For nearly two decades, LGBTQ+ students looking for a college could turn to the Campus Pride Index for something most college rankings didn’t provide: a way to evaluate how welcoming and safe a campus might actually be for them.
Launched in 2007, the free database evaluated participating colleges on more than 50 measures across eight areas, including LGBTQ-inclusive policies, housing, campus safety, student life, counseling, health services and institutional support. Students and families could search hundreds of participating schools and compare their LGBTQ+ resources and policies.
When Campus Pride shut down following a financial scandal involving its former executive director — previously reported by Qnotes — the index went with it. Although the website remains active, the content now seems to be primarily focused on crypto gambling. So far, no single organization has stepped forward to replace the resource.
However, there are some with short lists of favorites.
The Princeton Review publishes a list of 25 LGBTQ-friendly colleges based on student surveys, while BestColleges released a 2026 list of schools meeting criteria including nondiscrimination protections, gender-inclusive housing and restrooms, and an LGBTQ+ resource center. The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals also maintains a directory of campus LGBTQ+ centers.
But those resources don’t allow a student to investigate and compare hundreds of individual campuses using the same detailed criteria. A 2025 study published in the Journal of Homosexuality examined 1,756 four-year nonprofit U.S. colleges and universities and found that only 14 percent had a dedicated LGBTQ+ resource center.
College admissions professionals have begun discussing how to fill the void that Campus Pride created. In a 2026 newsletter for the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling, Erica Padilla and Marie Nocella called the Campus Pride Index “a useful tool” and noted that, for many LGBTQ+ students, “this was the only tool at their disposal, especially if their environment lacked supportive adults.”
Students with supportive families can share that work with parents or guardians. Students who aren’t out at home may have to conduct it quietly and alone. For them, determining whether a college is affordable and academically appropriate may not be enough. They also have to answer another question: Will I be safe here?
Unless someone else creates a comprehensive solution, much of the work will continue to fall on students. That can mean digging through individual college websites for nondiscrimination policies, gender-inclusive housing, healthcare, LGBTQ+ organizations, bias-reporting procedures and other indicators of campus climate. For LGBTQ+ students, these steps add layers of research — and uncertainty — to an already complicated and stressful college search.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
