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Hi, all,

I'm currently researching the posts in the URM forum to better understand how identifying as a gay man will impact my admissions chances at law schools. I am a bit confused about how much weight my sexuality will carry, however, when also taking into account that I am a white male.

I plan on discussing my sexuality and its role in my decision to pursue law as a career in my personal essay, but do not want to exaggerate the discrimination I have faced, especially when considering the ways in which my race and gender benefit me in the admissions process and in society overall.

Thoughts? I'd really appreciate any insight!

I think it depends what you mean by your sexuality affecting your chances. If you're looking for an admissions bump because you're homosexual, I think you'll most be disappointed. But if you use your experience as a homosexual man to effectively demonstrate something important about your character and positives you bring to the legal profession (through your PS and a DS), then it'll make your application stronger.

If your sexuality is an important part of you and helps define your personal experience, you can use it to create a strong application. But your status as a homosexual white male won't help/hurt your application. It all comes down to how you craft your image in your application.

UVA2B wrote:I think it depends what you mean by your sexuality affecting your chances. If you're looking for an admissions bump because you're homosexual, I think you'll most be disappointed. But if you use your experience as a homosexual man to effectively demonstrate something important about your character and positives you bring to the legal profession (through your PS and a DS), then it'll make your application stronger.

If your sexuality is an important part of you and helps define your personal experience, you can use it to create a strong application. But your status as a homosexual white male won't help/hurt your application. It all comes down to how you craft your image in your application.

Right. You worded what I'm trying to get at far better than I could. I mean, I certainly was not expecting that any top tier law school would overlook my far-lower-than-average GPA and LSAT simply because I checked a box on the application somewhere identifying as a member of the LGBTQ community, but it is an important part of what has led me to pursue law and the goals I hope to achieve as a lawyer.