[nabs-l] Your experience with college search

Tue Dec 16 00:44:59 UTC 2014

Hi Michael and all,
One nice thing about being in a Ph.D. program is that you will
probably have all your activities in just one or two buildings, so you
won't need to learn the entire campus. I was at University of Colorado
for six years and only used one building for all my classes and
research, plus two for teaching assignments. As for Braille signage, I
am unaware of a place where classrooms are consistently labeled. I
wouldn't let a large or sprawled-out campus intimidate you from
attending school there, especially since you will only be using a
small part of that campus.
I've never considered any disability-related factors when choosing a
school, instead focusing on the quality of the academic programs. I
honestly don't think there's much difference between schools as far as
accessibility goes. When choosing a Ph.D. program the single most
important factor is choosing a mentor who is very interested in
working with you and who you want to be spending a lot of time with. A
good fit between Ph.D. student and mentor is genrally more important
than te school itself.
Arielle

On 12/15/14, Michael D Ausbun via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hello Phil:
> 	I would certainly assert that claim; however, it is important to keep in
> mind that my claim is a hasty generalization. I may be completely wrong, as
> it pertains to other visually impaired learners. I truly believe that I have
> it right though, because if we do not have access to the school, how can we
> make judgments regarding it? Of course, over a period of time (as long as
> you’re curious), a student will adapt to any situation.
> 	In regards to whether contacting others with disabilities would be useful,
> I’ll boldly state yes and no. The reason yes, is because by doing so, you
> can determine the ablest tendencies of the professor, that is, and how he or
> she views people with disabilities. The reason I would argue no, is because
> unless the individual you are contacting is blind and or has a similar
> mentality as yourself, the results may be varied. I’ve found that several of
> my fellow students here at the University of Nevada, have far different
> opinions of professors than I do. I so far, have loved every one of my
> professors; however, several have had a bad rap sheet in the past, as it
> pertains to disabilities or students in general. It’s the luck of the draw,
> in some cases.
> Best regards,
> Michael
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Phil [philso1003 at gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2014 1:02 PM
> To: Michael D Ausbun
> Cc: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Your experience with college search
>
> Hi Michael,
> Would you say it's fair to say that for us blind and visually impaired
> students, choosing a school nearby we can gather the informatoin we
> need. It's when the schools we are considering are farther away,
> that's harder to use deduction skills as you put it.
> For your situation now, do you think it would be helpful if you could
> get in touch with students with disabilities from the schools that you
> are considering for your Ph.D. and ask for their opinions?
> Regards,
> Phil
>
>
>
>
> On 12/15/14, Michael D Ausbun <mausbun at unr.edu> wrote:
>> Hello Phil:
>>       I was fortunate, in that I was able to take college courses at my
>> University when I was still in high school; because of this, I was able
>> to
>> grasp the necessary information, in order to determine that this is the
>> right University for me. By necessary information, I mean the inner
>> workings
>> of the Disability center, the mindset of a majority of professors on
>> campus
>> (I spoke to as many as I could find, just because I was interested), the
>> layout of the campus and the difficulties in terrain/inaccessibility of
>> the
>> campus ahead of time, which allowed me to adapt.
>>       I am finding though, as I look for Ph.D. programs which will fit my
>> specific needs, I am at a slight disadvantage. Many of the schools which
>> I
>> am looking at are no ware near where I currently live, making my previous
>> deduction skills useless. Moreover, I could email professors, but it
>> isn’t
>> the same as talking to them. I can’t interpret their voices, the
>> positioning
>> of their body in relation to mine, etc. which would help me make the
>> choice
>> of whether they accept me or not, etc.
>>       Furthermore, when I have traveled to other Universities for Speech
>> and
>> Debate, I have encountered some difficulties in terrain. This made me
>> realize, the layout of the campus is a key component to how I may
>> consider
>> going there. I know for sure, I will not ever choose to go to the
>> University
>> of the Pacific in Stockton, for example, because buildings are separated
>> by
>> great distance and stairs are labeled; moreover, almost no room has
>> braille
>> signage.
>>       Stuff like that would impact my decision, I think.
>> Respectfully,
>> Michael Ausbun
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From: nabs-l [nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] on behalf of Phil via nabs-l
>> [nabs-l at nfbnet.org]
>> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2014 9:47 AM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Your experience with college search
>>
>> Hey all,
>> Hope everyone is enjoying your holiday season!
>> I wanted to ask members in this list who are college students, alumni,
>> or current high school students looking into college.
>> When you do college search, do you feel you have enough information
>> especially as a blind or visually impaired student, to make the right
>> choice about which college you should attend?
>> What frustrates you most about the college search process?
>> What kind of information do you wish you had that would help you make
>> the right choice?
>> And for college students and alumni, do you feel you chos the right
>> college and if not, what do you now know about this college that you
>> wish you had known about when you were doing your search?
>> Please feel free to tell as much as you feel like it. I really want to
>> learn about your college search experience.
>> Thank you so much for sharing. This can really help everyone.
>> Best,
>> Phil
>>
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>
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