The Best Gay-Friendly Schools

Coming in at No. 24 on Newsweek’s list of most desirable urban campuses and No. 11 among the most desirable large campuses, The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor finds itself exactly where students would expect. “Nearly every academic area is in the top 10, the sports teams warrant immediate respect, the social life is right with the times, and there are so many ways in which to become involved. It’s almost impossible to become a couch potato here,” writes one student on CollegeProwler.com. No wonder the school also comes in at No. 15 for future power brokers. Noted for its gay-friendliness by both The Advocate and InsideCollege.com positions the school at No. 5 for that ranking.

The public school admitted close to 50 percent of its 29,965 applicants in 2009. Some of those students went on to join the nearly 26,000 undergraduates on campus, which offers a 12 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio.

The student body is comprised of mostly Caucasians, at 65 percent. At 12 percent, Asian-Americans are the next most populous race on campus, followed by African-Americans at 6 percent and Hispanics at 4 percent. The university retains 96 percent of its students, according to National Center for Education Statistics data.

In-state tuition for the 2009–2010 school year was $11,659 and $34,937 for non-Michigan residents. Almost 80 percent of students received aid that year.