Disclose sexual orientation or no?

[10east]

Hi all, I'm applying at the tail-end of the cycle and need help. I am bisexual, and I'm trying to decide whether to disclose my sexual orientation on applications. Is there any compelling reason to, or do they ask only for statistical purposes? Also, is this information (including information in an optional essay) considered confidential? I'm not out to my recommenders, and I don't know how out I will want to be in law school. Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[cooleylawstudent]

For a lot of schools it'll probally help you get in with affirmative action quotas but I wouldnt try that at Regent. Pat Robertson might send you to Haiti. 

[JDGuy86]

It would add to the diversity factor, also if sexual orientation has played any role in your undergraduate years it would be worth mentioning- like if you did volunteer work for an LGBT group or something like that.  Unless it's a conservative school it probably won't hurt anything.

[vansondon]

I very much encourage you to disclose it.  Not only that, I encourage you to discuss (in your personal and diversity statements) how your experience as a sexual minority has shaped your unique background, and how your background will enrich and contribute to the overall diversity of the schools you are applying to.

Have a look here at a similar discussion: http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,4021256.msg5361005.html#msg5361005

Also, check out the LSAC on LGBT applicants to get more guidance on the issue: http://lsac.org/SpecialInterests/lgbt-selecting-ls.asp

[mbw]

Hi all, I'm applying at the tail-end of the cycle and need help. I am bisexual and am working on apps at Penn and Cornell, and I'm trying to decide whether to disclose my sexual orientation. Is there any compelling reason to, or do they ask only for statistical purposes? Also, is this information (including information in an optional essay) considered confidential? I'm not out to my recommenders, and I don't know how out I will want to be in law school. Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Cornell takes sexual orientation into consideration during the application process, so it would probably help rather than hurt you.

[petermharrington]

I really don't think that sexual orientation should have a bearing on your chances of admission.  But it doesn't hurt to try

[violaboy]

It doesn't seem to have helped me (or hurt me), and I don't regret talking about it at all.

[TheCause]

I don't want to offend anyone (even though I understand I probably will) but can someone please help me understand why being bisexual should have any impact on an application?

You get turned on by/fall in love with more types of people than anyone else right?   What does that quality or experience offer a law school in terms of diversity? (Or anything else for that matter)

And as a bisexual, do you have any desire to enter into a monogamous relationship with one person?  Or do you require intimacy with both sexes in order to be satisfied?  And if so, do you support polygamy?  (e.g., one straight man married to two bisexual women)
 

[cooleylawstudent]

The same arument is why does it matter if my tan comes from the sun or my granpa "sunny", the theory is that some groups face more discrimination and derserve help curving them up to the rest with "affirmitative action" some support some don't. In theory at least, it is supposed to make sure that you can't discriminate by requiring you to have percentiles of groups. Many areas don't have these laws(michigan and California outlawed it) but schools still do it.

[violaboy]

Actually, as a minority and LGBT, I don't believe in affirmative action. I want to be admitted (and feel that I have been) by my innate intelligence, not the color of my skin or my "diversity". But I guess my background allows for lots of different viewpoints, which would be helpful in a classroom so that everyone can understand many people's points of view, since we won't be defending people who are exactly like ourselves.