Good Colleges for a Lesbian in Washington State? (Seattle, Spokane: transfer, schools)

[MissLuciole]

I'm going to be heading to college in a couple years, but I've recently been trying to get some general ideas about college. I know I'll want to get my graduate degree, so I'll want a college that offers graduate degrees because I'd prefer to just stick to one college instead of transferring. Right now I currently live in Vancouver, WA but I'd really like to move and experience a new city since I've lived here my entire life, but I do want to stay in the state. One school I've been really interested in is Eastern Washington University in Cheney, but I also hear that Spokane is really conservative. Not that I have an issue with that, I'm not like a tree hugging hippie-dippy type of person by any means, but conservative people tend to have hatred towards LGBT+ people. I'm totally fine with conservative people who are accepting, I tend to agree with both parties in some aspects. I'm single, I don't know anyone up there, so I want to be able to make friends, feel accepted, and meet other people who are also lesbian/bisexual/etc. I've also been considering University of Washington, but Seattle seems so giant and extremely expensive, but also very accepting. There's a lot of people at that school, so I wasn't sure if that'd be overwhelming, but their Law program interests me since it's one of the areas of study I have on my list that I've made. The last school I've been considering is Washington State University, it seems smaller and I've read that they're extremely accepting of LGBT students, but I'm not sure if there is any bigger cities nearby or if it gets really boring going there. I do plan on visiting WSU in a couple of weeks and either EWU or UoW, but I'm not sure if even from that I could tell if they were LGBT friendly or not. EWU has a Pride Center, but I can't tell if they just made one to seem cool or if there's barely anyone in it considering what I've heard about Spokane being so conservative. I haven't really traveled Washington much, so it's all been kind of overwhelming to me trying to think about these things. Any help would really be appreciated.

[WendyK]

Spokane is not as conservative as you might think. I think you'll find plenty of similar friends around here. We go out a lot to various community events and you can see all types of people out and about, just having fun. Look online at The Pacific Northwest Inlander | News, Politics, Music, Calendar, Events in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and the Inland Northwest - the local community events magazine and you'll see more of what the actual residents are up to. I find a lot of hippy types, music lovers, food, beer & wine appreciation, animal lovers, nature explorers, etc. There are a lot of different types of people here and you shouldn't have any trouble fitting in.

[bartonizer]

Most liberal arts oriented universities are going to be somewhat LGBT+ friendly, often more so than the surrounding areas. And places like Spokane, as the poster above said, are not as conservative as you may think.

Have you considered adding Western Washington University to your list? It's about the same size as EWU and situated in Bellingham, which is like a more scenic, miniature Seattle or Portland. So, it has much of the progressive and accepting attitude that you like, but in a much more manageable size. But also, there's enough stuff to do to keep you from being bored- in town, independent record stores, coffee shops, breweries, bookstores, plus tons of hike and bike trails and good public transportation. Just outside of town, even better trails, Mt. Baker, North Cascades NP, San Juan Islands, and you're a short train or bus ride to Vancouver, BC if you want to explore a big, international city.

Anyway, you may want to look into it. If you have questions, just ask!

[MissLuciole]

Thank you both that really helps a lot. I did consider Western Washington, it seems like a nice school but sadly they don't have many programs I'm interested in. I'm glad to hear Spokane isn't as conservative as I hear. EWU seems really nice to me so I'll keep it on my list. I'll research Western Washington a little bit more though, because it does sound like a good area I just would hate to go somewhere and have no people that I have things in common with, especially if I decided to settle down there after school. EWU or WSU seem like the best fits for me so far.

[mev]

Evergreen State University in Olympia.

[Upthewazzu]

What degree are you interested in? WSU is very LGBTQ friendly, tons of groups: https://news.wsu.edu/2016/08/22/wsu-...gbtq-students/

[fluffydelusions]

Originally Posted by mev

Evergreen State University in Olympia.

This. Olympia is apparently the most LGBT friendly place in the state (and country for that matter) according to a recent article.

[MissLuciole]

I'm interested in a few things, some of my top choices right now are Law, Computer Science or something related, School Counseling, and possibly some sort of medical field. Thanks for the link, that makes me feel good. I'm excited to get to tour WSU in a couple of weeks so I can check the campus out. Evergreen State was one of my choices, but I really want a graduate degree and they only have three programs, none of which I'm very interested in so I had to cross it off my list sadly. I'm sort of questioning EWU now, it's been making me nervous with some of the stuff I do hear, and some people have said it's not a very good school either. Originally I had been really attracted to it but now I'm kind of skeptical and am thinking about other schools as well.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

I wouldn't rule out Evergreen. You're talking about grad school, but you have to do undergrad first. Also, students usually do grad work at a different institution than undergrad. Plus, a lot may change for you while in undergrad, including what your professional interests & talents are.

[CrazyDonkey]

Look at Fairhaven College at WWU.

https://fairhaven.wwu.edu/