[nabs-l] Some Questions About Attending College

Sat Dec 21 00:45:20 UTC 2013

Hi Kerri,
It sounds as if you have mapped out a workable plan. In my state,
rehab will assist with tuition as long as one is a full time student,
which generally means 12 credits (4 classes) a semester. Does WVU
offer any scholarship opportunities? Are you returning this Spring?
I started out using a notetaker but switched to my laptop for note
taking. If you choose to go the rehab route, ask if they have any
resources for loaner notetakers if you find you need a newer
notetaker.
Since you will be a student, Bookshare is a great resource for
textbooks. My Disability office was able to obtain electronic copies
of my texts, as long as I showed proof of purchase.

On 12/20/13, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I use a laptop, but it is all personal preference.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Arielle
> Silverman
> Sent: Friday, December 20, 2013 7:15 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Some Questions About Attending College
>
> Hi Kerri,
>
> Rehab routinely pays for college tuition, so it's not a big thing to
> justify
> to them. They should be willing to pay in-state tuition as long as you have
> a specific major with a vocational goal in mind. Even if you change your
> major later, or end up working in some other field, it doesn't matter. As
> long as rehab sees you've declared a vocational goal, and journalism is a
> perfectly reasonable one, they should pay.
> The only reason you might have trouble is if they find out that you tried
> school once before and left. If you were put on academic probation, you
> might have to pay yourself for a semester or two to get off probation
> before
> rehab will start paying your tuition.
> Regarding notetaking, I agree that a Braille notetaker is a great option. I
> would suggest using your current Pac Mate in the short term, as long as it
> works, but ask rehab to authorize a replacement notetaker if your Pac Mate
> breaks or dies. This is another very routine request and so they should not
> give you trouble, and they will probably offer you a new notetaker of your
> choice if something happens to your old one or it no longer meets your
> needs.
>
> Best,
> Arielle
>
> On 12/20/13, Helga Schreiber <helga.schreiber at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> 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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-- 
Anjelina