[nabs-l] College research in seeking input

[Joe]

Hi Taylor,

Sometimes I feel I'm in the minority on this subject. It makes total sense
to move to a warmer state for health conditions. However, I've never been a
big fan of narrowing the scope on universities based on the quality of their
disability services. That may sound a little counterintuitive. Wouldn't it
make sense to go somewhere where your tests will be administered without
issue, things embossed, etc.?

And yet remember the step after college is likely the job market. Unless
you're working in the blindness or general disability field, it's unlikely
the office will come ready with special accommodations already built in, so
college could provide a perfect training ground when it really will be up to
you to procure Braille, screen reading software and so forth.

The disability service at my undergrad at Texas State was mediocre at best.
I sometimes felt jealous of my friends at the University of Texas or Texas
A&M where the offices were both larger and far more accommodating. Yet I did
not strike out into the real world feeling at a disadvantage. Would I have
enjoyed the better services? Absolutely, but dealing with mediocre service
also taught me how to be a better advocate. When I went to grad school, my
program was held off campus; therefore, I never even dropped in on the
disability office. It's funny because on graduation day one of their
representatives came up to me and was appalled I had never once called on
them to administer anything, not even my comps at the end of the program.

Now, that was my experience. I would never suggest you need to do the same
because I did it that way. My only point is that accommodations are things
you can usually work out no matter where you go. The bigger consideration,
in my personal opinion, should be the quality of the program you're
interested in pursuing. Does a school possess the strength to give you a
good preparation for your chosen field? That's the kind of characteristic
more likely to have a lasting impact on your future. That consideration
could then be followed by the pedestrian accessibility of the campus in
relation to off campus amenities. Is the area safe? Does the school have a
decent career services office for job search after graduation? If they have
all that and also happen to boast an excellent disability services office,
so much the better.

Anyway, just a few thoughts worth considering.

Best,

Joe

--
Musings of a Work in Progress:
www.JoeOrozco.com/

Twitter: @ScribblingJoe


-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Taylor Arndt
via NABS-L
Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2016 9:23 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Cc: Taylor Arndt
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] College research in seeking input

Thank you, and I will do that. I'm planning to make a whole bunch of phone
calls this week but also I have to deal with the problem of state residency
this should be very fun

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 3, 2016, at 9:00 PM, Kenia Flores via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> Hi Taylor,
> 
> Unfortunately, I am not familiar with any universities in Florida. I 
> recently graduated high school and went through the college search and 
> application process. I would strongly urge you to explore the website 
> of disability services at the schools you are considering. I did that 
> and found it extremely helpful. You can also try to contact someone at 
> the university who can answer any questions you may have. I hope this 
> helps.
> 
> Best,
> Kenia
> 
>> On 7/3/16, Taylor Arndt via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi,
>> 
>> So I am starting to do college research, and I think I'm going to go 
>> out-of-state. I live in Michigan, but winters are very hard for me to 
>> handle due to some other problems. So does anybody know what 
>> universities in Florida have a good disability services offices? 
>> Thank you and I appreciate all input that I'm given as I don't know 
>> any of the colleges
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
> --
> Sincerely,
> Kenia Flores
> 
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