[nabs-l] public versus private universities

Sat Jan 18 16:55:13 UTC 2014

Hi Sophie,

I have attended a private catholic university in Ohio for the past
year and a half and loved it.  I have never had issues getting
textbooks or having my other needs in the classroom met, and the
disabilities staff has been wonderful.  I have recently started to
encounter some of the issues Julie described, but that is a unique
problem to us music students since the ds people don't usually know
about braille music.  Nonetheless, I get everything I need in terms of
textbook files, tactile diagrams, hard copy braille, etc.

I also want to comment on something Minh said, because that was the
case for me too.  I took a tour of the University of Dayton, where I
currently attend, shortly before my junior year.  It was the first
college I toured, and the campus was a huge attraction for me.  I
loved how everything was set up in terms of location, and I got to
tour the music building and found it to be very accessible.  The
atmosphere was also a huge factor; on my first day I met some faculty
members and current students in my department, and they were so open
and friendly.  My blindness did not deter them from wanting to work
with me, even though I was only a junior.  They made me feel welcome
and encouraged me to audition, which went a long way in my book.
Shortly before I left the music building, I stopped in to the office
and my mom saw a brochure for the university marching band.  I had
marched for all four years of high school plus in the 8th grade, so
the fact that I wouldn't have to give that up in college really was a
selling point for me.  I remember walking to the car and telling my
mom that I wanted to go here.  Of course, she told me to look at other
schools, take other tours, talk with other music department faculty at
other universities, but nothing stuck as well at other schools; the
campus wasn't as accessible, the people weren't as personable, the
music program wasn't as diverse, etc.  Overall, I just didn't feel
like I would be as comfortable at other schools.

I did talk with my disability coordinator at that first visit, and the
staff was very helpful then and certainly made a good impression, but
I attribute that more to their organization than to them selling their
school.  I have done similar interviews with other colleges, and did
not receive the same welcoming or results from the meeting.  I get to
be totally in charge of my accomodations and communicate with my
professors and the DS staff to get what I need.  When something
doesn't work, we collectively work to find an option that does.  I
love it here.

Now, there are more factors to consider in that.  I love what Lillie
said about there being good and bad universities in the public and
private sectors.  Wright State, a university close to my own, says it
has the best accessibility on campus and a top disabilities department
in the country, but it was not a good fit for me.  I felt the staff
was a bit too custodial, the atmosphere wasn't my cup of tea, and most
of all they do not have my program.  These are all very important
factors to consider along with disability services.  They are
important, but don't sell yourself short by making that a top priority
and neglecting other really important factors.

Good luck, and feel free to email me off list if you have any more
questions.  Sorry for the rant.

On 1/16/14, Mary Fernandez <trillian551 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sophie,
> First, judging from your posts, you will have no problems advocating
> for yourself, no matter where you go.
> The best advice I can give, is to apply to colleges based on what you
> want to get out of your college experience. I had very little guidance
> when i applied to colleges, and indeed, had no idea that disability
> services was even a thing I should think about, For me, it was about
> academics, I had worked very hard in high school to try to get into
> the best possible colleges I could. As a result, I did wind up
> applying to private universities. But no matter whether you go to
> private or public university, if a university receives any type of
> federal funding, which every college and university in the country
> does, except for like two, they must comply by ADA and section 504
> standards, meaning that you must have equal access. I've noticed that
> a lot of colleges and universities which have a higher profile
> reputation are a lot more willing to accommodate you as you need, even
> if they have small disability offices. A huge part of that is that
> they have a reputation to maintain, and the last thing they want to do
> is open them to a law suit. Something else to keep in mind, is that
> you must go to a place that you love, because inevitably things will
> get rough, no matter where you go, but you are more likely to keep
> fighting and stay strong, if you are going somewhere you really want
> to be. I chose Emory University, not because it was the best
> university to which I was accepted, though it is certainly a fine
> institution, but because when i went to visit, I just fell in love and
> knew that's where i wanted to spend the next four years. At one point
> I had some serious issues with access, I requested braille books for
> stats and music, and was flat out refused, I did have to fight it, but
> after some rather savvy negotiation, during which they found out that
> i knew my rights, and was not a shrinking violet, I got everything i
> asked for, and never had a problem before. Overall, I had an
> incredible college experience, and would not change anything about it,
> because I went exactly where I wanted to go.
> All that is to say, apply everywhere you'd love to go to, go visit,
> and go where you fall in love. From there, you know what to do, meet
> with ODS, meet with professors, and always communicate. And have a
> great resource with NABS and NFB.
> So best of luck!
> Mary F
>
>
> On 1/16/14, Ryan Silveira <ryan.l.silveira at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Sophie,
>>
>> I agree with everything that has been said.  Choose your college based
>> on the corriculum and the people that you meet during your visits.
>> While the disability resources should be a priority, it should not be
>> your first.  In my experience, I have actually found disability
>> resources to be more accomidating at a private school than a public
>> school.  This is not at all a blanket statement; it is just based on
>> my own experience.  I started out at Ithaca College, a fairly
>> well-known private college in upstate New York.  I chose it for its
>> music program, not for its disability services.  The disability office
>> was fairly small, but they were more than willing to work with me to
>> provide the accomidations I needed.  Also, the school of music
>> coordinated with disability services very well.  They assigned a grad
>> student to prepare any hand-outs necessary for class, inputting the
>> music into the computer.  He would then e-mail it over to the
>> disability services office where my case manager would then emboss it
>> for me.  When I transferred to a public university, the disability
>> services office was much larger and had many more "resources", but I
>> found that they were also very controling.  They kept a close eye on
>> me, requiring that I meet with my disability services mentor once a
>> week just to check how everything was going.  Also, rather than me
>> discussing accomidations with them, they pretty much told me exactly
>> what my accomidations would be and I had no say in the matter.  If I
>> didn't like what they wanted to do for me, I had to just deal with it.
>>
>> In essence, based on my experiences, I found that the smaller
>> disability office with less resources was much more accomidating than
>> the larger one with more resources.  The larger one seemed to me more
>> like a factory, churning out services for students.  I seemed to be
>> nothing more than a case number to them, whereas with the smaller
>> office, I was treated as a person and asked what I wanted.  My
>> strongest point of advice is that which everyone else has said: choose
>> the college based on the college, not based on their disability
>> services.  On the flip side, don't choose a college where you know
>> you'll have to fight for everything because that will just ruin the
>> whole college experience.  If you have to advocate some, but you feel
>> you can live with it and you love the college, then go with it.
>>
>> Sorry for the rambling novel.  Hope this helps.
>>
>> Ryan
>>
>> On 1/16/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I keep close communication with my instructor also; my professors and I
>>> have
>>> worked around several issues.
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Joshua
>>> Hendrickson
>>> Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 8:06 AM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] public versus private universities
>>>
>>> Hi Sophie.  I can only agree with what everyone else has already stated.
>>> I've only been to a community college thus far, but overall my
>>> experiences
>>> have been pretty positive.  I can not stress strongly enough to advocate
>>> for
>>> yourself.  My DSO was very good at getting me textbooks in audio format
>>> and
>>> getting me other things like handouts from teachers.  I would visit the
>>> colleges you are interested in, and talk to people at the DSO to see
>>> what
>>> services they offer.  I don't now about the rest of you, but as I went
>>> on
>>> with doing my courses, I found myself relying on the DSO less and less
>>> to
>>> get things I needed.
>>> I would just talk to my instructors and see if I could just have them
>>> email
>>> me handouts or just email my assignments to them instead of printing out
>>> reports I'd done.  I am looking forward to going to a university after
>>> I've
>>> gotten some indipendent Living training at a center in Chicago.  Thanks
>>> for
>>> a great list.  This is a great place to ask questions and get respectful
>>> helpful answers from students who know what we're going through.
>>>
>>> On 1/16/14, justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> My only experience has been at a public university; I've never been to
>>>> a private university, so I can't really speak on those, but several of
>>>> us have attended private universities.  I attend the University of
>>>> South Carolina.
>>>> I've had a pretty good experience there.
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley
>>>> Bramlett
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 10:20 PM
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] public versus private universities
>>>>
>>>> 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
>>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Ryan L. Silveira
>>
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>
>
> --
> Mary Fernandez
> "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will
> forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them
> feel."
> —
> Maya Angelou
>
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-- 
Kaiti