Is Tufts gay-friendy?

[doczen]

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hi, i'm gay and my partner lives in the NE. tufts asks if there is a particular reason why i want to be in boston and i want to be honest and explain my situation - i'm looking for a east coast gay-friendly school where i can be out. (i'm from the south). it's reallly important to me but i dont want to get shafted by Tufts and not even be considered b/c i came out to them. (i'm not even out to my family)

anyone have any clue?

 

[Mac11]

Supportive Environment for:
Tufts
Careers in primary care 3.6
Underrepresented ethnic minorities 2.7
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual students 3.2
Students with disabilities 2.3
Married students 3.6

This is copied directly out of the near-useless AMSA thingy. The scores our out of 5, 5 being the highest, 1 the lowest.

They explain it better:

5=Excellent
4=Above Average
3=Average
2=Fair
1=Poor

But keep in mind, this is out of a grand total of 8 (student) surveys, and personally, I never fill out '5's on these surveys unless it's like really good. So my guess is most people just put 3's and 4's; don't read into the whole 'average' but not 'above average' buisness.

And are there any gay-unfriendly schools up in the NE? What exactly are you looking for?

 

[silas2642]

hi, i'm gay and my partner lives in the NE. tufts asks if there is a particular reason why i want to be in boston and i want to be honest and explain my situation - i'm looking for a east coast gay-friendly school where i can be out. (i'm from the south). it's reallly important to me but i dont want to get shafted by Tufts and not even be considered b/c i came out to them. (i'm not even out to my family)

anyone have any clue?

No one in the student body will care if you're gay or not. However, one thing to remember is that oftentimes adcom members are pretty traditional and conservative people, and explicitly mentioning your sexuality may not be the wisest thing to do, plus, I think that it's a little unnecessary. Therefore, you might want to just say your "significant other" is in the area, and that gives you all the more reason to want to attend a fine institution such as Tufts. 😉

 

[SuperTrooper]

hi, i'm gay and my partner lives in the NE. tufts asks if there is a particular reason why i want to be in boston and i want to be honest and explain my situation - i'm looking for a east coast gay-friendly school where i can be out. (i'm from the south). it's reallly important to me but i dont want to get shafted by Tufts and not even be considered b/c i came out to them. (i'm not even out to my family)

anyone have any clue?

There's a lot of JAPs at Tufts. Hope this info helps! 😳

 

[wolfram241]

There's a lot of JAPs at Tufts. Hope this info helps! 😳

Many metrosexuals?

 

[Vvandenn]

I would also like to know of any gay-friendly med schools in general. I'm not a homosexual myself but the acceptance and welcoming of gays is a huge thing in my life (due to close friends and otherwise). It's a subject I feel extremely passionate about and Texas hasn't been particularly understanding of issues regarding this during my time here (my whole life). 😡

 

[Rafa]

I'm not sure I would focus so much on the sexuality aspect as I would on having a significant other/family in the region, and wanting to be close to him/her/them. Because although both might be equally valid reasons to you, the latter is usually well-regarded by schools, while the former might suggest you're attracted to the school as a potential 'shelter' or safe-haven. I'd mention having ties to the region, and leave the former reason out, so it doesn't overshadow the more 'traditional' reason in the minds of the adcoms.

 

[MadHopsMD]

I'm not sure I would focus so much on the sexuality aspect as I would on having a significant other/family in the region, and wanting to be close to him/her/them. Because although both might be equally valid reasons to you, the latter is usually well-regarded by schools, while the former might suggest you're attracted to the school as a potential 'shelter' or safe-haven. I'd mention having ties to the region, and leave the former reason out, so it doesn't overshadow the more 'traditional' reason in the minds of the adcoms.

I agree.

Why give them a reason for them to reject you. Even though your sexual orientation should mean nothing...but sadly you dont know who is reading your application. A guy from the south who is attending Tufts might be reading it (you are from there you know what i mean).

P.s this might be off topic, but have you ever seen hot lesbians? or are they only in the movies?

 

[TPROrgoTutor]

I would not go into an interview speaking about the types of girls that I like to have sex with. I view this as the same. Absolutely nothing wrong with homosexuality in my rulebook, but not something to bring up in an interview in any way.

 

[TPROrgoTutor]

P.s this might be off topic, but have you ever seen hot lesbians? or are they only in the movies?

Certain USF sororities (Unnamed but the absolute most gorgeous girls...though typically airheaded) have girls that have this tendency to make out with one another quite often. Does this count?

 

[indiamacbean]

As someone who interviews for medical school admissions, I would be very unimpressed with this reply to the "why Tufts" question. I consider myself very gay friendly having lived in the Castro for several years and one of my best friends is a lesbian, but it just isn't something that should be talked about in an interview or focused on in essay. I recommend such stand-ins as "vibrant city life" "many underserved medicine projects" "city with a rich medical history and diverse medical opportunities" "signifigant other in the area." The truth is, the you will run across the gamut of people from accepting to homophobic in both the faculty and student body. don't shoot yourself in the foot.

 

[Haemulon]

I would not go into an interview speaking about the types of girls that I like to have sex with. I view this as the same. Absolutely nothing wrong with homosexuality in my rulebook, but not something to bring up in an interview in any way.

Exactly 👍

 

[LADoc00]

I heard med school adcoms had started purchasing official gaydar from Sharper Image..or Brookstone, one of the 2.

 

[A Tree]

I heard med school adcoms had started purchasing official gaydar from Sharper Image..or Brookstone, one of the 2.

You saw this season's first episode of "The Office" I take it?

 

[Samus]

hi, i'm gay and my partner lives in the NE. tufts asks if there is a particular reason why i want to be in boston and i want to be honest and explain my situation - i'm looking for a east coast gay-friendly school where i can be out. (i'm from the south). it's reallly important to me but i dont want to get shafted by Tufts and not even be considered b/c i came out to them. (i'm not even out to my family)

anyone have any clue?

I know a little bit about Tufts and in my opinion Tufts is very gay friendly. I know several people in MD, PhD or MD/PhD programs who are gay at Tufts and there appears to be no issues whatsoever. Tufts is actually a very liberal school in general.

 

[psipsina]

As someone who interviews for medical school admissions, I would be very unimpressed with this reply to the "why Tufts" question. I consider myself very gay friendly having lived in the Castro for several years and one of my best friends is a lesbian, but it just isn't something that should be talked about in an interview or focused on in essay. I recommend such stand-ins as "vibrant city life" "many underserved medicine projects" "city with a rich medical history and diverse medical opportunities" "signifigant other in the area." The truth is, the you will run across the gamut of people from accepting to homophobic in both the faculty and student body. don't shoot yourself in the foot.

I agree with your don't shoot yourself in the foot advice. No matter the overall policy or atmosphere of a school you never know if your individual interviewer is going to be a homophobe. Once you're in their not going to kick you out if you come out but I wouldn't risk it effecting your chance of acceptance, especially if you have such a good reason to want to be in the NE.

On the other hand, I am curious why it would be upsetting to know that the OP wanted to move to the NE to be with his same sex partner but it wouldn't be upsetting if he said to be with "a significan other in the area" as you suggested? If my motivation was to be near my hubby, I would call him my husband/boyfriend . . . not my significant other. If a male interviewee said it was to be near his husband/boyfriend how would this be any different? And if someone says "significant other" it usually infers that its a same sex partner anyways, otherwise they would reveal the sex of the partner casually with a title such as husband/wife or girlfriend/boyfriend. I'm just curious why this would make a difference for you as an individual interviewer if your not homophobic. Would it be weird for you if I used husband instead of S.O. as a female too??

 

[anon-y-mouse]

hi, i'm gay and my partner lives in the NE. tufts asks if there is a particular reason why i want to be in boston and i want to be honest and explain my situation - i'm looking for a east coast gay-friendly school where i can be out. (i'm from the south). it's reallly important to me but i dont want to get shafted by Tufts and not even be considered b/c i came out to them. (i'm not even out to my family)

anyone have any clue?

Wow. Tufts will be fine. The north is NOT anything like the south. Have you ever lived north of the mason-dixon line? 🙂 I mean, if you were at the University of Southern Alabama or something, I'd be worried, but pretty much every med school you go to will have a significant number of gay people in its class. Even NYMC, which is terribly anti-gay!

 

[stiffany]

I agree with your don't shoot yourself in the foot advice. No matter the overall policy or atmosphere of a school you never know if your individual interviewer is going to be a homophobe. Once you're in their not going to kick you out if you come out but I wouldn't risk it effecting your chance of acceptance, especially if you have such a good reason to want to be in the NE.

On the other hand, I am curious why it would be upsetting to know that the OP wanted to move to the NE to be with his same sex partner but it wouldn't be upsetting if he said to be with "a significan other in the area" as you suggested? If my motivation was to be near my hubby, I would call him my husband/boyfriend . . . not my significant other. If a male interviewee said it was to be near his husband/boyfriend how would this be any different? And if someone says "significant other" it usually infers that its a same sex partner anyways, otherwise they would reveal the sex of the partner casually with a title such as husband/wife or girlfriend/boyfriend. I'm just curious why this would make a difference for you as an individual interviewer if your not homophobic. Would it be weird for you if I used husband instead of S.O. as a female too??

I feel like using "significant other" is just more professional than "same sex partner". Same sex partner definitively puts one's sexuality out on a platter whereas "significant other" is completely ambiguous. I don't walk around saying that I'm heterosexual or homosexual in my every day professional encounters, so why would I do something different on a med school application? I also feel like when you're younger "boyfriend/girlfriend" sounds less serious than "significant other" so if you are serious with your boyfriend OP it just gives it more justice. Husband/wife I feel like is different because that's obviously a more binding thing. Semantics shmantics.

Also, I agree with those who recognize that as bad as it is, discrimination still exists, especially in the area of LGBT rights. A little over a year ago, NYMC banned a student group dedicated to the representation of LGBTs in medicine. After getting horrible PR even from the AMA, they eventually went against that decision and let the school group exist, but with a much more encompassing message and a very non-descript name. And that was 2005, not the 80's. My thoughts (recognizing that it sucks): Get in and then find people that let you feel comfortable in your own skin.

 

[inside_edition]

hi, i'm gay and my partner lives in the NE. tufts asks if there is a particular reason why i want to be in boston and i want to be honest and explain my situation - i'm looking for a east coast gay-friendly school where i can be out. (i'm from the south). it's reallly important to me but i dont want to get shafted by Tufts and not even be considered b/c i came out to them. (i'm not even out to my family)

anyone have any clue?

i haven't looked at the other posts, but medschools are more likely to accept you just for the diversity (you being gay) and this is assuming that you have been involved in lots of LGBTQ EC's.