Top college choice among students’ sexual orientations

Abstract

The demographics of colleges and universities are rapidly changing with attention focused on pipelines programs and competitive entrance requirements. Yet, the queer community is often overlooked as a growing (in)visible population. Students are coming to college more open about their sexual orientations as an estimated record high of 1.3 million (8%) children in k-12 schools identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (Schlanger, 2017). There is little literature examining the enrollment patterns of students with marginalized sexual identities thus the continued study of trends is necessary for administrators to be prepared for their on-going arrival. This paper aims to examine college enrollment trends of queer students using Perna’s (2006) conceptual model of student college choice focusing on aspects of capital and the recruitment of these students. The research questions of the study are: what differences exist between students selecting their top institution by sexual orientation, and how do social factors influence queer students selecting these institutions? Data from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) paired with the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is used to examine students entering college in 2017 and 2018.