[nabs-l] Some Questions About Attending College

[Helga Schreiber]

Hi Kerri, this is Helga. How are you? I just wanted to tell you that for 
paying for your classes, why don't you apply for Financial Aid. I apply 
every year for it in order for them to pay my classes. In fact, they 
actually pay my classes that I'm going to be taking next semester! And as 
for textbooks, I use Learning Ally and I try to get my books in Braille, or 
get them in Microsoft Word format in order perhaps to put them in Braille! 
But since you don't like Learning Ally, maybe you can get your books in 
Braille, or as a Microsoft Word format. I don't really like my books in PDF 
format, but maybe you do. I don't really recommend it because sometimes the 
words come attach together, and it's very hard to understand, and very 
messy. Hope this helps! Thanks for listening to me! God bless!! :)

-----Original Message----- 
From: Kerri Kosten
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2013 6:29 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: [nabs-l] Some Questions About Attending College

Hi Everyone:

Well, after taking a few years off, I have decided to take the plunge.
I have decided to go back to West Virginia University. I registered
for three classes: Communications 122 which is Communication in
Contemporary Society, English 111 which is Introduction To Creative
writing, and a University Library course which is library research
which is a class that is required for my major.
I previously attended WVU from 2007-2009 but ended up dropping out
because I didn't have any blindness skills and things just weren't
working out.
I have been debating for a long time now whether to go back to school,
but I need to get back to a routine and since jobs are hard to find
and I never finished my degree I figured going to school would be my
best option currently. I figured going back to school would give me
something to do five days a week, it would get me out of the house, I
could learn things, and could work on finishing my degree. I haven't
been on campus yet, but my mother and everyone says everything is
right near each other and once I get to the student union I should
have no problem walking to my classes. I could have lunch in the
student union before class, then walk to my classes, then either go
back to the student union or go home. Next to the student union there
is even a Starbucks where coffee and such can be gotten. So, for all
these reasons I figured school would be my best current option.
Being that I have not been in school for a few years, I had some questions.
First, how do you all handle the whole taking notes thing? I have a
very very old Pacmate that I received back in 2007, and I guess I
could dig it up and make it work but you all know the Pacmate is a
very very old very outdated notetaker that is so old they don't even
make it anymore!
Do you all primarily use notetakers such as the Braille Note or
Braille Sense for notetaking or is there a newer, better way?
Do any of you do the whole notetaker as braille display with an Ipad?
What is the advantage of this over just using the plain notetaker?
How do I justify to Rehab (even if it's for next semester) to get me a
new notetaker? Is there a better thing out now or are the notetakers
still widely used even though they are overpriced?
The one thing I do like about a notetaker is everything is right there
and I can type and then check my notes on a braille display. If I am
going to ask Rehab for something new, I definitely want some sort of
braille display so I don't have to rely on my hearing to try to listen
to the professor and simultaneously try to listen to Jaws or speech at
the same time.
How do you all get textbooks in accessible formats?
I hate RFBD/Learning Ally. It puts me to sleep so I would do best with
electronic copies of the books.
What is the current way of going about getting books electronically?
Finally, when I went to school before, I didn't really pay attention
to things such as cost. After I registered today, I looked at my bill.
For three classes, it is about $2,000. My mother is going to help me
pay, but she also wants me to see if Rehab can help.
How do I justify to rehab to help me pay for school? I'm having
trouble because while I want to major in journalism, and I did well in
my journalism and english classes when I attended WVU before, I have
no idea whether I will be able to really realistically get a job after
college. The amount of $2,000 really shocked me, and I guess now I am
feeling extremely guilty because I'm doing this school thing because
it seems my best option for turning my life around. However, I have no
idea how to justify that type of money.
When I asked Rehab to send me to training, that was a little different
because I desperately needed training and really couldn't go further
without it. Training was my only option at that time for bettering
myself.
I feel extremely guilty about the cost. Is it like training? Does
Rehab have to help even if I don't necessarily get a job right away or
even if I get a degree in journalism and get a job in something
totally different/unrelated?
Thanks, and if I have any other questions I'll ask!
Kerri

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