applied and from national meetings, this is a good (albeit incomplete) list

Hopkins
NYU
the Philly schools (their LGBT groups coordinate with each other)
Rush
Stanford
Tulane
USC
Vanderbilt

NB: just because a university is in a gay-friendly city or region does not mean the medical school supports or encourages/attracts LGBTQ diversity

 

[thlaxer]

Also as someone else mentioned, Northwestern seems very gay-friendly as well. Their diversity office set up 1-on-1 or group meetings between LGBT applicants and students.

 

[gettheleadout]

He's very intelligent, which excludes him being labeled a dip**** IMO. If he believes being gay is morally corrupt that is his perogative. My problem is that he made that a staple of his campaign, which was a woeful mistake.

I don't care if people believe being gay is wrong so long as they treat them with respect and dignity. I just don't want the issue of homosexuality to drive our elections in a time of financial and procedural crisis.



I think you'd be surprised.

His desire to make the US an effective theocracy doesn't seem un-American to you? I think he lacks basic understanding of the egalitarian principles upon which this country was founded, and coupled with his support for teaching of intelligent design in schools qualifies him as deserving of the aforementioned insult. On the other hand, I also think Ron Paul deserves the appellation as well, since he rejects evolution without justifiable reason. If critical thinking cannot be applied to issues unilaterally, free from personal bias, then one is unfit for office, in my opinion.

And heck, I have a problem with people considering homosexuality wrong. I think it's an archaic, hateful view, the existence and prevalence of which undermines the progress toward civil society that humanity has attempted throughout our existence, and I feel such biases will exist upon our world as ugly blemishes, like tiny ticks, parasitic until we finally pluck them and cast them off.

 

[tantacles]

His desire to make the US an effective theocracy doesn't seem un-American to you? I think he lacks basic understanding of the egalitarian principles upon which this country was founded, and coupled with his support for teaching of intelligent design in schools qualifies him as deserving of the aforementioned insult. On the other hand, I also think Ron Paul deserves the appellation as well, since he rejects evolution without justifiable reason. If critical thinking cannot be applied to issues unilaterally, free from personal bias, then one is unfit for office, in my opinion.

And heck, I have a problem with people considering homosexuality wrong. I think it's an archaic, hateful view, the existence and prevalence of which undermines the progress toward civil society that humanity has attempted throughout our existence, and I feel such biases will exist upon our world as ugly blemishes, like tiny ticks, parasitic until we finally pluck them and cast them off.

Ditto to all of this. I'm too lazy to write real responses on the internet. I'll just let people like you argue for me.

 

[SnowyRox]

University of Iowa. Iowa City is very gay friendly, as is the university. It's also a good research institution. I always got the vibe that the students liked being there (I didn't go there for med school). Iowa, as a whole, is actually a nice place to live, IC especially so. Gay marriage is legal there.

You do realize that Iowa legalized gay marriage by mistake, right? They tried to officially ban gay marriage and that was declared unconstitutional. You can not allow gay marriage, but specifically banning it isn't allowed. In that ruling gay marriage was legalized.

I do love Iowa (people are so nice there), but I think you're misrepresenting how gay-friendly the state as a whole is.

 

[vayntraubinator]

You do realize that Iowa legalized gay marriage by mistake, right? They tried to officially ban gay marriage and that was declared unconstitutional. You can not allow gay marriage, but specifically banning it isn't allowed. In that ruling gay marriage was legalized.

I do love Iowa (people are so nice there), but I think you're misrepresenting how gay-friendly the state as a whole is.

lol impressive observation! Miami is freaking awesome and it is gay friendly (Miller school of Med!!!)

 

[CopaceticOne]

Let's start with the fact that the city is one of the most statistically segregated cities in the country. I think Washington DC is the only city more segregated.

Sadly that honor goes to your neighbor to the north: Milwaukee.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/witi-20110331-segregated-city,0,6920627.story

 

[TobiasBlowsHard]

Durham is one of the most progressive cities in America, and Duke has a really strong LGBT community both in undergraduate and graduate schools.

 

[class92006]

Ugh stay away from Masachusetts, tired of all gay peeople thinking they can come here and get a free pass to gay it up.

Can you explain a little bit more?

 

[class92006]

His desire to make the US an effective theocracy doesn't seem un-American to you? I think he lacks basic understanding of the egalitarian principles upon which this country was founded, and coupled with his support for teaching of intelligent design in schools qualifies him as deserving of the aforementioned insult. On the other hand, I also think Ron Paul deserves the appellation as well, since he rejects evolution without justifiable reason. If critical thinking cannot be applied to issues unilaterally, free from personal bias, then one is unfit for office, in my opinion.

And heck, I have a problem with people considering homosexuality wrong. I think it's an archaic, hateful view, the existence and prevalence of which undermines the progress toward civil society that humanity has attempted throughout our existence, and I feel such biases will exist upon our world as ugly blemishes, like tiny ticks, parasitic until we finally pluck them and cast them off.

Well said.👍

 

[tantacles]

Ugh stay away from Masachusetts, tired of all gay peeople thinking they can come here and get a free pass to gay it up.

I'm tired of non gay people from other places coming here and insisting that holding hands constitutes inappropriate PDA.

If you don't like gay people, move out of MA.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'm tired of non gay people from other places coming here and insisting that holding hands constitutes inappropriate PDA.

If you don't like gay people, move out of MA.

The irony of this statement is fantastic.

 

[tantacles]

The irony of this statement is fantastic.

I live to serve.

 

[NightGod]

The irony of this statement is fantastic.

In the context of this thread, I'd even go so far as to suggest it's fabulous.

 

[NickNaylor]

In the context of this thread, I'd even go so far as to suggest it's fabulous.

Well played.

 

[tantacles]

In the context of this thread, I'd even go so far as to suggest it's fabulous.

 

[sotto voce]

I live in San Francisco and about 15-16% of the population identifies as gay, so wherever this guy is with the military base and conservatives is an absurd anomaly.

20-30% has been my experience, although to be fair, I prefer to hang out with gay dudes. So stop being such a diva, Triage! 🙂

 

[sotto voce]

Ugh stay away from Masachusetts, tired of all gay peeople thinking they can come here and get a free pass to gay it up.

Literally everyone with this sentiment turns out to be a closet homo whose is scared to come out thanks to his excessively religious and bigoted parents. It's just a matter of time before you do, too. It gets better.

 

[Suncrusher]

are any US MD schools actually gay-unfriendly? Just focus on filtering the cities that the schools are located in and you'll end up just fine. If you're in an interview, it's fine to say things like that you don't want to live in X for the rest of your life (for me it was Tennessee) and that you think that the social/cultural environment in Y city would be a great fit for you, which is one of the (many, mostly non-gay) reasons you're interested in attending their OOS school specifically. My school is perfectly tolerant but it's the area itself that has made the biggest difference.

As for bringing up the topic of sexuality...for diversity? fine, if that is really all you have (e.g. no immigrant parents, serving diverse populations, etc.). But I don't think it is a good choice at all to bring it up in the context of why you want to be a doctor, unless being gay has adversely affected your own healthcare or that of someone you love. You want to be a doctor because you think the human condition is fragile and beautiful and you want to share in and improve your patients' lives...not because you are gay. If being gay is the only personal experience driving your humanitarianism and desire to help others and you have no concrete reason for it, then don't expect a great response from your interviewers or application-screeners, in my opinion.

Probably true, but blatantly attempting to "score points" in and of itself says something about the character of the applicant that is unappealing. Maybe people would care, maybe they wouldn't - I know I would and it's something I would dock an applicant for. I interviewed a couple of gay applicants this past year who didn't disclose their sexual orientation explicitly, yet 5-10 minutes into the interview I was able to piece together the fact that they were gay just based on my discussion with them. One's experiences and life story speak for themselves. Going out of your way to highlight things that you think might get you some diversity points is painfully obvious and, in my opinion, a stupid thing to do.

^ +1

 

[tantacles]

are any US MD schools actually gay-unfriendly? Just focus on filtering the cities that the schools are located in and you'll end up just fine. If you're in an interview, it's fine to say things like that you don't want to live in Texas for the rest of your life (for me it was Tennessee) and that you think that the social/cultural environment in X city would be a great fit for you, which is one of the (many, mostly non-gay) reasons you're interested in attending their OOS school specifically.

My method for picking cities unfairly excludes schools like Vanderbilt which is perfectly gay-friendly, but the overall friendliness of the city matters too (there's 2 million people in the area with exactly 1 gay club and a very anti-gay state legislature that is consistently reelected by the active gay-protesting population). My quick and dirty way to filter cities was to choose any west coast school, any Florida school, any northeast school, any DC school, and any Chicago school. I'm sure I unfairly missed out on some very tolerant midwest/southern cities and this post is not intended to reignite the flame war about perceptions of the entire midwest and south being bigoted, but I'm very happy where I ended up, so take that for what it's worth. My school is perfectly tolerant but it's the area itself that has made the biggest difference.

As for bringing up the topic of sexuality...for diversity? fine, if that is really all you have (e.g. no immigrant parents, serving diverse populations, etc.). But I don't think it is a good choice at all to bring it up in the context of why you want to be a doctor, unless being gay has adversely affected your own healthcare or that of someone you love. You want to be a doctor because you think the human condition is fragile and beautiful, you appreciate the wisdom and diversity of human narratives, and you want to share in and improve your patients' lives...not because you are gay. If being gay is the only personal experience driving your humanitarianism and desire to help others and you have no concrete reason for it, then don't expect a great response from your interviewers or application-screeners, in my opinion.

^ +1

Special gay snowflake fail.

 

[miz]

I suggest you simply apply to good programs in bioengineering and only rule out programs where you personally already know you would not go there if accepted (eg, Texas schools).
Two reasons: 1. MSTP is very competitive even for people with perfect statistics, and 2. your impressions from interviewing and revisiting and talking to people living there may be much more informative than trying to get impressions online. (For instance you might rule out schools in a state which banned gay marriage, yet CA passed a gay marriage ban and LA and SF are some of the most gay-friendly cities in this country). It is better to pick from multiple choices than to cull beforehand and not have any choices.

On another note, MSTP is geared toward entering research, and most academic researchers have very limited choice in where they live, certainly much less flexibility than MD/clinicians. Be aware that down the road if you choose MD/PhD you may only receive job offers in the South, for example.
UCSD is one of the best bioengineering programs in the country; I'd add that to your list.

 

[Suncrusher]

Special gay snowflake fail.

OP asked for personal advice. Keep making an ass of yourself in this thread tho.

 

[tantacles]

OP asked for personal advice. Keep making an ass of yourself in this thread tho.

Dude, it was definitely a joke. I agree with your entire post. If I didn't, don't you think I would have said so? I was specifically responding to this phrase, which is a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with:

If being gay is the only personal experience driving your humanitarianism and desire to help others and you have no concrete reason for it, then don't expect a great response from your interviewers or application-screeners, in my opinion.

 

[miz]

Dude, it was definitely a joke. I agree with your entire post. If I didn't, don't you think I would have said so? I was specifically responding to this phrase, which is a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with:
Quote:
If being gay is the only personal experience driving your humanitarianism and desire to help others and you have no concrete reason for it, then don't expect a great response from your interviewers or application-screeners, in my opinion.
:

I actually disagree strongly with that sentiment. I think that helping an underserved population (the gay community) is a great motivation to enter medicine. Usually this applies to people interested in primary care, but in this case it applies to research as well. This is reflected in the OP's interest in HIV/AIDS research.
FYI, HIV/AIDS is a very well-explored field with a lot of effective therapies already, so you may be on the tail end of this research topic if you choose to pursue it, unless you're using it as a well-studied system to develop new models/techniques etc.

That said- most likely some of your interviewers will agree with me and some will agree with tantacles- ymmv with this approach.

 

[tantacles]

I actually disagree strongly with that sentiment. I think that helping an underserved population (the gay community) is a great motivation to enter medicine. Usually this applies to people interested in primary care, but in this case it applies to research as well. This is reflected in the OP's interest in HIV/AIDS research.
FYI, HIV/AIDS is a very well-explored field with a lot of effective therapies already, so you may be on the tail end of this research topic if you choose to pursue it, unless you're using it as a well-studied system to develop new models/techniques etc.

That said- most likely some of your interviewers will agree with me and some will agree with tantacles- ymmv with this approach.

I don't think you necessarily disagreed with me OR the other poster. What the other poster essentially said was that being gay can not be your only motivator and can not stand alone.

No one's arguing that talking about HIV-AIDS research isn't a worthy cause and isn't a worthwhile inspiration, but you have to keep in mind that labeling HIV as a disease that gay people are better equipped to treat merely because they're gay doesn't make too much sense.

Now, if you're gay and thus know many people who have HIV and have been involved at places like the Boston Living Center, which caters to people with HIV, and want to state a potential interest in the field, I think that's great. But being gay in and of itself doesn't equip you to become a physician, and it would thus be difficult to justify a dominating urge for same sex relationships as the sole reason medicine interests you.

That being said, I mentioned my sexual orientation in several of my interviews and secondaries; it provides more insight into who you are and the kind of unique perspective into a school, but was definitely not the dominating factor in my decision to pursue medicine.

 

[Suncrusher]

^yep

I was talking specifically about this quote from the OP

...I want to say my sexual orientation and family situation helped me understand the suffering of patients besides their pain and diseases. And my personal experience as a gay man inspired me to be doctors to help the people who are suffering...

because he seems to say nothing concrete about medicine, and therefore comes across as outing himself gratuitously in a personal statement that is supposed to describe what has led him to medicine as a career. He says being gay helped him understand "suffering" and want to become a doctor. Well, people suffer in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with disease, so his story doesn't seem to tie everything together and explain why he wants to be a doctor. It seems out of place in a personal statement for medical school, and begs the question why doesn't he want to be a therapist or social worker instead? (The AIDS research thing didn't come across as something he wanted to make a permanent career out of.)

It's probably a moot point since it isn't clear that OP is even reading the thread any longer.

 

[tn4596]

OP i would tell you to stay in Texas and take the economical route (way lower tuition, high chance of acceptance into great schools). but i wouldnt understand cuz i am not gay and texas is a pretty conservative state. but it is unlikely that you will be living in a "harrassed environment" in med school, people are higher educated = more open minded, and have other stuffs to worry about other than making fun of you.

 

[class92006]

I don't think you necessarily disagreed with me OR the other poster. What the other poster essentially said was that being gay can not be your only motivator and can not stand alone.

No one's arguing that talking about HIV-AIDS research isn't a worthy cause and isn't a worthwhile inspiration, but you have to keep in mind that labeling HIV as a disease that gay people are better equipped to treat merely because they're gay doesn't make too much sense.

Now, if you're gay and thus know many people who have HIV and have been involved at places like the Boston Living Center, which caters to people with HIV, and want to state a potential interest in the field, I think that's great. But being gay in and of itself doesn't equip you to become a physician, and it would thus be difficult to justify a dominating urge for same sex relationships as the sole reason medicine interests you.

That being said, I mentioned my sexual orientation in several of my interviews and secondaries; it provides more insight into who you are and the kind of unique perspective into a school, but was definitely not the dominating factor in my decision to pursue medicine.

First, I am still following, so all of your efforts are not wasted. Second, I worked with multiple organizations for under-served populations including AIDS clinics. I also volunteered aboard and shadowed with varies of physicians. I would like medicine even if I were straight. The sexual orientation is not the only thing I will talk.

 

[class92006]

OP i would tell you to stay in Texas and take the economical route (way lower tuition, high chance of acceptance into great schools). but i wouldnt understand cuz i am not gay and texas is a pretty conservative state. but it is unlikely that you will be living in a "harrassed environment" in med school, people are higher educated = more open minded, and have other stuffs to worry about other than making fun of you.

What you said is very very reasonable. 👍 My main problem is that I don't want to stay somewhere too close to my parents.

 

[docmayer]

being gay inspired you to be a doctor? Seriously? It seems like you are grasping at strings to somehow make you being gay relevant to your application.

+1

 

[star230]

+1

Make sure you read the whole thread carefully.

 

[deleted393595]

I was born and raised in the south, went to a highly conservative school for undergrad, and I can say quite confidently that racism in Chicago is more obvious and prevalent than any racism I've ever seen in the south.

In Texas, the cities are more metropolitan so the racism is less blatant. However, if you go to the more isolated and rural parts of Texas, the stereotypes you hear about racism in Texas can't even begin to approach just how racist those parts are. I think there's even a town in central Texas named after some really important guy in the KKK.

But on the other hand, as a non-minority, it's hard for me to pin down just how much racist discrimination goes on

 

[MT Headed]

are any US MD schools actually gay-unfriendly? Just focus on filtering the cities that the schools are located in and you'll end up just fine.

I think there is a distinction between gay-friendly states, cities, and schools. According to that Guardian link, Louisiana is very gay hostile. I have no idea how 'family friendly' Tulane is, as it really wasn't a concern of mine. As for New Orleans, I can name over a dozen active and thriving gay clubs, bars, and shops, etc within a four block radius of my apartment, and my neighborhood has less than 4,000 people in it.

 

[deleted103644]

I think there is a distinction between gay-friendly states, cities, and schools. According to that Guardian link, Louisiana is very gay hostile. I have no idea how 'family friendly' Tulane is, as it really wasn't a concern of mine. As for New Orleans, I can name over a dozen active and thriving gay clubs, bars, and shops, etc within a four block radius of my apartment, and my neighborhood has less than 4,000 people in it.

All schools are gay friendly. The question is how friendly the surrounding region is.

 

[deleted307836]

All schools are gay friendly.

Are you sure about this? Not to stereotype too heavily but I'd still be skeptical of schools in Arkansas, Mississippi, Kansas, etc.

And not to mention Loma Linda and U. of Utah...

 

[miz]

^yep

I was talking specifically about this quote from the OP

because he seems to say nothing concrete about medicine, and therefore comes across as outing himself gratuitously in a personal statement that is supposed to describe what has led him to medicine as a career. He says being gay helped him understand "suffering" and want to become a doctor. Well, people suffer in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with disease, so his story doesn't seem to tie everything together and explain why he wants to be a doctor. It seems out of place in a personal statement for medical school, and begs the question why doesn't he want to be a therapist or social worker instead? (The AIDS research thing didn't come across as something he wanted to make a permanent career out of.)

I think you guys are right and we do agree that he should be careful to frame his statement in a way that shows he is interested in medicine first and foremost.
OP, it's almost like talking about the death of a close family member in your statement. It's a hugely influential, personal experience that really does influence your outlook, but it can overshadow the rest of your statement and feel like oversharing if it's done badly.
That and you don't know if your screeners are discriminatory (although honestly, I'm not sure it'd matter if you had a really really strong application, it could matter if you are borderline for that school- depends mostly on your research).

To the poster who suggested he apply for in-state to save on tuition: the OP doesn't have to worry about the cost of tuition; he's applying MD-PhD (fully funded if MSTP and generally fully funded if MD/PhD). He only has to worry about cost of living in the area. MSTPs are required to recruit equally from in and out of state because they are federally funded- no in state priority, so no increased likelihood of getting in because he is from Texas to Texas MSTPs.)

 

[J-Rad]

You do realize that Iowa legalized gay marriage by mistake, right? They tried to officially ban gay marriage and that was declared unconstitutional. You can not allow gay marriage, but specifically banning it isn't allowed. In that ruling gay marriage was legalized.

I do love Iowa (people are so nice there), but I think you're misrepresenting how gay-friendly the state as a whole is.

Sorry for the late reply. I don't disagree with anything you say except I never rated Iowa, as a whole, on a scale of gay-friendliness. I said that gay marriage is legal there. I did say that Iowa City is very gay-friendly, which it is (my wife used to describe it as the gay capitol of the Midwest, which I suspect is a bit of hyperbole). I don't have a personal frame of reference for the state as a whole, but suspect Iowa to be middle of the road. I grew up in a small town in the Northeast and don't find Iowa drastically different in that regard (though I grew up in a less gay-friendly time). Like many places, the closer you are to a city and/or large academic community, the more friendly the place is likely to be.