According to InsideHigherEd, the Common Application is considering soliciting information about applicant’s sexual orientation and “gender identity.” And yes, it has everything to do with affirmative action:
The current norm in higher education is not to ask such questions, even on a voluntary basis. But with more students coming out in high school, and with some colleges explicitly taking steps to recruit gay applicants, some admissions officers and some advocates for gay students want to encourage colleges to ask the questions.
I have no problem with private universities feeling the need to further diversify their student bodies by actively recruiting gays, if that’s what they want to do. But does anyone else see a potential problem with prospective applicants checking a “gay” box? With no way of substantiating whether or not someone is actually gay- if an applicant says they’re gay, they are, right?- I wouldn’t be surprised if top universities see a disproportionate number of homosexuals applying to their schools.
This strikes me as being in really poor taste. Being gay etc. is a private issue for many people, especially during high school, and I find it presumptuous that Common App would even ask for this information, which is irrelevant to what type of student you’ll be anyway. If it’s an important part of who you are and you want to share that, then there are the short/long essays to do that.