[nabs-l] Grad school out of state

[Lucy Sirianni]

Hi Shikha,

I echo a lot of what Kennedy has said below.  Assure your parents 
that countless blind adults are living on their own, successfully 
running households, pursuing educations and careers, traveling, 
raising families, etc, etc.  If they are open to this, it may 
ease their concerns to talk with blind adults who live 
independently or to join listservs like the NFB's parents of 
blind children division to get support and guidance from other 
parents who have grappled with similar uncertainties.  
Ultimately, though, your parents do need to recognize that you 
are a competent adult capable of making decisions on your own 
behalf, and you may need to be quite firm in telling them that 
while you value their input and hope they'll support your 
choices, you will be making the decisions about your life.  I am 
sorry you're needing to fight to get them to recognize this; I 
can only imagine how discouraging and challenging it must be.

As for researching grad schools, talk with people who are working 
in the field you hope to enter.  Look online for lists of the top 
programs in your field and then research the ones that appeal to 
you, looking for factors like reputation, location, job placement 
records, and the backgrounds of the professors you'd be working 
with.  Reach out to current and/or former students to see if they 
feel happy and supported in their program.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Lucy
 ----- Original Message -----
From: KENNEDY STOMBERG via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sat, 10 Dec 2016 12:47:55 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Grad school out of state

As for your question  about researching grad schools, I am not 
certain.  This is something I am wondering about as well, so I 
would love to hear what people have to say.


However, I can address the question about your parents, and 
hopefuly, it will be helpful.  I have lived away from my parents 
since my last semester of high school.  I moved out when I was 
17, because I needed to practice being endependent.  I also 
elected to do my undergraduate degree out-of-state, and am 
currently preparing to study abroad  this spring.   This would 
have been difficult without the support of my parents, and I am 
sorry that yours are sheltering you so much.

 A couple of things you might consider telling them, since they 
are so concerned about your abbility to succeed due to blindness.
1.  There are a lot of successful blind people who complete 
college away from their parents.  (I have no doubt that others on 
the list will also be able to tell you that they did undergrad or 
graduate school out of state, and were successful.)
2.  You have already  traveled to Maryland endependently before, 
and you clearly came back just fine.  Have you not proven that 
you can be independent and keep yourself safe?

Hope this helps!
Kennedy
Kennedy Stomberg
(218)295-2391

 On Dec 10, 2016, at 12:12 PM, Shikha via NABS-L 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:



 Hey,
 I am older then my sister and my parents are protecting me from 
living an independent life.  I want to attend grad school out of 
state.  I want to leave georgia.  I will apply for grad school 
next December, but during the Christmas break i have to do my 
research.  My program for master in social work is only an one 
year program.  They said that since i am blind I will be more 
successful if i stay in Georgia and get my master degree at the 
school that i am currently at which is Georgia state university.  
How do i convince them? How do I research for a good grad school.  
I want to move to dc or maryland.  I saved up and went to my 
friends wedding this summer even though my parents said no.  They 
will never forgive me.  Even though i am an adult how do you obey 
your parents? How do you live an independent life when your 
parents don't agree with your decision? I will keep on 
researching for different grad schools during Christmas break.  I 
think i got all a this semester but my parents don't care.  They 
are always thinking about my future.  I will keep you guys 
updated because my grades have not been posted yet.  Please help 
i am scared and confused.
 Thanks,
  Shikha.
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