[nabs-l] Questions to Ask

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi Zach,

Although my Ph.D. was in a different field, I will say that in my
experience with grad school, a disability services office really
shouldn't be a huge requirement. In general, grad courses are small,
and professors and grad students have much stronger one-on-one
interaction. I always received any needed accommodations just by
working with my professors. Furthermore, all course materials were
made available electronically to everyone, not just to me. This is a
big difference from undergrad where students have to fend for
themselves to obtain textbooks and course readers. In grad school,
especially in scientific disciplines, there is a much bigger focus on
empirical papers, which are almost always available online through
campus libraries or course reserves. The one reason I can think of
where you might want to work with a DSS office might be if you want to
get textbooks in Braille, but I'm not sure how much textbook reading
you will be assigned.

I would suggest applying to schools based on their programs and the
quality of fit between your interests and those of the faculty. If you
have a good working relationship with your mentor or mentors,
everything else should fall into place. The mentor will have an
interest in supporting your education and will do whatever is needed
to make that happen. On the other hand, if your mentoring relationship
is weak, you might find it harder to get the accommodations you need.
Once you are admitted, you could certainly check out the DSS office,
but I don't think it needs to be a priority when you're applying. Best
of luck!

Arielle

On 6/10/14, zeynep sule yilmaz via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Zack,
>
> One of my  neighborhood friends who is blind is doing his  PhD in
> genetics.  Unfortionately, I don't have his number, but I can try to
> find his email from other people. Would you like me to send his
> contact info to you, if I can get it? Feel free to  contact with me,
> if you are interested to talk to him.
>
> Thanks and good luck for the grad school!
>
> Zeynep
>
> 2014-06-10 10:51 GMT-05:00, Shickeytha Chandler via nabs-l
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>:
>> Hi Zach,
>>
>> One thing I would recommend is start off by doing as much research as
>> you can independently. By this I mean read everything available online
>> about the program you are interested in, including but not limited to
>> course descriptions, syllabi from previous semesters, etc. Then try to
>> think about any accommodations you might need or problems that might
>> arise in those specific classes and try to think of ways to work
>> around those difficulties if they occur. In your discussions with the
>> disability offices, you might bring up specific scenarios and see what
>> their ideas would be for providing accommodations. If you have a State
>> Vocational Rehabilitation counselor, you can also talk with him/her
>> about what specific things that Agency can provide for you while in
>> graduate school.
>>
>> I don't know much about genetics, but I get the impression that your
>> program will be very science-intensive with lots of classes in
>> biology, chemistry and the like. That is the area of study that I am
>> least interested in and least skilled at, so I really do not have much
>> to offer you in terms of advice, but I do know that the science
>> classes I was required to take in undergrad were difficult for me with
>> lots of visuals. So it might be a good idea to see if the disability
>> office has a way of providing you with access to visual illustrations,
>> presentations, etc. so that you can benefit from them as much as your
>> peers.
>>
>> Best of luck!
>>
>> Shickeytha
>>
>> On 6/10/14, Zach Mason via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> Hi Group,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I'm applying for fall 2015 graduate programs in what I can best describe
>>> as
>>> "genetics." As a graduate student, are there questions, or aspects about
>>> the
>>> program I would be wise to inquire about of the Disabilities Offices?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Zac
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Zachary Mason
>>>
>>> Shepherd and Young Stock Manager
>>>
>>> Northwinds Farm
>>>
>>> (603) 922-8377 Work
>>>
>>> (603) 991-6747 Cell
>>>
>>>  <mailto:zmason at northwindsfarm@gmail.com>
>>> zmason at northwindsfarm@gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 806 U.S. Route 3
>>>
>>> North Stratford, NH 03590
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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