This is part 2 of a two-part series. Check out part 1: Exam Blue Books Full of Glitter Pen.
I first went away to college about 9 years ago. Recently, I wondered how much, if at all, things had changed for college students with a chronic health condition attending school these days. My fellow NYLI member and friend Sachin gave me some insight via video chat.
If I had an 18-year-old brother, I’d want it to be Sachin. We first met two years ago, and I thought he was extraordinarily mature for a high schooler. It was no surprise to me that he got in to a very impressive university. While in high school, he started a non-profit organization involving electronics. He had a bit of a slow start in getting involved in collegiate life and in adjusting to an intense course schedule.
Sachin wants to become either a surgeon or a pediatric specialist. He is involved in an Indian dance group on campus. The dance group recently found out that he is able to mix music via computer that they can then put together with choreography, and I suggested that might actually be something rather unique to put on medical school applications.
College life is different nowadays, from what Sachin tells me. Sachin’s friends won’t have a Star Wars marathon with him because the movies are “too old.” (Episode III came out while I was in college. These kids have an interesting perspective on time; I’m just saying.) Also, pizza delivery can be ordered online now. And, for college kids, ordering pizzas under fake names such as “Harry Potter” characters is a thing. Sachin says his friends know about his hemophilia, and they are pretty cool with it all. He is the only hemophiliac on his campus—something he found out after trying to find a hemophilia awareness group there.
Things were a bit trickier when Sachin first arrived at campus. He got behind on his infusing schedule after getting caught up in the new environment and adjusting to social life and academic balance. He eventually got back on track with infusing, especially while taking a skiing class, which he ran by his doctor to make sure he could participate. But he didn’t realize until he got to campus that the closest HTC is well over an hour away from his college, and none of the hematologists in the area participate with his insurance. He said he didn’t think to consider that while looking at colleges.
His college has offered him helpful accommodations. He is able to pick a dorm sooner than others, so that he has access to an elevator if he needs it. There is also a shuttle that can drive him between classes if he gets a bleed. He says he hasn’t considered what to do if he gets a bleed that prevents him from attending class, so I encouraged for him to get a plan together just in case.
As was the case with Sachin, getting proper disability accommodations is often not the first thing that comes to mind for students applying to colleges. But it’s important to consider this early on because physician notes are often needed, and that can be difficult to obtain once on campus. Most universities also have a limited window of time for students to be added to a disability accommodations list. And campus location as well as a student’s access to specialized care is as important as academic appeal.
But this is an easy oversight when students get their acceptance packets, which typically include information on dormitory living, meal plans, and course options. Yet in looking for a college, it’s important that those with chronic health issues prioritize inquiring about accommodations to help level the playing field for them as they adjust to college life. This information may not be readily available; disability accommodations details are usually tucked in the corner of a webpage—where a student or parent would have to actively look for it.
Proper disability accommodations are there to make everyone’s lives easier—students and faculty. Many universities are doing an exemplary job at making accommodations available. Still, in cases where the accommodation details are not so easy to find, those of us with chronic health issues should make our voices heard: We want this information to be readily available, and we’d like to see the overall process simplified. Education is not a privilege—it is a right.