The College Search — “The Good Fit!”
It is important to understand that all colleges are different and policies and procedures will be a little different from one college to the next. Ask about admissions requirements including SAT or ACT exam scores. Ask how important the student’s class average is; ask if the college has an appeals process because the student wants to have a fair chance to be admitted. Students do not have to tell the Admissions office about their disability, either on the application or during any interview — but may want to tell them so that they will give the student information about services for students with disabilities. Also, some colleges allow students with disabilities to ask for special consideration during the admissions process, if it is needed. If the student needs to provide documentation of disability, she should not send the documentation to the admissions office. Send it to the Office of Disability Services. Once the student graduates from high school or turns18, she is regarded as an adult. She doesn’t need to have everyone know about her disability — and SHE has control over who knows; she should use that control wisely.
Once the student begins to narrow his choices of possible career goals he can begin to think about how to reach that goal. Which colleges offer the academic program(s) that will lead to his goal? Can his family afford that college? Can he start at a college close to home and transfer later? These are questions that all potential college students need to address. The following chart explains different types of postsecondary institutions and their academic options: