Everyone who wants to attend college should be able to attend a college of their choice, especially if they want to go into a profession that requires a college education. The #TransgenderFirst scholarship can help with this, providing $5000 annually to transgender applicants.
Given all these considerations especially in unaccepting households, it can lead to a very depressive state of mind for people, thinking that they are either incapable or unable to achieve their dream careers due to their backgrounds.
Some transgender people may be afraid to pursue the jobs they want for the same reason, fearing violence or discrimination in professions typically dominated by a certain gender.
In areas without good anti-discrimination protections, it’s difficult for transgender students to feel safe applying to colleges themselves, and depending on the university’s policies, they may get stuck in a residence hall or organization of the wrong gender, which can cause additional dysphoria.
But the difficulty in approaching college does not end there, because a factor that transgender students have to look for in addition to all the criteria that go into picking a college in the first place is how safe the college and surrounding area is for queer people.
This also does not fully account for transgender students who have been kicked out of their homes by their parents due to their identities, who may find it exponentially more difficult to think about college expenses alongside the rest of their potential financial or living struggles.
Attending or even thinking about colleges is especially stressful for transgender students who are out to unaccepting households or parents, who may leave their children to suffer the full weight of costs or student loans simply due to their identity.
Having a supportive environment to transition can additionally come with a supportive environment for students to ask for help or accommodation with any difficulties they’ve experienced to help them succeed.
They believed that I would just flunk out of college my first semester due to “gender hysterics”. Transitioning can alleviate some of these struggles, and already has for me in my first semester.
In some cases, it can create a difficult cycle of academic struggles that can make it difficult to be accepted to universities in the first place or even graduate from high school. In my own experience with these academic struggles, my parents did not even want to send me to college.
There are many social, emotional, and family barriers to attending college. A lot of transgender students may have additional mental health issues that may be derived from their dysphoria or traumas, especially if they do not have a safe or supportive environment to express themselves or transition.