Issues for Transgender Students in College

     The world is starting to accept transgender people more as the days go by, but the issues we face as a minority are still hard to get past, especially regarding education. College education is important for almost everyone, and while opportunities are out there, it is a challenging for transgender students to afford or even approach the idea of attending college. The reasoning for this is based on discrimination and internal struggles for transgender people alike. Discrimination in the workplace and laws in certain states preventing trans students to be themselves and safe still exist. Especially for those who haven't or don't want to medically transition, it is easy to be discriminated against when trying to apply to a workplace, even if it's for minimum wage. If you can't get a job, or get a good job that respects you, it would be hard to afford college. And for college applications, it can be hard to explain the discrepancies between legal/dead name and chosen name, pronouns, and the like. If you were a trans person who lives in, say, Florida, simply being there would be a huge deterrent to attending extra education where you may be subject to ridicule and mistreatment because of your identity. There are many other aspects that would make someone not want to apply for college, such as the housing situation, and whether a school would be accommodating of their housing based on their transgender identity. There's a lot of societal influence that goes into play when it comes to college and transgender students, and unfortunately the odds seem against them. If one were living in a more conservative state and wanted to attend college in a more liberal state, it would cost even more money just to attend, let alone the costs of travel and the works. If adequate resources aren't provided for transgender students and there is no one to guide and assure them, then college would probably be off the table for that person. It really comes down to the societal standards that are put on trans people, and that our identities are demonized no matter our age or educational status. It holds us back from taking opportunities in fear of ridicule and the prospect of not being accepted. Educational environments and workplaces are some of the most unpredictable environments when it comes to acceptance, and you can have an accepting professor in one class and an unaccepting professor in the other. It all comes down to resources and the protection of trans people and trans students, and the need for assurance that their identity will be respected and they'll have a place to flourish. 

Written for https://www.onlinedegree.com/transgender-first-scholarship/