After a student makes the decision that they want to attend college, their next step is figuring out how to find colleges to apply to, and where to get recommendations for colleges that will be able to follow their disability accommodations. While I knew that I wanted to attend a college in my home state (commonwealth) of Virginia, there were dozens of options for me to choose from and I wasn’t sure which college would be the best fit for me. Here are my tips for people to talk to when trying to figure out how to find colleges to apply to, and the people that I had talked to.
State department for the blind and visually impaired
Many state departments for the blind and visually impaired keep an unofficial list of state colleges that their clients have attended and have had great success with. When I began receiving vocational rehabilitation services to help with college transition, my case manager showed me their list of the top colleges that their students have graduated from and where they had the best luck receiving accommodations, and I was thrilled to find that my top choice college was at the top of their list!
Related links
- Services Provided By State Department/State Unit for Visual Impairment
- Vocational Rehabilitation for College Students
Older friends
Between band, extracurricular activities, and the siblings of my friends, I had access to a lot of friends that are older than me who could tell me more about their colleges and answer questions that staff members may not have necessarily known. When I told one of my best friends that I was thinking of going to their college, they invited me up for a visit and gave me a tour of “everything that I would need to see”- which included stops at various food places, their freshman dorm, various classroom buildings, and other popular student places. Now that I am the “older friend” for many wonderful students, I love talking about my college and sharing my own experiences as a student with low vision!
Related links
- Blindness Canes and College Tours: Navigating College Campuses
- Places Every Visually Impaired Student Should Visit On College Tours
- Questions To Ask Other Students With Low Vision
Alumni from the program
Many of my friends who majored in things related to medicine, education, science, and engineering were able to connect with alumni from their program of interest either through social media or in-person events, and it was valuable to hear from them about how the degree program had prepared them for their career. I did not have the opportunity to talk to any alumni before my first year of college, but it was helpful for me to hear from other people who studied topics similar to what I was interested in, so that I could look at a degree program and see if it would prepare me for success.
Related links
Guidance counselors
My guidance counselor talked to my brother and I about the degree programs that we planned to study in advance, and was able to tell us more about students from our high school that had studied the same (or similar) degrees. For me, it was helpful to hear about other students they had in the past with disabilities and how they had received accommodations at the college I planned to attend, while in my brother’s case the guidance counselor gave information about another program in the area and helped him make sure he was making the right decision.
Related links
- How My Guidance Counselor Helped Me As A Low Vision Student
- Tips For Handling Academic Ableism In The Classroom
Family friends
When I was looking at colleges to apply to, I talked to a lot of family friends about the colleges they attended, as well as the colleges that their kids attended. This helped us learn about a lot of small schools in the state that we had never heard of, and we also learned more about what would make students later decide to transfer schools.
Related links
The teacher with school spirit
One of my teachers at my high school had a huge collection of memorabilia for their college in their classroom, and they always encouraged students to talk to them about potentially attending their college, as they had several family members who had been there as well. While most graduates from my college don’t decorate their entire classroom with college memorabilia, it was always exciting to find another teacher who went to the same college that I wanted to go to, and to hear from them about their favorite classes.
Related links
- What’s In My High School Backpack As A Low Vision Student
- Dear High School Teacher
- High School Graduations and Low Vision
College counselors
Different from a guidance counselor, a college counselor is someone who specializes in the college admissions process, helping students with items such as resumes, applications, and sometimes planning for standardized tests. They often are a great source of information about colleges and can help students determine what colleges they should apply to.
Related links
- Disclosing Disability In College Applications
- Tips For Submitting A College Video Essay
- College Interview Tips For Disabled Students
Family members
My parents talked about college choices a lot, and I decided what my top choice college would be when I was a freshman in high school. While my parents went to different colleges in their undergrad years (though my mom coincidentally got a Master’s degree at my college), they were excited to help me research colleges and figure out what the best fit would be for me.
My brother and I actually ended up attending the same college, though in different majors- I talk more about this in a post linked below.
Related links
- Tips For Siblings Going To The Same College
- Online Activities That Help Prepare For College Transition
Mentors
I did a high school mentorship and frequently talked about colleges with my mentor, as they told me about what to look for in a college and what classes they thought I would enjoy the most. In addition, I was able to connect with some amazing mentors in the assistive technology field shortly before I made my final college decision, and they encouraged me to check out the assistive technology program at my college and reach out to specific professors and staff.
Related links
The internet
The internet isn’t a person, but social media is a great tool for reaching out to current students or bloggers about their experiences at their colleges. For students considering attending George Mason University, my email is always available!
Related links
Other tips for how to find colleges to apply to
- College interviews are a great way to help students figure out if a college is a good fit for them and can be scheduled before a student applies or receives an admission decision.
- Some colleges participate in the Common App/Common Application for applying to multiple colleges. However, only one out of the three colleges I applied to participated in this program
- Another important thing to consider for students with disabilities is how the Disability Services office works and how students receive accommodations. I talk more about this in my post How To Create A Disability Services File
