[nabs-l] public versus private universities
Sophie Trist
sweetpeareader at gmail.com
Thu Jan 16 12:50:01 UTC 2014
Thanks for all the advice that's been given. It's very helpful.
Disability services is not my top priority for a school, but I've
heard horror stories about people having to fight for every
little accomodation. I want to spend most of my time actually
learning stuff, not fighting for what I need.
----- Original Message -----
From: "melissa Green" <lissa1531 at gmail.com
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 22:23:26 -0700
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] public versus private universities
Arielle has given some very good advice.
I have attended a private school and a public one.
There were some things that I had to figure out my self on the
private
school's campus.
I didn't mind it because it also prepared me for when I started
at the
public university.
Some private schools are under the impression that they don't
have to follow
any laws or provide acomodations because they are a private
school.
That was my experience anyway.
Good luck.
Blessings and best wishes,
Melissa R. Green and Pj
"We love because he first loved us."
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arielle Silverman" <arielle71 at gmail.com
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:09 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] public versus private universities
Hi Sophie,
I would recommend judging colleges based on factors like how good
the
curriculum is and how friendly people are at the school, and to
put
disability services lower on your list of criteria for judging
schools. Some schools will have more disability resources than
others,
but sometimes, a school with less resources may be more
open-minded
and flexible when working with you as an individual student,
while
some schools with big disability offices may be more rigid about
how
they treat blind students and less willing to work with you as an
individual. I attended a large public university with a
well-staffed
disability office, and while this had its advantages, I also
found
that the staff at the disability office wanted to do everything a
certain way, were somewhat custodial, and gave me little
opportunity
to negotiate with individual professors. I have talked with blind
students who attended schools with no disability office at all or
just
a small one, and who had excellent experiences arranging their
own
accommodations, using readers and publicly available services
like
BookShare, Learning Ally etc. They felt more in control of their
accommodations and, as a bonus, got really accustomed to
advocating
for themselves early on, which is important for employment. It's
a
little like how sometimes, the teachers who have never had a
blind
student in their class before are better to work with than the
ones
who have had someone blind in the past, because the former
teachers
will listen to how you want them to do things, while sometimes
the
latter will tend to compare you with other blind students or
assume
you have the same preferences and limitations that they had.
So I would encourage you to pick a school that's the best fit for
your
career goals, and worry about the disability accommodation stuff
later. No matter where you go, there are resources that you will
be
able to use to get access to your materials.
Best,
Arielle
On 1/15/14, minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com> wrote:
Sophie,
It honestly does depend on the university and the kind of
resources
they have. I go to a private Catholic college in Boston and even
though they are not very knowledgeable about what a visually
impaired
student might need, they are extremely accommodating when I tell
them
exactly what I require in order to be successful. Visit the
colleges
you are interested in and talk to the disability services
office; 9
times out of 10, you can get a realistic feel for what they can
and
cannot offer you in terms of accommodations. Honestly, I don't
think
we as blind students should base our college decisions entirely
on the
support we might get from the university. Yes, it's a factor we
need
to consider because it can make or break our academic
experience, but
it shouldn't be the only reason that we pick the school. I know
when I
was searching for colleges, I fell in love with my college and I
knew
it was the school I would be attending way before I met with the
disability services office. If you want to go to a school but
the DSO
is less than stellar, then it's another opportunity for you to
advocate for yourself and your needs.
Cheers,
Minh
On 1/15/14, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
Also, you may be able to general feel for the ds office when you
go. That
may determine if you think it is the right fit.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 15, 2014, at 10:19 PM, "Ashley Bramlett"
<bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
Sophie,
No there Is no resource to rank support services. I think you
should
visit
schools you are interested like anyone else would. Visit the
disability
office and see what they offer. Sometimes if you voice a need,
they
might
be able to do it, even if they have not before.
It is generally true that private schools have smaller
disability
service,
ds, offices. They have less staff, but also they have less
students to
serve.
They may be less aware of disabled student needs but that's
where
advocacy
comes in.
Just go and visit the schools you want; loyola and tulane are
great
schools.
I wouldn't prejudge services too much. Don't be discourage what
one
professor said.
I went to a private catholic school, btw. I transferred out of
george
mason university, GMU. GMU is public.
I liked the private school more because of smaller classes,
small
campus,
upholding my religious values, no not catholic but do agree
with some
principles they have, the atmosphere, and religious activities.
Oh, and the quality was excellent of instruction since you get
professors,
not grad students teaching your classes. Universities will have
grad
students teach some classes.
Good luck with your decision.
Ashley
-----Original Message----- From: Sophie Trist
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:42 PM
To: nabs
Subject: [nabs-l] public versus private universities
Greetings,
I'm a junior in high school, and as such, I'm beginning to look
for a college. The other day, a blind friend and I were talking
about which colleges we were checking out, and I mentioned
Loyola, which is a private Catholic university in New Orleans.
My
friend, whose mother is a professor at Tulane, another private
New Orleans school, said that it was very difficult for blind
people to attend private colleges because they weren't as good
as
protecting textbooks and other necessary materials. He said in
general that private universities' disability services weren't
as
great as those of public universities. I know this is true for
post-secondary public schools--they're more able to provide
braille and technology than are private schools--so I was
wondering if it was the same with colleges. Also, is there a
list
that ranks colleges' disability support? I know that whenever we
visit a college, we visit the DS office, but I also know that
those people are often trying to sell their school. So I was
wondering if there was any concrete resource I could use for
this
information. Any info or comments would be super helpful and
appreciated!
Yours sincerely,
Sophie Trist
_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
info for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/bookwormahb%4
0earthlink.net
_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
info for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/lilliepenning
ton%40fuse.net
_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
info for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/minh.ha927%40
gmail.com
--
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the
dusty
recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was
vanity:
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act
on
their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E.
Lawrence
_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
info for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/arielle71%40g
mail.com
_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
for
nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/lissa1531%40g
mail.com
_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
for nabs-l:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/sweetpeareade
r%40gmail.com
More information about the NABS-L
mailing list