[nabs-l] A question about something my rehab counselor said

Thu Jul 28 18:57:44 UTC 2016

Most people at my college only took 4 classes a semester, but they were
generally really intense classes. My very first semester, I took only three
classes following my faculty advisor's advice. She made it clear to me that
she gave this advice to all her first year advisees, because starting
college is a difficult transition, and it had nothing to do with my
blindness. One of my three classes was an intensive intro language course,
which was worth more than the standard credits and which met every day plus
additional required sessions with an assistant teacher in the evening. I
took my advisors advice and took only the three academic courses. I also
joined the Wind Ensemble, which also counts for credits, so I was still
considered to be taking a full course load, but only having the three
academic courses was really helpful for me during that transition,
especially since I hadn't realized until I started college and gained a
social life that I didn't know how to manage my time. And doing it like this
was also really helpful for my friends (all sighted) who did it this way
too. My second semester, I added an additional course to take the standard
four, plus continuing with music, and I was able to do it confidently and
without stress. I didn't make this decision because I'm blind and thought I
couldn't handle the work because I'm blind, and I didn't even make the
decision because I wanted to slack off. I have very high standards for
myself; I'm one of those triple A high achiever personalities. I made the
decision because I knew I would be dealing with all new things--making new
friends, living far from home, extracurricular activities, etc.
This worked really well for me. I probably could have handled four courses,
looking back, but I didn't know that then, and starting with three let me be
a little more relaxed about all these huge changes.  So it's all about
knowing yourself and knowing what works for you. It also depends how your
college works with classes and credits and everything. I'd recommend
starting with a little less than standard, if you can, while still
maintaining a fulltime status. I would recommend this to anyone I knew about
to start college, blind or sighted. But if you're confident that you can
handle five courses and you're comfortable with how your schedule is set up,
go for it. Whatever you decide, it is entirely your decision and not your VR
counselor's.
Hope this is helpful.
Jameyanne

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas
Vasiliauskas via NABS-L
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2016 2:08 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] A question about something my rehab counselor said

Hi Sami,
I think that it's great that you want to take this many clastses.  
I start school next month and will be taking 5 classes, 4 of 
which are worth 4 credits, 1 of which, a leadership seminar, is 1 
credit.  Scheduling for these classes was a bit difficult, 
because the computer system, not the professor, decides full 
capacity for a class.
With schfuling being so difficult, it is much easier to drop than 
add classes at my school.  I can't add classes until Septemaer 2, 
so when I had to change a course, it had to be taken all the way 
to one of the administrators.
In my school, dropping classes is much easier.  I can drop any 
class the first week with reimburesment and no mark, and if I 
drop in the next couple of weeks there will be a W on my record 
that doesn't actually mean anything.
I am not planning to drop, nor do I encourage you to do so.  
However, you should see if maybe your school has a similar 
system, and if your counselor gives you a hard time you can 
mention that, that it's easier to drop than add.
Hope this helps,
Vejas

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Sami Osborne via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 28 Jul 2016 13:42:14 -0400
Subject: [nabs-l] A question about something my rehab counselor 
said

Hi all,

I'd really like to get your opinions on something that my rehab
counselor said just today.  I'll be starting college in
September, and we were discussing the possibility of him funding
me for the different bills that need to be paid per semester or
year.

 He said something that I found really strange, although some of
you may disagree with me.  Even though I'm already registered for
classes and have a full schedule for the semester (five classes
during the week,) he suggested that maybe I should drop a fouple
of them and take a reduced amount of credits, at least this first
semester.  His reasoning is that he thinks it might be too much
for me, and apparently, other blind college students whom he has
worked with have done this.  Although my counselor is generally a
very accommmdating man, I personally disagree with him on this.
Numer one, I don't find five classes to be too much at all,
because that's the average of most college students, whether
blind or sighted, and number two, I have many breaks in between
my classes, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where I have
one class in the morning and don't have another one for 6 and a
half hours! I'm also a person who really enjoys learning new
things, and also, I believe that this is not something that a
rehab counselor should be telling their clients, although you
guys can tell me what you think.  This is very strange in my
opinion.

I hope that you guys can give me some advice as to what your
opinions are on this matter.  Oh, and one more thing, what would
you suggest I do if I tell him that I don't want to drop anything
and he keeps on insisting?

I really hope you guys can help me, and have a happy end of July!
:(

Thanks so much,

Sami

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