[nabs-l] Questions to Ask

Marissa marissat789 at gmail.com
Wed Jun 11 00:39:46 UTC 2014


I'm just jumping in here.  Not even entirely sure what this is 
about, and I'm sorry.  But, if the books are not available from 
bookshare, have you tried BARD? Or order them from NLS? I think 
there are some other book resources, but I'm not sure.  I don't 
think APH does textbooks, but I could be wrong.


 ----- Original Message -----
From: Shickeytha Chandler via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com>, National Association 
of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 20:15:54 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Questions to Ask

Arielle,

Oh how lucky you were to have all course materials available via
course reserves! Only one of my Master's level classes this 
coming
semester has readings that are offered through course reserves, 
and I
know at least two of my required textbooks are not available 
through
Learning Ally or Bookshare.  So I will likely have to get them 
from the
publisher in accessible format or else scan them with my Pearl.  
Not a
major inconvenience, but certainly more hassle than having all
materials automatically at one's fingertips!

You make some good points about there being more 
professor-student
interaction at the graduate level.  I am only just now beginning 
my
program, but am already getting a sense that there is a 
difference in
that way as compared to undergrad.  It does make sense though, 
since
graduate programs are on a more professional level and with more 
of a
narrowed focus.  I think I personally will like that change.

Best,

Shickeytha

On 6/10/14, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> 
wrote:
 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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