BestColleges, in partnership with Campus Pride, has mapped out each U.S. state’s most LGBTQ-friendly college for students in light of Pride Month.
Four of the state’s most LGBTQ-friendly colleges also feature on BestAccredited Colleges’ top 10 LGBTQ-friendly college ranking. The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Ithaca College, Kansas State University and University of New Hampshire are among them.
Best Colleges compiled data available from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Campus Pride’s Index Score to map out the most LGBTQ-friendly institutions. Best College’s methodology ranking system utilized NCES data and focused primarily on academic quality and college affordability. For academic quality, BestColleges analyzed institutions’ rates in admission, enrollment, retention and graduation. For college affordability, it assessed the percentage of students taking out loans to the average loan default rate. This data is then blended with Campus Pride’s index score, which evaluates its metrics for institutions’ LGBTQ-friendly policy, institutional commitment, academic Life, housing, counseling and other factors.
If a state’s most accommodating institution for LGBTQ+ students—according to BestCollege’s evaluation—did not garner at least four stars out of five from Campus Pride Index, BestColleges did not include a college for the state.
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- Alabama: University of Alabama (4.5 stars)
- Alaska: n/a
- Arkansas: n/a
- School with the highest index score: University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2.5 stars)
- Arizona: Northern Arizona University (4.5 stars)
- California: San Diego State University (5 stars)
- Colorado: University of Colorado Boulder (5 stars)
- Connecticut: Connecticut College (4.5 stars)
- District of Columbia: American University (no score given)
- Delaware: University of Delaware (no score given)
- Florida: University of North Florida (5 stars)
- Georgia: Emory University (4 stars)
- Hawaii: n/a
- Iowa: n/a
- School with the highest index score: Cornell College (1 star)
- Idaho: n/a
- School with the highest index score: The College of Idaho (2.5 stars)
- Illinois: Northern Illinois University (5 stars)
- Indiana: Purdue University (5 stars)
- Kansas: Kansas State University (5 stars)
- Kentucky: University of Louisville (5 stars)
- Louisiana: n/a
- School with the highest index score: Louisiana State University (2.5 stars)
- Massachusetts: Tufts University (5 stars)
- Maryland: University of Maryland (5 stars)
- Maine: University of Maine at Farmington (4.5 stars)
- Michigan: University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (5 stars)
- Minnesota: Macalester College (5 stars)
- Missouri: Washington University in St. Louis (5 stars)
- Mississippi: n/a
- School with the highest index score: University of Mississippi (3 stars)
- Montana: Montana State University – Bozeman (4 stars)
- North Carolina: Elon University (5 stars)
- North Dakota: University of North Dakota (4 stars)
- Nebraska: University of Nebraska Kearney (5 stars)
- Nevada: University of Nevada Las Vegas (no score given)
- New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire (4.5 stars)
- New Jersey: Princeton University (no score given)
- New Mexico: University of New Mexico (no score given)
- New York: Ithaca College (5 stars)
- Ohio: Ohio State University (5 stars)
- Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma (4 stars)
- Oregon: Portland State University (no score given)
- Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania (5 stars)
- Rhode Island: Brown University (no score given)
- South Carolina: n/a
- School with the highest index score: College of Charleston (3.5 stars)
- South Dakota: n/a
- School with the highest index score: South Dakota State University (3 stars)
- Tennessee: Vanderbilt University (no score given)
- Texas: University of Texas at Dallas (5 stars)
- Utah: University of Utah (no score given)
- Virginia: Virginia Wesleyan University (5 stars)
- Vermont: University of Vermont (5 stars)
- Washington: University of Washington (no score given)
- Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (5 stars)
- West Virginia: West Virginia University (4.5 stars)
- Wyoming: n/a
