In a recent survey of the best 388 colleges across the United States, The University of North Carolina Asheville, located in the western mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina, came in at #9 as one of the friendliest LGBTQ schools in the country. A relatively small school, it has a full-time enrollment of 3,233.
One other school in the Southeast region placed on the welcoming list. Agnes Scott College in Decatur, part of the Atlanta metro area, came in at #5 as a friendly school for LGBTQ students. Another small school, it has a full-time enrollment of just 1,063.
On the flip side of the list are schools that have a reputation for being LGBTQ unwelcoming.
Greenville North Carolina’s East Carolina University, an institution of higher learning with a full-time enrollment of more than 22,000 students, came in at number 14 for being one of the most LGBTQ unfriendly colleges in the nation.
Topping off the unwelcoming list in the southeast: the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. A relatively large school, it has a full time enrollment of 25,000 plus and handily captured the number one spot for the most unwelcoming LGBTQ University in the entire country.
Among other institutions of higher learning in the southeast region that students felt were uninviting to the LGBTQ community are Auburn University (#5) in Auburn, Alabama a school with with nearly 25,000 full-time students; and the University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa (#7) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a school with over 30,000 full-time students.
In categories that include academics, amenities, school services, campus culture, extracurriculars and more, the lists are based on the Princeton Review’s survey of 160,000 students attending the 388 schools and its flagship College guide.
“Since 1992, when we debuted our multiple ranking lists as an alternative to a single academics only megalist, our mission has been to give students a more useful resource to find the best college for them,” says Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of the Princeton review and lead author of The Best 388 Colleges. “Our selection of the colleges in this book is based on our opinion of their academic offerings. We recommend each one as an academically outstanding choice for an applicant. Our ranking lists, however, are not based on our opinions of the colleges. They’re entirely based on what the school’s own students have told us about their experiences at them.”