[nabs-l] Getting Connected with Collleges

[Lillie Pennington]

Hi Lizzie
Thank you for your advice. I have started downloading lots of college books from bookshare. I will also start looking at college websites and admissions again.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 26, 2014, at 11:28 AM, lizzy <lizzym0827 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Lillie,
> I personally believe that there is no such thing as beginning the college search too early or that one can be too prepared for college.  I started my college search the summer after 8th grade and started visiting in my sophomore year of high school.  The next step is really up to you, I can't tell you exactly what to do because it depends on your interests and what you find important.  Also, I don't know what you have done thus far so it's hard for me to say.  I can tell you what I did though.  I read tons of books about different schools and programs that fit me.  Academics, extra-curricular activities, intern/externships and atmosphere were very important to me so I found colleges that met my needs as a school first.  Then I called the disabilities office to ask what they offered.  Don't be discouraged if a school has never had a blind student, just get a feel for their attitudes (are they willing to work with you and help you out).  Read any material you can get your hands on, especially info posted/created by current students (blogs, newspapers etc.).  Then visit, go for a tour, ask questions, go to an info session (they may even be held in a public place near your home), and of course meet with the coordinator of disabilities.  In your meeting be sure to tell them how you do things now and ask them about the similarities and differences between what they offer and what you are currently doing.  Practice things that will be different, for example, if they give you your books electronically but you're used to hard copy braille, start getting your books electronically so that you can get used to it.  I don't really recommend summer campus visits because the students are not there to show you what life is really like, but if you visit your top choice over the summer be sure to visit again while students are on campus before making your final decision.  If you want to do campus visits this summer then schedule them.  As I said before, I do not believe that you can do this sort of thing too early.  I'm sure that people think I started pretty early but I can honestly tell you that I feel confident that I chose the perfect fit for me.  What you don't want to do, is do things too late and cram or not have the opportunity to visit schools that you really like.  You're going to be a junior next year which is when my friends began visiting schools so you're on the right track for being proactive if you start visiting this summer.
> As always, if you have further questions or need more explanation about something, let me know!
> HTH,
> Lizzy
> 
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